What Reality Checks do you use and when?

I talk to people a lot in my dreams, probably because I work in retail. But yeah, I was curious about other peoples reality checks and when they actually perform them so I can take some new strategies. Of course this forum is for anyone looking for new reality checks and times to do them.

My RCs are: look at my hands, try pushing a finger through one of my hands, look at the clock on my phone.

I perform them: when I talk to someone at work very subtlety (every customer) and any time when I think "well that's weird" or "this is weird."

I try to push a finger trough my hands, look at my hands and I flip a pen and try to make it float.

Ah the pen, simple, but that should be effective!

I count my fingers (which has given me most of my DILDs) and i read something and then reread it to see if it reads the same the second time :)

Interesting, you count your fingers? And it works well? Is there any time you choose to do reality checks? And do you count both sets of fingers?

Count my fingers, look at the clock and plug my nose (not in public :cheeky: )

I usually do them at random, or when I notice something weird, or potentially wierd.
I'm really lousy noticing any dream signs though. Everything seems so naturally, perfectly placed, in dreams, so it''s hard to ever question anything :?

The pen thing is a bit risky; say you dream that you look at your pen, but the dream plot steers you into not to be able to make the pen hover?

I use nose-plug and digital watch RC. If possible, I try reading and rereading a text and I pay attention if I am not fabricating the words without distinguishing the letters. My fingers often look normal in my dreams and I can't push my finger through my palm. When you become lucid, do many different RCs to discover what works for you.
I do RCs whenever I remember, about 100 times per day.

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Originally Posted by Ibis

Count my fingers, look at the clock and plug my nose (not in public :cheeky: )

I usually do them at random, or when I notice something weird, or potentially wierd.
I'm really lousy noticing any dream signs though. Everything seems so naturally, perfectly placed, in dreams, so it''s hard to ever question anything :?

The pen thing is a bit risky; say you dream that you look at your pen, but the dream plot steers you into not to be able to make the pen hover?

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I don't know, it might happen, though I've always managed to float them in my few LDs. Then again, I'm a pen spinner, so even if I didn't get it to float I'd recognize it if the pen didn't move as it should.

Moved to General Lucid Discussion

I guess a person can create a unique RC for themselves.

The nose plug RC, it hasn't failed me yet, but I always count my fingers or try sticking one through my palm as a back up.

I do 3 at once.
Look at my hands, Bite my finger and plug my nose.

Might start just doing 2 though.

I've been starting the nose plug, I have a few experiments I would like to try regarding ld-ing

BTW Game of Thrones is awesome

Nose pinch and rubbing hands. I actually tried the nose pinch today.

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Originally Posted by NickCamp

BTW Game of Thrones is awesome

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You got that right :).

Just so we do not go off topic, I had another LD last night, and the nose plug worked as usual :P.

Nice I added the nose plug to my RCs

My reality check is mostly mental - when I feel that is not working, i perform a finger count or nose pinch, but I've never actually had it fail within a dream before. The secondaries are just for reassurance. As for when; I try to keep my mental RC up all day. Constant RC = lucid in no time.

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Originally Posted by fOrceez

As for when; I try to keep my mental RC up all day. Constant RC = lucid in no time.

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Hmm is there a way you can describe this?

Also I've been wondering if my mindset whilst doing my reality checks is in the right place. Is there any tricks you do to get into that mindset?

There is a subtle but very definite feeling of the 'dream world'. When you recall your next few dreams, try and focus on how you felt and how the atmosphere of the dream felt. Not just your emotions, but the feeling of the dream itself. The best mindset would definitely be to question whether you are dreaming or not.
Don't do it half-heartedly. This could lead to false RCs in your dreams which would really not be good at all.

I agree with what fOrceez is saying here, nowadays most of my LDs come from an awareness of how the dream literally feels within my body and everything around me. It's when I catch on to this feeling that I'll do an RC to confirm that I am dreaming :)

During the day the two most common RCs I use are to count my fingers and the nose plug. Both are extremely reliable for me, though I have had the nose plug fail when I haven't been expecting it to work properly. I generally do them any time I see, hear or feel something strange, or just when I feel like it. Whenever I wake up during the night, I also make it a habit to look at my large digital alarm clock and do an RC using that quickly, and this has let me catch many FAs before :)

The key to any RC is to use it to confirm the suspicion that you are dreaming - and relies on you really having the intent that they will work. Really question if you are dreaming every time you do an RC, and take a second to think about where you are, what you've been doing and what's going on around you. Do this, and your RCs will never fail you :)

I usually just bite my tongue when things dont feel real or anytime I wake up just in case of a false awakening. :cloud:

I do the nose plug RC :) I've been doing it for so long it's like second nature to me. I just do it whenever :)

rubbing hands? how does that help you check?

I'm with forceez and Dark_Merlin on this one. My RC is very mental. I take about 30 seconds to stop what I'm doing and search for that surreal "feel." My main physical RC is trying to fly, a willful jump. An RC itself can confirm whether you're dreaming or not, but that peak in awareness is what really makes you lucid. I believe genuine RC's require some mental preparation.

1. Nose pinch
2. Sensing the change in gravity, as I seem to leap around considerable amounts in my dreams. <---- Sounds good in theory, but I rarely realise the change until I wake up. Need to work on it.

