The "how The Hell Did I Get Here?" Method

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10-25-2006, 03:11 AM
The Blue Meanie
I'd REALLY appreciate any comments, suggestions or advice anyone could give me on this idea. I'll try to be as brief, clear and thorough as possible.

Also, acronymns are stupid, and I'm not giving this method a stupid acronymn name. If anybody does, I'll shoot them. :sniper: plus, I'm sure I'm not the first person to come up wioth this idea.

Since I usually don't do RCs and instead only make WILD attempts and practice recall, I instead thought it might be a good idea to start doing RCs on a regular basis and see if I can't have a few regular DILDs.

However, instead of identifying dream signs and reality checking whenever I see these signs in real life, I instead thought I might try out an alternative way of reality checking. So, here's what I'm doing, starting today:
- Whenever, in real-life, I notice a "change" in scenery, I stop and reality check. What I'm DOING in reality checks I'll describe later in this post.
- Also, I'm trying to be aware of my surroundings and what I'm doing... so, if I become confused, and thing "What the hell, why am I here?" I'm doing a reality check.
- Also, if I pause and get a "mindblank", or have changed what I'm doing (for instance, if I find myself at the computer typing and then stop and turn around and go to get some lunch) I'll do a RC, and think to myself, "Why did I just change what I'm doing?
When I RC I'm doing the following:
1. I look at my watch (a digital one, all shiny and new cos I got it as part of a birthday present) and check the time. I then look away and look back to see if the time has changed.
2. I then look away from my watch again, and try to make the digits "shifty around"... like, if it sdays 6:30 I'll try to make it change to 3:60 or 6:03. When it doesn't, I think to myself, "damn, I'm awake".
3. Then, I hold my nose and try to breather through it.
4. Then, and more importantly, I try to "retrace" my steps, and figure out what I was doing before what I'm doing now... I try to retrace my steps and figure out if what I'm doing makes sense given what I'm doing before. When it figures out, I think to myself "yup, must be dreaming".
So, basically, I'm RCing whenever I find myself either confused or "mindblanked", OR whenever there's a change of scenery and I realise I'm somewhere new, OR whenever I'm doing something significantly different to what I was doing a few minutes ago. I'm NOT RCing to personal dreamsigns, but, I'm trying to RC so that I'm RCing to stuff that happens in dreams, like change in scenery or action, or confusion.

What suggestions or comments do you guys have? This is my first day of doing this, so I don't know how helpful it'll be...
10-25-2006, 03:29 AM
Moonbeam

Sounds good, I do similar things. I do like your mind-blank (I have that a lot) and change-of-scenery ideas.

One that I am trying to implement, but I keep forgetting, is to RC everytime I see someone for the first time in a day. Since I often dream about people at work, if I can do that everytime I haven't seen them for a while, it may help. Also my BF the first time I talk to him in the morning, because he is often involved in FA's.

I also try to RC in crowds, meetings, etc. because I often have dreams with a lot of people around. I try to see if I can figure out what everybody is doing, their purpose there, does it make sense, are they paying too much or too little attention to me, etc. Kind of makes boring meetings more tolerable too; I have to keep my RC's subtle and not get too amused thinking about what I will do if it does turn out to be a dream.

Another thing I do as I drive to work, I look at the scenery and think, if this was a dream, I might see a bear in the woods or something like that and then I really try to see one. You know how in dreams you look at something and you can't really tell what it is, then if you get an idea what it might be, it kind of turns into that. So using that concept.

I guess those are kind of like RCing when you see a DS, but a little more general, I think.
10-25-2006, 03:56 PM
Kaluc

Great thread, I do just like you do. But however, I don't do RC:s on regular basis. I do them like you say, when something akward happens. Then I use to do the "how did I get here", reading, or jumping RC.

In the thread it was also mentioned that you should try to be aware in the present, that's great.

