Thread: Reality checks

I'm new to all this and wonder how it helps you to get into a lucid dream?

I know ofc you will use it to see if you are in a dream but I mean how is it useful to become lucid.

If you do rc with watches, will it in a dream realize it's blurry and then get lucid?

And how does dream journal help?

And how should I react in my first lucid dream?

Just need some better understanding for this so I can get better result.

RCs
I'm new to all this and wonder how it helps you to get into a lucid dream?

I know ofc you will use it to see if you are in a dream but I mean how is it useful to become lucid.

That's a great question.

Reality checks by themself don't get you lucid. What gets you lucid is you questioning your reality in a regular dream by asking yourself a question "Am I dreaming?"
To do this, you must train your mind to ask that question by you questioning your reality in waking life. This habit will then start to appear in your dreams.

This is one way how to question your reality and do a RC:
This is from article Collection of techniques for DILD


Ask yourself a question "Wow, am I dreaming?" that jolts your attention and makes you stop doing whatever you doing. For a moment, entertain the idea, that you are sure this is a dream or false awakening and feel the excitement in the pit of your stomach. Just pretend, that you have had a lucid dream before that was indistinguishable from waking reality, so this moment could also be a dream and you don't know for sure until you RC. Really consider the answer. Don't just automatically answer "Of course I'm not".

Look around and notice details. Look at your hands and count your fingers. Do you have the right amount? Do they look normal? Do a reality check. Try to gently push your thumb through your palm and expect it to go through. Is it going through? Pinch your nose and expect to be able to breathe. Can you? Can you levitate? If not, tell yourself "Next time I'm dreaming, I look at my hands and realize I'm dreaming". Repeat this mantra a few times while looking at your hands.
Pretty soon, this behavior will start manifesting itself in your dreams and you'll be asking yourself if you dreaming, while in regular dream. That will make you lucid. You will do a couple of RCs to make sure.

If you do rc with watches, will it in a dream realize it's blurry and then get lucid?

RCs are used to confirm, that you are lucid, after you already suspect so. Reading any text (including time on a watch) may/may not be tricky in a lucid dream. The text may look ok at first glance, but when you look away and back, it will most likely change to something else.

The sequence of becoming lucid and doing an RC is usually really fast, so sometimes it feels like RC gets you lucid. When in fact, first you become lucid because of your mantras and daytime awareness training and then you do a quick RC to confirm that you are in a dream.

Some of the best RCs based on ease of practice in a dream and success rate:

1. Looking at hands + Counting fingers Very reliable
2. Nose plug Very reliable
3. Thumb/palm Very reliable
4. Gravity Very reliable
5. Switches Less reliable
6. Reading Less reliable

1. In Waking Life (IWL) Look at your hands, palms up and notice details. Count your fingers. In dream, look at your hands. Do they look normal (color, shape, size, can you make your finger longer?) Count your fingers. Do you have the right amount? This is a good RC, because your hands are always there, IWL and in a dream and you can practice this discretely.

2. IWL - pinch your nose shut with your hand and try to breathe. If you can breathe, you are in a dream. Also a good RC, because your nose is always there, little less discrete to practice.

3. IWL - Try to gently push your thumb through a palm of your other hand. Pay attention to the sensation. Anticipate, that it will go through. In dream, do the same. If it goes through, you are dreaming. Good RC also because you don't have to go and look for them and quite discrete to practice.

4. IWL - Say, "If this was a dream, I could levitate" and expect to float up. Do the same in a dream. Good RC, you can do it anywhere and totally discrete.

5. Try to turn on a light switch. In a dream, flipping a switch usually won't do anything. But people do report that they can turn on lights in a dream. And if there is no light switch near in a dream, you would have to look for one and waste your time.

6. Try to read. In a dream, you can read, but when you take a second look, it will say something different, or gibberish. Also time on a clock may have letters instead of numbers. But it can also look correct. And you have to find a clock in a dream before you can do RC.

And how does dream journal help?

Writing in your DJ and thinking about your dreams tells your mind, that dreaming and remembering your dreams is important to you and it will help you achieve both. When you remember something, say thanks to your mind for your dream and for remembering it.

More about DJs in article I linked above.

And how should I react in my first lucid dream?

First of all, try to stay calm. That's easier said than done, because it can get mighty exciting.

For a few first lucids, just take it easy. Look around, take in the sights. Touch, feel, smell, taste whatever you find. Keep walking. Talk to dream characters.

Please ask, if there is anything else. Happy dreams