Should I change my RC's?

Alright, last night I had my 4th DILD but, for the umpteenth time, I couldn't get my finger pass through my palm and, for some reason, I just forgot to try the plugged nose one, I always forget to try it, even though it is the one I put the most attention on when I'm awake.
The only reason why I became lucid is because I've been using a lot of mental RC's when awake, so I was not content with the result of my first 2 RC's because I felt there was something wrong.
I tried to get a finger pass through a friend of mine's arm and it succeded, then I tried to fly and I could do it, so I became fully lucid (note: in all the 4 DILD's I got, I became lucid because of the flying RC).

I come to the point: is it ok to just try mental reality checks ("where am I?", "do I know this place?", "is everything ok with it?", "how did I get here?" etc.) + the flying RC only? Should I stick a little more to the other 2 that I tried, alas, unsuccesfully so far?

Thanks in advance :D

You might already be doing this but, when you do RCs in waking life do you really question whether it's a dream and examine your surroundings or just do an RC? Whenever you do a reality check look around and really question if you're dreaming. This will make your dream-self more aware and suspicious of things, which is why you became lucid last night even though the other RCs didn't work. The mental RCs you've been doing are really good for questioning your surroundings and the like.

I'm not an expert but I would say use which ever RC(s) works best for you, there are some reality checks people say are less reliable but I think it varies depending on the person. Most of the time you'll already know you're dreaming and then just use the RC to confirm it.

My favorite reality checks are the digital clock one and the counting fingers/looking at your hand RC. I use to use the nose plug one but it got to where it hurt my nose :P

The mental reality checks are really good, asking yourself things like "Where am I? How did I get here?" and then trying to remember where you were and what you were doing before. That RC was actually talked about in the latest episode of the DreamViews podcast.

Like I said, I'm not an expert. The more knowledgeable members will have better advice and info :)

Good luck, hope I helped a bit (^^)b

First of all, notice that what reality check you use is largely irrelevant. What's important is the mindset during the reality check.

When you do a reality check, assume it's always because something made you suspicious, something is wrong with the reality around you. Once you do, you'll realize that regardless of reality checks failing, or your surroundings looking perfectly normal, or you have no memory of where you were in the last 15 minutes, you still will stubbornly convince yourself you are probably dreaming. Being your 4th DILD, you're not doing anything wrong, and I'd say you should be thankful that you had the chance to learn this lesson the hard way, like most of us did :) Hey, even after many lucids we still fail to get lucid in the most absurd situations!
Be as mindful as possible during reality checks. If you think you're doing them too automatically, then try to stop their frequency and take more time with each one. Imagine from the start that you are in a dream, and all you need to do is confirm so you don't need to worry about it. Good luck!

Yes, I definetely question my reality, there are even times when I see something strange and I'm convinced I'm dreaming when I'm not lol.

I already have this awareness, I can already understand when something is wrong, I basically want to use RC's to confirm my suspicion...and I just thought that merely doing the levitation one (since the others don't seem to work by me xD) could not be enough :P

@Zoth: Oh, like I said, I already got down the right mindset during the RC, and yes, probably I put to much attention on them, when actually they are just a means, not an end ;)

Anyway, I'll stick to the levitation and finger through palm ones (since the plugged nose one doesn't even cross my mind) and see where this takes me ^^

Thanks!

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for some reason, I just forgot to try the plugged nose one, I always forget to try it, even though it is the one I put the most attention on when I'm awake.

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I rarely do the same RC in waking life, but in my dreams either i'm just sure i'm dreaming or i always look to my fingers to be more assured.
I think one should do in waking life the RC that one does more often in dreams - or mixing it with another more reliable RC, and so using the more automatic RC to carry passively the second one.

Good point, VagalTone..since I basically try to fly all the time and, from time to time, I try to do the finger through palm one, I'll stick to these 2 :P

I do two physical RCs in waking life: nose pinch and hand check, in that order. I just got a few nights ago the first LD that was solidified from a suspicion into an LD from the nose pinch at the start, normally I just know I'm dreaming once I question my reality. My theory on this is that late in the morning awareness is very high as we get closer to waking up and lucidity doens't need much help. Most of my LDs are like that so far. Getting lucid earlier in the REM, our mind is less aware and needs a bit of "help" in getting dragged into lucidity.

Yes you should ALWAYS also do mental RCs, these are the most important.

And my personal advice: lose the finger/palm thing other than for fun. Nose-pinch seems from the evidence to be #1. Do it during the day until it becomes a reflex upon ANYthing weird or dream-like, and eventually it will seep into your dreams, it just did for me!

And if the flying RC is 100% for you, keep at it!

I noticed the same thing, most of my LD's happened like at 5am.

Anyway, I'll stick to all the 3 RC's because I feel like they are becoming a habit :)