Since I started doing these "being aware in the present moment" exercises, I have 3 LD per week, instead of one per month.
10-25-2006, 08:47 PM
funkstrman

What do you mean by "being aware in the present moment" exercises? They sound good, can you elaborate on that please?
10-25-2006, 08:55 PM
The Blue Meanie

I think Kaluc's referring to the idea that you pay more attention to real-life. For instyance, stop for a moment and listen to the many sounds and background noises, or notice the colours and objects you can see, etc... Just, pay more attention to your surroundings, and contemplate how different they'd be if you were in a dream.
10-25-2006, 09:38 PM
•Neko•

I tried doing this a while back too. I might start trying it again though, since I've got my motivation back. It might just work. :bigteeth:
10-26-2006, 12:09 AM
EVIL JOE

The HTHDIGH method sounds great.
10-26-2006, 01:25 AM
arby

Quote:

Originally Posted by EVIL

The HTHDIGH method sounds great.
[/b]

nonono... its obviously the WTF method >:(

get it right.

and when I read the title i thought it was going to be that every so often you play back your memory to see how you got to where you are now. If you have no memory of how you got there you are one of the following:

1. are stone dead drunk
2. have been knocked unconcious and are lieing in a killers basement
3. have very bad memory
4. have been the subject to horrible tests
5. are named henry
6. smell like jello
7. listening to loud music
8. walking into too many poles
9. high on drugs
10. in a sappy movie
11. inexistant
12. dead
13. just woke up from a 5 year coma
14. still reading this list even though it is utter nonsense =P

15. having an LD

though i'm not sure if the last option should really be on the list. We all know theres no such thing as a LD.

XD XD XD
10-26-2006, 02:19 AM
The Blue Meanie

Quote:

Originally Posted by EVIL

The HTHDIGH method sounds great.
[/b]

:mad:
10-26-2006, 02:28 AM
_Sapphire_Cross_

Now you dunnit Joe...

This method seems like another type of RC to me. Actually, I think this method could be useful for me, since I end up in bizarre places in my dreams.

Quote:

nonono... its obviously the WTF method >:( [/b]

I was thinking the same thing when I saw the topic title.
10-26-2006, 07:28 AM
funkstrman

Quote:

Originally Posted by The

I think Kaluc's referring to the idea that you pay more attention to real-life. For instyance, stop for a moment and listen to the many sounds and background noises, or notice the colours and objects you can see, etc... Just, pay more attention to your surroundings, and contemplate how different they'd be if you were in a dream.
[/b]

Ok that's pretty much what I thought it was. Thanks.
10-26-2006, 08:13 AM
DuB

Quote:

Originally Posted by The

I think Kaluc's referring to the idea that you pay more attention to real-life. For instyance, stop for a moment and listen to the many sounds and background noises, or notice the colours and objects you can see, etc... Just, pay more attention to your surroundings, and contemplate how different they'd be if you were in a dream.
[/b]

Yeah. Here's another way to put it:
You know how when you're walking around in waking life, you're just kind of drifting, perhaps thinking about what you're going to have for lunch, or thinking about the paper you've been writing, etc? In your dreams, however, you're focused. You only worry about what's immediately at hand- the present moment. The idea is to give that kind of attention to your waking life. So basically you treat your waking life as a "waking dream" (as the Dream Yogis call it). Ideally you would do this 24/7.

However, it is still helpful to do "concrete" reality checks, as I call them, in certain situations. Like the ones you described. So combine the two techniques and you should be setting yourself up for success, I think. That what I do anyway :lol:.

BTW, how has it been going so far?
10-26-2006, 08:43 AM
The Blue Meanie

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuB;

BTW, how has it been going so far?
[/b]

Ummm... I started doing this yesterday. Last night, I had two dreams, on of which was very long and very vivid, and I did a number of things and had a number of changes of scenery where I SHOULD have realised I was dreaming. but, I didn't, and I got arrested by the police for walking on a motorway. :?

So: No luck YET, but I'll post in this thread if I have any success.
10-26-2006, 12:34 PM
Xanous

Yeah I do that.
10-28-2006, 07:06 AM
funkstrman

Quote:

BTW, how has it been going so far?[/b]

I was really close to an LD last night. I was at a beach with my parents and there were these kids running around. I found out that they were actually my brother and I when we were toddlers. I looked at my dad and said, "Hey wouldn't it be awesome if you could go back in time and see what you were like as a little kid?" Then I went on and acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. The fact that I was doing that at the time should have been enough to tip me off that I was dreaming.... DUH!?! I missed an opportunity on that one, haha.