Hi VagalTone. I think your original question is slightly mis-aimed. Why practice reality checks (I prefer the term "state test" -- what state am I in right now: waking or dreaming?)? Well, I assume the goal for most people on dreamviews is to explore the dream world while lucid. To be lucid means to be aware -- in our context here, aware of your present state. As Sageous says, self-aware. To be lucid in the dream state, IMHO, requires becoming lucid in the waking state. A person who is habitually un-self-aware while awake will naturally continue to be un-self-aware, i.e., non-lucid, in the dream state. An RC is just a tool, a way to fan an already existent budding lucidity into a full-blown lucid dream.
So doing RCs in isolation is not so useful or interesting. But developing a lucid mind-set, frequently reflecting upon your present moment experience, and asking your self if your present moment expesrience seems dream like, THEN performing a RC, can be very effective in "catching" lucid dreams.
What you want is to associate that moment of confusion, doubt, strong emotion, suspicsion, etc., all those moments and signs and hints that you could be dreaming, with the reflection on your current state and then to perform an RC. Reflection + the RC together can really help boost lucid dreaming.
What I've found is that basically you want to catch those "whoa, wait, that's weird" moments and associate the thought that "I could be dreaming" and perform an RC to verify. In this context, the RC is a very powerful tool in establishing your budding lucidity in the dream state.
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