Hello, I am Shingles, I am 22 years old and rather new to lucid dreaming.
I have been keeping a dream journal for a little under three weeks. I have also been performing reality checks regularly over that time. Over the past week I have begun performing reality checks in line with random prospective memory targets that I set in the morning (e.g. when I see a motorcycle). Over the past three weeks my dream recall has improved. I went from one dream per night to now two or three.
I am yet to have a lucid dream. I have, however, twice performed a reality check while dreaming. The first time was three days after I started doing RCs. I had up until that point been doing RCs without really questioning whether I was dreaming. Accordingly when I performed it in the dream I didn't really question my reality. Lessen learned, I now am very aware while doing RCs. The second time was last night. I counted my fingers and counted 7, realized that 7 was weird and instantly woke up.
Is it normal to wake up right after failing a reality check? I am very worried about this because it feels like a missed an opportunity to have my first LD.
Other than that, it seems worth noting that I have aphantasia, that is to say that I completely lack any visual imagination. I also generally have difficultly falling asleep, with it often taking between 30 mins and an hour of laying in bed.
Thanks in Advance,
Shingles