How to trigger the realization that I'm dreaming?

**Meiko2847** · 04-11-2018 02:44 AM

For the past few days, I've had dreams where I would recognize something odd was happening. In one dream, I went through a portal to my old high school, and I remember thinking, "don't you think it's odd that you just went through a portal?" but I ignored it and went on. In another one, a cat was talking, and I was surprised that he could speak.

I'm not sure if I should continue as I'm already doing, or increase the number of RC's I do. Any thoughts?

**Charles3** · 04-11-2018 02:15 PM

Hi Meiko2847! Good question. I will attempt an answer and I hope others reply as well because I don't have all the answers!

I think it's a good sign that you're starting to think those thoughts in dreams. For example I had a dream the other night when I had a sink faucet that could give water. But it wasn't connected to any pipes. So I just told myself that they must have invented "compressed water". LOL! And I have lots of other moments like that.

So my favorite advice I've heard about this has been to try to see it as a positive that you are even having that glimpse of consciousness.. "Huh? a portal? Oh, never mind.." as opposed to berating yourself afterward like, "A portal?! How could you miss that?!" Be like, wow, that's so cool that you registered some dreamlike quality of that event. (And give yourself a pre-lucidity point!)

How many RC's are you currently doing a day? It might be plenty. moving from pre-lucidity to lucid realization might just take time. But that's up to you if you want to do more. Also there is general awareness like making a list of moments such as these, which could only happen in a dream, to review.

EDIT - those are just my suggestions or how I think of it

**Meiko2847** · 04-12-2018 02:18 AM

I do 5 RCs a day. I should probably raise it to around 10.

**dolphin** · 04-12-2018 03:33 AM

This is a matter of expectations. In these dreams, you are expecting that the experiences are not normal, but you are not expecting this to mean that you are dreaming.

I find that changing an expectation is mostly a matter of being motivated to change it. When I don't experience my main dream sign for a while (false awakenings), over time I will tend to once again develop a strong expectation that I am not dreaming when I wake up, resulting in me consistently no longer catching the dream sign I used to consistently catch. When this happens, I remind myself to be more open to the possibility I might be dreaming upon waking up, which usually quickly gets me back to consistently catching the dream sign. Of course, my situation is very different from yours in that going back to an expectation that was already previously developed is usually a lot easier than developing one initially, but I think the idea of self-motivating to change expectations in order to change them is the same for both situations. Clearly, motivation influences expectations.

Simply tell yourself that next time you experience something like this, you will expect to be dreaming. Imagine it happening next time and try to make it happen next time. Don't be discouraged if It doesn't happen right away, though. The expectation you are trying to develop is not necessarily a natural one at first, so it can take some time to get over its awkwardness that might be discouraging you from fully adopting it.

Keep in mind it is possible to do reality checks without changing your expectations. These reality checks are completely ineffective because they won't change the expectations that need to be changed. So, if doing reality checks, keep in mind your intention to change the expectations you are trying to change like I mentioned before. In other words, use reality checks to study for the test that is the dream. During the dream, the clue will be something unusual that will happen and the answer is that the dream is a dream. Your answer, of course, will be based on what you expect it to be at the time. So, you should expect your surroundings to be a dream when practicing a reality check. Don't do anything that might do harm upon expecting this, though.

Also, when you're imagining and planning, include some other dream goals in mind you would like to try once you attain lucidity. These will help keep you lucid in the dream once you are.

**Charles3** · 04-12-2018 05:57 PM

Originally Posted by Meiko2847

I do 5 RCs a day. I should probably raise it to around 10.

Well, if you're willing to do 10, and you enjoy doing RCs, then why not?

You could also do this weird trick. If you're going to leave your house, put something weird in front of your door. Then forget you put it there. When you get back, it will surprise you. Then you can do an RC! Then plant it somewhere else, like in the bathroom, and close the door. Next time you go to the bathroom, surprise! Etc.