List variations to gravity induced LD technique

[dolphin]

The already established gravity induced LD technique is what I call a critical question technique. The critical question I'm referring to would be a yes or no question referring to something simple that's very prevalent both in waking life and the dream world, yet is very different in the dream world than it is in waking life. Being aware of the answer to this question would act as a reality check. Being constantly aware would act as a constant reality check. So for example, a critical question would be "Does gravity feel right?" If the answer is yes, you're not dreaming. If it's no, you are dreaming. I think if we thought of more critical questions to ask, this effective technique might be approachable to a wider audience. As in, someone like me who's interested in this technique but isn't sure if gravity feels right or not. Can you think of anymore critical questions? I'll list them here as they're suggested: Critical questions: Does gravity feel right? Do my clothes feel right? Does the temperature feel right? Are my feet on the floor? Are there several ambient noises? Is there a light source? Can I affect matter? Am I dreaming?

[yaya]

excellent idea! yes, gravity is not something tangible. i have chose feeling of tactile sense of my feet on the ground. so if i am awake, i can feel it and if i am dreaming, i can't feel the ground very clearly. i have practiced this method since 3 days ago and it is very very easier than ADA and it is not taxing and feels good. even i can have this mindset while studying. other choices have been well introduced by Ctharlhie. i copy and paste his choices from his topic to here 1. Gravity 2. The feeling of clothing 3. Temperature 4. Feet on the floor 5. Ambient noise 6. Light sources 7. Visual snow/floaters 8. Tinnitus 9. Air Pressure (wind, breezes, droughts) 10. A sense of the breath i think number 2, 4 and 10 are easier for most people.

[Sivason]

Stability of the visual field. Basically if you are lucid and look at anything for more than a few seconds inconsistencies appear. This could be a slight rotation to what you are seeing that keeps self correcting, or slight moving patterns in things like wood grain. You will also notice that fine detail is missing in a dream, as in a lack of tiny dust flecks and things like that. I simply take 30 seconds many times a day and look directly at something and watch carefully for these instabilities. Of the ones listed in yaya's post, I truly like and use the ambient noise one. In a dream there is never more than 2 sounds at one time, unless it is central to the plot. In real life the world is full of various small background noises. During my 30 seconds of visual examination I also pay attention to background noise. You can dream that you hear background noise, but they will present themselves one at a time. As you notice a new one, the old one will fade. In waking life you can easily track 3 noises before others will start to fade. With practice you can track 5 or more. You could never track 3 at the same time in dream, from my experience. I do not know if you will think this fits, but Ability to effect matter. During your short reflection of sight and sound pick an object and push it with imaginary extensions of your body. This could be beams from your eyes or a phantom version of your hand. Even if you lack good dream control, the object should at least waver or shake a little in a dream. In my case, the object will do anything I wish, such as fly away from me or float. This never happens in waking life (not yet at least ! lol)

[VagalTone]

This is still the best critical question: am i dreaming? Can i fly ? (this a sub of gravity question) I fly a lot in my nonlucids, in a swimming style, so it's a dream sign. This question is also more fun to hold in mind and can sensitize me to this important dream sign that i miss everytime.

[yaya]

yes, it is a good question to ask but you should be able to answer it constantly too. in gravity method, we always check the gravity nearly every minute (type of all day awareness method) and we try to examine it and find an answer if it is working well or not. so if you ask " can i fly" as a continuous question through out the day, then how are you going to answer that question? jumping? are you sure you can jump in every situation? sure, this can be used as an ordinary RC but not as a continuous RC through out the day.

[VagalTone]

yes, it is a good question to ask but you should be able to answer it constantly too. in gravity method, we always check the gravity nearly every minute (type of all day awareness method) and we try to examine it and find an answer if it is working well or not. so if you ask " can i fly" as a continuous question through out the day, then how are you going to answer that question? jumping? are you sure you can jump in every situation? sure, this can be used as an ordinary RC but not as a continuous RC through out the day. Not that i want to use it throughout the whole day, but just at random times it´s enough. But, in my lucids, i start flying without jumping - it´s a very smooth process. Indeed, when i am lucid (maybe not entirely lucid) i usually abstain from jumping just to make sure it´s really a dream and, if not, i don´t get hurt. So, if i can fly spontaneously it´s a dream, i am sure.

[FryingMan]

My favorites: + Is this a waking location? + How odd is this? (is anything new/changed/out of place/different/wrong?/weird/surprising?)

[insideout]

I've read in a couple other places that a good question to ask is "What was I just doing?" If you can't remember what you were just doing a couple of steps before whatever you're doing now, you could be dreaming. I'd still follow it up with my old (mostly) reliable nose pinch method, though.

[yaya]

i am used to this kind of RC too. but in one of my dreams, i could know what i was doing the last minutes ago. so be careful! this may trick you sometimes (like nose plugging that may not really tell us we are dreaming or not).