Mine is gravity RC, do it all day long.
There is only another one I ever try, which is air-RC and only when its foggy or very windy.

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Originally Posted by Hukif

Mine is gravity RC, do it all day long.
There is only another one I ever try, which is air-RC and only when its foggy or very windy.

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What do you to check it - jump? lol

lmao everyone seems to assume that, not at all. I just check my weight all day long, no need to jump or the like. Can PM a link if you want, but can't post it <.<

Yeah sure, so long as it doesn't involve you literally weighing yourself on electronic scales.

;p

I find that the only reality checks I succeed in remembering are counting my fingers to make sure I have five, checking the time twice to make sure it hasn't, and the usual asking myself if I'm dreaming. I used to be able to attain lucidity all the time with these

Lately I have been using a coin I always have on me as a totem it can be associated with dreaming for me. I'm testing and creating some induction techniques though I've been lacking on my RCs lately.

I always found it strange that it was assumed in Inception that spinning a spinning-top would result in perpetual motion in the dream world. Why would it? But because of that film and its implication, you'll most certainly find it is the case in dreams.

Finger to palm and nose plug, sometimes the clock one.

Fly.

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Originally Posted by Wolfwood

I always found it strange that it was assumed in Inception that spinning a spinning-top would result in perpetual motion in the dream world. Why would it? But because of that film and its implication, you'll most certainly find it is the case in dreams.

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Not to sound naive, but what do you mean exactly?

Last LD I wanted to try the finger through palm method but it didn't work. Nose plug always works for me. Funny thing; in my last LD I wanted to go outside to fly but before I closed the door I did an extra RC just to make sure I was dreaming and not be standing outside in the dark in my PJ and not be able to get back in. :lol:

I do the nose-plug and count my fingers. So far counting my fingers worked once.

However I have a problem with RCs. Firstly, in my normal dreams I am usually the opposite of lucid. By this I mean that I have NO control over anything, no control over my actions, no nothing. So I can't just look at my hands, most of the time. Does anyone have this same problem?

Also, I have only recently started RCing, but when I do RCs, I don't think of them as 'questioning reality', but more as 'checking if I'm in a dream'. Maybe that could help some, especially if your dream world is against you.

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Originally Posted by NickCamp

Not to sound naive, but what do you mean exactly?

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Also I think he means that while in the movie, spinning a spinning-top in a dream would result in it spinning forever, while in a real dream that doesn't necessarily happen. However, if you expect it to spin forever, it most likely will.

Nose-plug (cleverly disguised as just wiping my nose), finger-counting. I check to see if the scars on the back of my hands are still there, and I think back on the previous events of the day to see if it makes sense. I check signs with writing and books if I can, to see if they make any sense in context.

Nose-plug has been my most successful RC; it hasn't failed me yet. I usually try to do a variety though, and make sure to switch around which ones I do to force myself to really think about it and not just do it automatically. I try to include both physical and mental checks, and some are a combination of both. Some of the ones I do commonly are counting my fingers (and then asking myself if that is the number of fingers I usually have), trying to push my hands through walls (this doesn't usually work, even in dreams, but when it does it is usually fun, so I am always hoping it will work), reading a piece of text or digital clock and seeing if it stays the same, looking around me and thinking about if my surroundings make sense, and asking myself questions (who am I? is this who I usually am? where am I? how did I get here? does this explanation make sense? what was I just doing? what was I doing before that? and before that? do these things make sense?).

I am trying to get in the habit of doing a quick nose plug RC every time I wake up or write in my dream journal. Looking at my surroundings would be another good check for these circumstances, as I often don't wake up in my usual bed when I have a false awakening. Seeing if text stays the same is also a great one when I'm in the middle of writing down my dreams. I don't like to get too elaborate with RC's right after I wake up, though, as I'm more concerned about remembering my dreams to write them down. Other than that, I just RC whenever I think about it.

I use the nose plug RC and general awareness almost exclusively. Plugging my nose has never failed me and I even do it in public; who cares what anyone thinks (that's how I roll).

Its a film, a good film but its fake. Films aren't necessarily real and don't represent reality, especially films about dreams. Like how speaking in a German accent means you're German,even though the character is speaking English.

Another example: Theres no air in space yet we can hear an X-Wing flying and shooting a TIE fighter. It's just something for the plot.

I hope I don't sound condescending.

P.S
If you(theoretically) believe that then it will work, like how some light switches work in dreams and some do not.

I believe what you're saying to be true; however, I and i'm sure many, have had light switches not working in dreams from when we've been mere little kids. Well before anyone would say 'light switches don't work'. There is no expectation from anywhere. They just never worked. I'm talking about 15 years ago now.

Sometimes they do work you have to be aware. (I'm not doubting you however) I can only remember handful of dreams from my childhood.

I mainly use the nose pinching reality check. I don't really have a specific time at the moment. About once and hour and whenever I remember too.

I look at my hands throughout the day, any time I'm dreaming and notice my hands they're usually missing a finger or have additional fingers. An easy tell.

The nose plug technique works great for me every time, then I do the old rubbing hands thing and call for clarity to enhance my dream :)