RCs not working

I've been having a lot of dreams lately where reality checks don't work. I've always used the finger through the hand thing and it usually works great, but lately when I try to put my finger through my hand(in a dream) it doesn't work so I think, "oh, I must not be dreaming" and go back into whatever dream I'm having.

It's gotten really bad, like last week I had this dream where I was driving down the road and I saw this bilboard that said "You are dreaming. Do a reality check" in big letters. I do the reality check, and it doesn't work so I just keep driving. I was so pissed when I woke up.

I'm thinking I should start using a new RC. Will that work, or should I try something else? Does anyone have a suggestion for a good reality check.

I suggest doing RCs in pairs. Choose two and then do one of each whenever you RC.

I like to use the one where you pinch your nose, close your mouth, and see if you can breathe. I've had that one "fail" a few times, but I didn't give it long enough. You have to wait until you feel a strong urge to breathe. Then move your lungs like they are filling up with air. If you can breathe you know for sure you are dreaming. I usually use this one in combination with one other.

I also use the finger though the hand thing, biting through my lip, looking at my hands (they tend to look weird in dreams), reading something, or a memory check. A memory check is usually perfect (unless you've just woken up). To do it ask yourself how you got to where you are, what you are doing, and where you are before. If you can run through a whole day's worth of clear memory, then you probably are awake.

Hope this helps!

Thanks, those should help alot. I've been doing that memory thing every once in a while, though I wasn't sure weather it would work because I've never heard much about it. I'm gonna start doing this and the finger through the hand together. Doing them in combination sounds like a really good idea.

THe stuff with hands is what seems not to work anymore. I used to do stuff like look at my hands and focus on things I was carrying because they always used to be weird in dreams. But now they're less weird and I keep tricking myself into thinking I'm awake.

I usually do the "turn and look away at some text RC" I make sure to always turn and look away atleast 4 times and try to make the numbers change.

I've noticed sometimes in my dreams its even hard to make the text change.

Yeah I think this may be a dream control issue. I had a LD a couple of nights ago that when I used a reality check it didn't work, but I knew it was a dream anyways. However, I had no control of that dream. I think that because I had no control, my RC didn't work.

doing multiple reality checks whenver I do them has worked. I had a LD last night. But I closed my eyes in the dream because I was getting distracted bey some noise downstairs, and I wanted to focus. And when I opened them back up it woke me up. Like I actually opened my eyes. It was really weird looking, and it felt like I was still dreaming but with my eyes open for a few seconds.

Pushing a finger through my hand does not work for me even if I'm absolutely sure that I'm dreaming already.

RCs are not failsafe mechanisms. You have to expect that you succeed with whatever is intended by the RC (which actually means that the RC fails), especially when training them awake. It takes a little luck and intuition to make an RC work sometimes, for example using the other hand. That does sound illogical, but that's how it is.

Never tried the finger through the hand one. . . I'll have to try that out.

Breathing with my nose plugged and mouth closed has always worked for me. It's definately been the most reliable one I've come across.