Thread: Can reality checks be just as effective without dream signs?

Hi,

People often say it’s good to reality check when you see a dream sign, because it would increase your chances of lucidity, but if you don’t really have dream signs, is it still possible to get frequent lucid dreams from just doing regular reality checks throughout the day?

Thanks!

I also don't have solid dream signs. There are some, but I don't see those in waking live often / at all.

For me, just knowing that clocks and light switches behave odd in dreams caused me to get two lucids. I suspect I was basically on the verge of lucidity before - both LDs were DILD, but from a botched WILD attempt - I assume that I already had an idea I was dreaming before flipping the light switch / looking at the clock thrice. I did not really train to do those reality checks, I just noticed the presence of a light switch, flipped it and since it was not working I became lucid.

If I do see a digital clock in waking life I now look at it twice to ingrain a habit, but thats it.

Yes having some common dream signs would be an advantage. They can give you specific triggers to do reality checks to, but as for just reality checking ‘generally’, I’m not sure if it would be as effective.

Originally Posted by Eamo24

Yes having some common dream signs would be an advantage. They can give you specific triggers to do reality checks to, but as for just reality checking ‘generally’, I’m not sure if it would be as effective.

True. And although it's an advantage to have dream signs to trigger a RC(this method relies on the prospective memory), performing RCs without DSs is still effective. You are still providing the subconscious with materials it can use to give you a LD( materials here being RCing), since the subconscious may choose RCing you did during the day to place inside your dream. So yes, it's still effective to do RCs without DSs, but coupling it with DSs will give you both the chance that your subconscious will incorporate a RC to your dream, and the chance that a DS might pass, trigerring your prospective memory to trigger your lucidity.
Hope I helped

Originally Posted by LouaiB

True. And although it's an advantage to have dream signs to trigger a RC(this method relies on the prospective memory), performing RCs without DSs is still effective. You are still providing the subconscious with materials it can use to give you a LD( materials here being RCing), since the subconscious may choose RCing you did during the day to place inside your dream. So yes, it's still effective to do RCs without DSs, but coupling it with DSs will give you both the chance that your subconscious will incorporate a RC to your dream, and the chance that a DS might pass, trigerring your prospective memory to trigger your lucidity.
Hope I helped

Thanks, Louai!

Yes it makes sense. I’ve done reality checks in dreams where there were no oddities or dream signs present at all, but I still did them (didn’t become lucid from some of them though). I think it was simply the habit of frequently doing reality checks which caused them to occur in dreams. Having some dream signs would be an advantage, but they’re probably not that necessary.

Originally Posted by Eamo24

Thanks, Louai!

Yes it makes sense. I’ve done reality checks in dreams where there were no oddities or dream signs present at all, but I still did them (didn’t become lucid from some of them though). I think it was simply the habit of frequently doing reality checks which caused them to occur in dreams. Having some dream signs would be an advantage, but they’re probably not that necessary.

Yes exactly!
You're welcome
Also, just to point out a little piece of information, which is not very important or makes a different at all, but you do RCs inside a dream not because of "out of habit". Indeed, habits seem to be in-functional in dreams. You just do RCs in dreams the same reason why you, for instance, dreamed of kissing your Partner after actually kissing him/her during the day. That is why you should do RCs meaningfully. Indeed, one meaningful RC a day is better than 100 mindless RCs a day.
So you just dream about doing a RC because you did one during the day and the subcomsciounce found it interesting and placed it inside the dream. Nothing to do with force of habit.

Originally Posted by LouaiB

Yes exactly!
You're welcome
Also, just to point out a little piece of information, which is not very important or makes a different at all, but you do RCs inside a dream not because of "out of habit". Indeed, habits seem to be in-functional in dreams. You just do RCs in dreams the same reason why you, for instance, dreamed of kissing your Partner after actually kissing him/her during the day. That is why you should do RCs meaningfully. Indeed, one meaningful RC a day is better than 100 mindless RCs a day.
So you just dream about doing a RC because you did one during the day and the subcomsciounce found it interesting and placed it inside the dream. Nothing to do with force of habit.

Interesting! It definitely makes sense. I’ve actually found that if I do reality checks with not enough mindfulness or in a rote or habitual way, I tend to just “dream” of doing them, without actually doing reality checks in dreams.

I agree that mindfulness is very important, as well as trying to make reality checks more interesting and meaningful, perhaps by knowing that you will eventually become lucid, or by thinking about your next lucid goals.

I've enjoyed lucid dreaming on and off for many years, and have never used dream signs (well, only once, after I visited this forum I tried it, but don't like it).

I've never had an LD induced by simply doing an RC, usually when I'm already conscious and want to verify if it's a dream then I do an RC.