Need a very discreet, reliable reality check

I don't do a lot of reality checks during the day, but I am very consistent in performing them whenever something strange/unusual/unexpected happens, as well as whenever I see a dream sign.

One situation that I haven't been able to cover is this:

In dreams, my singing voice and technique is dramatically improved.

In waking life I sing in a choir, and as a soloist in front of the choir. I would like to be able to do a reality check whenever something causes me to hit the "sweet spot" where my tone is suddenly better than expected. Or if I'm suddenly able to hit a difficult note with less effort than I'm used to.

I sing either facing the choir or an audience, so everyone is looking directly at me. How do I RC without anyone noticing? It has to be something that can't be seen, and also something that doesn't require an awful lot of thought, because the really good stuff tends to happen during improvisation, which requires a lot of focus.

Any ideas?

Oh yeah, a great one.

Think to yourself "If this was a dream, I would levitate" and honestly try to take off and expect to take off.

Or try to change something "If this was a dream, that person would be a bunny". Or anything like that. Just don't start laughing. That will ruin your cover. :alien:

Mostly, I wish things to fly up in the air all by themselves. They do this very neatly in dreams, but in physical reality they stay put. In one of my first LD's a lot of potatos were scattered on the kitchen floor; I wished one of them to fly up in my hand, and it did! Lucid right there! :D

Thank you! I'm not sure if I could handle the possibility of turning someone into a bunny. The mere thought might send me into an embarrassing giggle loop. I will try the levitation technique. I can quite easily work a little "lifting" hand motion into my performance without anyone suspecting anything weird.

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Originally Posted by Sibyline

Thank you! I'm not sure if I could handle the possibility of turning someone into a bunny. The mere thought might send me into an embarrassing giggle loop. I will try the levitation technique. I can quite easily work a little "lifting" hand motion into my performance without anyone suspecting anything weird.

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Lol, yeah, I thought that. Bunny was just an example. You can try changing color of walls, style of chairs, wall painting into depicting something else, ...

As for the hand motion - you can try that. Or just push gently with your feet while you standing, or lift your sholders. This movement can be so small, it's unnoticable.

whenever your singing and hit the sweet spot, raise your hands up. if you can feel your hands raising, its real, if they just pop up in front of you, your in a dream.

Great tip, thanks! I'll be singing for a couple of hours tomorrow, and then I have a big gig with solo and improvisation next Thursday, so I hope to have the opportunity to get used to testing it while awake.

Gab's suggestions are great, you can also make finger/thumb though palm, and even nose-plug (I make it looks like I'm rubbing my nose, unusual but not eccentric... I hope!) discreet.

Even if it were discreet, plugging my nose is not an option while singing. ;)

True... Go with gravity RC, I say then.

I'm not sure whether this would require too much thought, but I have a subtle reality check that I like. I try to recall how I got to where I am and demand proof that it makes any sense.

It's quick, very subtle, and immediately engages your critical thinking (which is great for becoming lucid.) The one downside is that you do have to think for just a moment. If I had any singing talent, I could try to tell you whether or not this is a problem. :)

Good luck! And that's an awesome dream sign, by the way. LD singing is even better than shower singing. :chuckle:

^ one of the best things to do generally, regardless of subtlety.

Has anyone tried checking out shadows as a RC? :) It is one of the things to do on my long to do during LD list, but it may take some time before I get to actually do it. It will be really cool to see if there are shadows in dreamworld and whether they exhibit any strange properties different from real life. It think it is a pretty discreet check too. :P

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Originally Posted by NyxCC

Has anyone tried checking out shadows as a RC? :) It is one of the things to do on my long to do during LD list, but it may take some time before I get to actually do it. It will be really cool to see if there are shadows in dreamworld and whether they exhibit any strange properties different from real life. It think it is a pretty discreet check too. :P

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Cool idea! You know what's funny? I have only noticed shadows at all during lucid dreams, at least as far as I can recall. My best recollection is that they looked pretty much right but I didn't scrutinize them.

I even had one lucid dream where I was hiding by moving from shadow to shadow. I wish that I'd looked at my hands or something while I was in shadow to see whether they were changed in any way. I will try to pay attention to this more.

Certainly if you can make your shadow get up off the floor and follow you around, chances are you're dreaming. :)

a good reality check for you would be if your wearing clothes.... i heard lots of people who sing/perform in front of live audiences have fears they are naked.

Things like the feeling of gravity, temperature, ambient noise and shadows are lacking in most of my dreams. But that's getting into ADA territory.

also a couple of other reality checks.. one is to imagine a set of numbers or look at something with numbers... look away, then look back. the number will probably be different. you can also talk to someone who has passed away or that you've never talked to before like a celebrity.. if you're talking to them, you're in a dream!