Thread: Inception totem

In the movie Inception the characters have "totems" that they use to see if their dreaming because that act differently in a dream

A top that never stops spinning or loaded dice are two of the totems in the movie

what would you have as a totem and how would it act in a dream? Do you think this could be a new form of reality checking?

I haven't seen the movie yet, but what you describe just sounds like dream signs.

Totems only worked in the movie when they entered someone's else's dream.

Having a totem like the top defeats the purpose of knowing if you're awake or asleep in your own dreams because your subconscious will make the top fall even when you're sleeping.

It works in the film because they are entering other peoples dreams. And other people won't understand how other totems work. It's a cool idea but I don't think it'd apply in real life. Because your subconscious would understand how your totem work and that would render it unreliable.

It could work, but the opposite way.

Take something that you haven't a clue how it works. Then when dreaming and it's there, see if it starts working. You know dreams have a funny way of doing things like that.

but if you think it will work ex. not stop spinning wont it do as you think it will
Don't take the laws from the movie word for word, take them then expand on their idea

I think a totem could work if you use it as a reality check

In this case you need a totem that has enough details for you to double check. Every time you stare/touch your totem you should as though you were examining it for the first time. It should be small enough for you to carry with you. Or, you could just use your totem when you're sleeping to help you with false awakenings. In that case you'd have to thoroughly examine your totem before you sleep and every time you wake up.

Don't expect your totem to magically work different in a dream, just use it as a tool to reality check.

I loved the film and definately think a totem could work. I've made an origami crane out of a bit of magazine page and then weighted the body and the wings of it with coins placed inside the folds. Hopefully through holding it and observing it enough in waking life, i'll look for it in a dream. As soon as i notice that the writing on its changed or its weight is altered that should take me into a lucid state, i think these could make good reality checks as long you observe its behaviour enough, i think the writing on it will help because this often changes from one moment to another in a dream. I only made it yesterday but i'll hopefully look for it in a dream and see results.
Its a cool concept and a brilliant film!

I think it actually (almost) worked for me last night. Ever since I saw Inception, I've been carrying around this small rock with RC (Reality Check) carved into one side and GC (my initials) carved into the other. I can't remember it that well, but I do remember pulling the rock out of my pocket and looking at it in a dream last night. However... whether or not I actually gained lucidity I can't remember.

I placed a penny below my pillow last night while falling asleep and told myself that I would dream about the penny and realize I was dreaming. In my dream, I met a guy and a girl who told me they dreamed that I had put a penny under my pillow. I remember thinking how funny it was that other people dreamed about the penny instead of me. I failed to realize I was dreaming.

I used to wear blue rubber bands around my wrist all the time. As my "totem" they worked pretty good, because if I was dreaming, I would look at my wrists and they wouldn't be there.

People use digital watches like that, I heard of someone only starting to wear a digital watch so that he could use it as a RC.

So I saw something today at It's Your Move that I went ahead and bought because it might actually work as a reality check. It's these buzzing magnet things that are basically two pill-like metal ovals with magnets inside that always line up the same way no matter how you try to spin or position them, and when they meet while you are holding them they make a very distinct sound but when they meet on a surface without being held they make a completely different but very distinct sound. I figure something that behaves so "magically" but also so consistently in so many different ways and something that is heavy-enough to always be felt in a pocket (constantly aware of it's presence or lack thereof) but completely innocuous and portable might the be the best tool see if things are behaving strangely. I figure that basic idea behind a reality check is that you are trying to catch your brain getting something wrong so you can catch it dreaming, and this would provide more opportunities for that. Really like the totem.

Originally Posted by Lshem16

It's these buzzing magnet things that are basically two pill-like metal ovals with magnets inside that always line up the same way no matter how you try to spin or position them, and when they meet while you are holding them they make a very distinct sound but when they meet on a surface without being held they make a completely different but very distinct sound.

I have a set of these and a couple nights ago I was in a dream and saw these on a table. It was like a gift from my subconscious, I remembered this thread and immediately became lucid.

I know thats not how totems work and I'm not going to use them as a totem but it was still great becoming lucid and it shows that just browsing DV helps

Yes, but you won't always have the totem on you; it's just the nature of dreams. As you wear different clothes in dreams and end up in different locations, you won't always have the same items on you. You'd have to summon it like a DC or pull it from a pocket, which can be difficult for beginners at dream control. A simple nose-plug or finger-count reality check is twice as effective.

Originally Posted by Puffin

Yes, but you won't always have the totem on you; it's just the nature of dreams. As you wear different clothes in dreams and end up in different locations, you won't always have the same items on you. You'd have to summon it like a DC or pull it from a pocket, which can be difficult for beginners at dream control. A simple nose-plug or finger-count reality check is twice as effective.

I have to agree with Puffin. You always have your hands with you(lmao) but your totem might not be in your dreams that often.

Your mind could trick you too well with a totem...
You would always wake up and figure that your totem RC didn't work.
Find your own RC but be sure to have effective ones.

A "totem" could work. I liked the idea of it when I saw the movie. But of course.... It's going to work nothing like it does in the movie... It just won't. In order for a "totem" to work for us, it would, like everyone else said, have to be a reality check. It needs to be something very specific and something that you see very often.

I have a dice that has my name on it. I used to carry this around and look at it while I did my reality checks. In my dreams, when I saw this die I would begin to examine it. Sometimes it didn't have my name on it. Sometimes it had the wrong numbers on it, wrong color. Anything like that.

If you have something very specific like this. Use it as a reality check. It works great.

Does anyone have any ideas for what might make a good totem?

Carrying something around with you to remind you of lucid dreaming is a cool idea. Every time you feel it in your pocket, or see it in your purse, you could reality check. Obviously, it couldn't work exactly like the movie version. It would be cool if it did something mechanical, though. Something like the wristwatch reality check.

Right now, I'm thinking of a plain necklace with a something hanging from it. I can't decide what, though...

Originally Posted by Robot_Butler

Carrying something around with you to remind you of lucid dreaming is a cool idea. Every time you feel it in your pocket, or see it in your purse, you could reality check.

This is exactly what I was thinking. I have a habit of putting my hands in my pockets (which are often empty) a lot - maybe I could put something special in there and reality check whenever I touch it.

Originally Posted by Robot_Butler

Carrying something around with you to remind you of lucid dreaming is a cool idea. Every time you feel it in your pocket, or see it in your purse, you could reality check. Obviously, it couldn't work exactly like the movie version. It would be cool if it did something mechanical, though. Something like the wristwatch reality check.

this is exactly what i was thinking. Maybe it would act the same way as in a dream, but couldn't it be a reminder to check if you're dreaming. This, i see the practicality of.

The "Totem" is actually a rather good idea however the way it works in the movie and the way it would actually work in a dream are different. I think the best "totems" are digital watches, watches in general, something that works in reality, but has a very different effect/appearance in a dream.

For instance digital watches will never read the same time twice in a dream or even read out numbers same goes for a watch. Or a piece of paper with something written on which you observe in reality, will not read the same or might not even be eligible. If you choose to go this route you should take these things into consideration.

I made a necklace with a bullet caseing that I carved numbers my name and "READ ME" on the side of, I haven't had it long enough to make it a very effective reality check but I hope later on it might be a little bit helpful