Thread: Counting fingers impossible?

I've reports of many people counting 5 fingers during a dream. I counted 6 many times. Counting fingers is indeed possible, so is reading, turning light switches on, among other things.

Remember, everyone has an unique dream world. What applies to one person may not necessarily apply to other, so in these specific situations, go with your own experience

Actually you can count while dreaming....but in many instances numbers change when observed.

I don't want you to get the wrong idea and think there are higher levels of lucidity like there are higher social rankings. I find that experience tends to make lucid dreams more vivid and more stable, and that's what contributes to your ability to handle things like counting easier.

The thing about reality checks is that they are....a guideline, means to reach a lucid dream, but they aren't the same for everyone. Some people will be able to count their fingers properly and some can't. Some people will be able to push their fingers through their hand or pinch their nose and breathe while others won't.

The best thing to do is find a RC that works for you. For more info, check out: Dream Signs and Recall

Personally I find it a weak reality check, mainly because it has never worked for me.
However that doesn't mean it doesn't work for other. The reality check like all other relies on the constantly changing nature of dream and it will help you spot the subtle deviations. In fact sometimes you will actually become lucid before even counting your fingers just by looking at your hand.
The failure rate of the counting finger check is likely to be just as high as any other reality check.

For me, the hand RC doesn't really consist of counting the fingers, but just looking at my hands. Most of the time, I'll either have more or less fingers, or just half-fingers or holes in the palm of the hand.

Originally Posted by TruMotion

For me, the hand RC doesn't really consist of counting the fingers, but just looking at my hands. Most of the time, I'll either have more or less fingers, or just half-fingers or holes in the palm of the hand.

Same here lol. Looking at my hands is actually my most effective tool both for reality checking, and increasing vividness and stability. Normally when I look at them the most profound effect is the notion that there's some sort of image altering glass that makes the hand look really weird.

To start off, it's not impossible to count in a dream though it can be difficult at times. The reason some lucid dreamers look at their hands for their reality check is because usually our hands have too many fingers, too few fingers, or simply look weird in our dreams. That said, it is is also very possible to have completely normal looking hands in your dreams, it's just unlikely.
We lucid dreamers try to take advantage of this unlikelihood by looking for any abnormalities on our hands and fingers whenever we can. However, because it is also possible to have normal looking hands in your dreams it's always best to have a backup reality check in case your first one fails (everyone should have a backup reality check no matter what their first one is).

Originally Posted by Dark Passenger

Many say that this RC works because you can't count while dreaming. Is this also true when you reach higher layers of lucidity?

This counting fingers RC works, not because you can't count in lucids, but because you will count a different number of fingers than you have in waking life. Or they will be distorted somehow. But even if they look normal, it's not really the RC that will get you lucid. It's the question you ask yourself and the belief you have before you RC in WL.

And that question/belief is "wow, am I dreaming? This could be a dream". This belief will then happen in your regular dream and either you will realize you are dreaming, or RC will help you realize that, or just confirm.

And it is possible to count in LDs, and even read text that could even make sense. Just when you look away and back again, same text will look different.