that right there is VERY helpful. Awareness. To me, they make reality checks absolete[/b]
I totally agree. It is the awareness checks that are helping me with this method, so I am now doing about 80 percent awareness checks, looking for anything I can during the day that seems unusual or different, which is helping me to see all sorts of things during the day that I've never noticed before, and which is carrying over into my dreams and making me much more aware in my dreams. Since the only reality check that has ever helped me to become lucid is trying to float, most of my reality checks are done using this method of just thinking of floating to see if I float or not.

how do you count how many reality checks that you've done by the end of the day?[/b]
I just keep a count of them in my head which usually isn't too hard to do especially since I do them in spurts. When I get busy at work I may not do any for an hour or so since there is usually nothing too unusual taking place on my computer or around my desk, so I then take a break and concentrate on being aware and stack up 8 or 10 in the next 5 minutes. It just forces me to be more aware of my environment by counting them, because if I stop counting, then I forget to strive to do them, and end up being my normal unaware self. It is also easier for me to be aware if I go outside as I can feel a breeze or an aroma in the air, etc.

Thanks for the reply.