Thread: What is a good reality check... I mean really.

I use the checking hands method mainly.

Plug your nose and try to breathe. If you can then you're dreaming.

That one has got me lucid many times.

Originally Posted by Sentaku

Plug your nose and try to breathe. If you can then you're dreaming.

That one has got me lucid many times.

I never quite get that one because if your lips are slightly parted then you can still breathe I know it would be the last thing I'd be thinking about if I became lucid - "oh, are my lips closed or not?" lol

Or............. maybe I'm just weird

Originally Posted by Enlightenment

I never quite get that one because if your lips are slightly parted then you can still breathe

Not if you do it right. Having your mouth open or closed should not affect it at all.

Originally Posted by Mzzkc

Not if you do it right. Having your mouth open or closed should not affect it at all.

No matter how hard I pinch or plug my nose I can still breathe if my mouth is open as I just breathe through my mouth lol.

lol it's not about breathing through your mouth....just hold on to your nose and blow....normally your ears will pop or something...in a dream you just blow. You can have your mouth wide open and still do the RC. You just need to make sure you blow like you're clearing the pressure in your head.

oh back on topic....maybe if you had a keychain with something written on it.

Originally Posted by Psylis

lol it's not about breathing through your mouth....just hold on to your nose and blow....normally your ears will pop or something...in a dream you just blow. You can have your mouth wide open and still do the RC. You just need to make sure you blow like you're clearing the pressure in your head.

Argh OK, my bad lol I thought it was about breathing lol. No wonder it never used to work for me

Anyway, my favourite method is definitely checking my hands.

Originally Posted by Sentaku

Plug your nose and try to breathe. If you can then you're dreaming.

That one has got me lucid many times.

This one never fails i check my reality every time with it and it always works.

Originally Posted by Sentaku

Plug your nose and try to breathe. If you can then you're dreaming.

That one has got me lucid many times.

This is what I've been doing the last couple months. I don't really like the finger through the palm one even though it's given me my best lucid. I can still RC with the nose in bed and not wake up like I would with the palm and finger.



As for looking weird in public plugging your nose... It's a lot easier to be casual about gently plugging your nose vs. looking visibly at your hand and poking your palm. :p Besides who cares if some one asks you what your doing or even tells you they do RC's too!

Every single time I find the plugging your nose and trying to breathe is the most efficient. I've heard your breathing in LDs corresponds with your real body's breathing, so its a pretty surefire test.

I tried the one with counting my fingers, but....
I still had 5 fingers, except my hand was gnarled and ghastly with deep grooves.

Trust me RCs are important for catching False Awakenings.
My first WILD I only caught because I did a routine nose check like I usually do after waking. I thought I'd just woken up from Sleep Paralysis. That is why RCs are important. You'll miss out of a lot of Lucids otherwise.

I use my watch as a reality check. It's digital and if I'm in a dream the face rarely shows actual numbers, and the one time there were numbers it was something like 38:23.

Another reality check I like, although it is a bit more work, is just to look around and think about what you're seeing, see what doesn't make sense.