[FryingMan]

We've had this discussion before, but moments of critical reflection I think are not to be conflated with "RCs." An RC should be quick, clear, and definitive. RCs are performed when you're already on the way to lucidity from raising awareness, and want to confirm your state. Critical reflection moments are longer and more drawn out and are typically better performed in the waking state as a means to raise your awareness, cultivate a mindset of critical questioning. Oh, I need to add one more, this one I actually did in a dream followed by a quick RC and had a brief lucid: + "Why do I think I'm awake?" But once you think you may be dreaming, a quick RC generally is the best thing to do immediately, and if it shows "dreaming," go off and enjoy, don't just stand there continuing to critically reflect. Just IMO.

[FryingMan]

Stability of the visual field. Basically if you are lucid and look at anything for more than a few seconds inconsistencies appear. This could be a slight rotation to what you are seeing that keeps self correcting, or slight moving patterns in things like wood grain. You will also notice that fine detail is missing in a dream, as in a lack of tiny dust flecks and things like that. I simply take 30 seconds many times a day and look directly at something and watch carefully for these instabilities. This one is really interesting. Things seem more "solid" while non-lucid, but it's possible to note changes from moment to moment ("Hey, where'd that hole come from?" and "Hey it just got bigger..."). But when lucid, faces/shapes/textures are sometimes constantly transforming while you watch. I've also noticed that "peripheral" vision occurs in lucids as well (since we have such a strong expectation of how visual input works in the waking state?), but that especially people/the background in peripheral vision seems very shaky. It's interesting that noticing "partial rendering" never seems to occur in non-lucids, but in lucids a number of times I've suddenly brought my dream hands up into my sight (usually not while thinking about my hands directly, but rather doing something with them, like touching a wall in front of me or doing a summon of something from my 'utility belt'), and the skin texture has been completely missing initially (dream bodies are apparently made of of black spacey material with swirly lines and stars, some cosmic significance there?), and I watched while my brain filled in the skin tone and "painted"/spread it over my hands/arms over a second or two. Trippy!

[Sivason]

Exactly. It is trippy and an easy RC

[Sensei]

Stability of the visual field. Basically if you are lucid and look at anything for more than a few seconds inconsistencies appear. This could be a slight rotation to what you are seeing that keeps self correcting, or slight moving patterns in things like wood grain. You will also notice that fine detail is missing in a dream, as in a lack of tiny dust flecks and things like that. I simply take 30 seconds many times a day and look directly at something and watch carefully for these instabilities. Of the ones listed in yaya's post, I truly like and use the ambient noise one. In a dream there is never more than 2 sounds at one time, unless it is central to the plot. In real life the world is full of various small background noises. During my 30 seconds of visual examination I also pay attention to background noise. You can dream that you hear background noise, but they will present themselves one at a time. As you notice a new one, the old one will fade. In waking life you can easily track 3 noises before others will start to fade. With practice you can track 5 or more. You could never track 3 at the same time in dream, from my experience. I do not know if you will think this fits, but Ability to effect matter. During your short reflection of sight and sound pick an object and push it with imaginary extensions of your body. This could be beams from your eyes or a phantom version of your hand. Even if you lack good dream control, the object should at least waver or shake a little in a dream. In my case, the object will do anything I wish, such as fly away from me or float. This never happens in waking life (not yet at least ! lol) This is interesting, but I usually very detailed things when I am looking intently at things, it doesn't seem to shift until I look back at the world that I haven't been looking at (this differs if I am in a persistent realm). I think that a big part of the critical question is that it needs to be tailored to you. I think that too many people think "gravity is off in a dream! I can get lucid this way!!!" when they need to be thinking more along the lines of "in previous dreams, what was always wrong?" The reason that this isn't as popular is because it relies on experience, which as you have probably noticed, is the easiest way to lucid dream, but the only way you cannot start with. noise in a dream is interesting, because when I am in a dream all the noise seems normal and if I think of the noise after I wake up, it was quite normal, but 5 minutes later if it is not written down, I will forget it and all my memories of my dreams are silent unless I write down the noises. I will remember that a DC spoke to me in a deep voice or that I could hear the wind through the trees, but I cannot pull it up for some reason. I am trying to correct this since it is a recall problem. I am gonna start listening more in dreams though, I want to know how many noises are going off in the background of my dreams to see if it is a quiet place, a place with few sounds, or a loud place. I love the idea of "effecting matter" because TK always came easy to me (I incubated it when I was a lot younger), but as I said before, it is a good place to start, but people should be looking at this whole list of things, not as a list of things that might work for them, but as a list of examples for them to learn what works for them specifically. on topic and to the OP I have a bit of a backwards approach to LDing as I try to think "I am dreaming" as much as possible, and if that thought ever comes up, I must treat it as a dream until proven otherwise. Because of this I don't RC often in dreams, but I do usually do some minor dream control before jumping out of planes or challenging a dragon to a fight. It isn't a critical question, but it is a critical thought.