The other purpose of reality checks

**Dogod** · 07-01-2010 02:24 AM

I've so far had 4 lucid dreams. All of these have been DILDS. None of these dreams have been the result of doing a reality check (and 3 of them have been after I lapsed on my DJ). In fact, around six weeks before any of these, I had a dream in which I did do a reality check, and because of it I didn't become lucid (It was because I was woken up. If I had just realized I was dreaming, rather than take the time to do a reality check, I would have had my first lucid six weeks earlier.).
So, the purpose of this thread. For me, since around halfway through May, my reality checks have been almost the only time I've thought about lucid dreaming at all. This means that the only reason I haven't entirely forgotten the subject (for a time) is because I've been consistently reality checking around ten times or more per day. They serve as a reminder, and they get me thinking about the subject more.
Does anybody else use reality checks as only a reminder? Or am I alone in this use? (and please don't criticize it as a horrible method, since it's the only method in three years that's worked for me.)

**lucidreamsavy** · 07-01-2010 02:52 AM

This is a good idea, if for any reason you leave DV-which means you can stop thinking about LDing less and less. So, I use DV as my thoughts of LDing. I've been thinking about a particular scenario in bed lately, that I'm working on in my dreams (LD's)...

**Dogod** · 07-01-2010 06:47 AM

I don't expect to be leaving DV anytime soon, but since I've lapsed in thinking about LDing at all otherwise, and since I've never had a DILD starting from a reality check failing, the reality checks serve a perfect role - just not the one most people would expect it to serve.
If I do at some point in the future RC in a dream and become lucid, that would be more of a bonus than anything else.

**GestaltAlteration** · 07-01-2010 07:03 AM

Reality checks have rarely worked for me as a means of mimicking the same check in dreams and spurring lucidity. It does do wonders, as stated here, by subconsciously buttressing one's ability to differentiate reality from dream. A reminder to the mind. In either case I believe it's a healthy practice to maintain in moderation.