Reality checks are not helping?!

**chelle** · 04-02-2014 01:08 AM

It's happened two nights in a row that I would perform more than one reality check within the dream, and it would work, but I wouldn't become lucid

[Last night] I looked at the time more than twice and it changed every time so then I knew that I was dreaming, and I rubbed my hands together to increase awareness, but I didn't become lucid, and I didn't really care that I was dreaming for some reason

[Previous night] I fell asleep in a bed within the dream and performed a WILD, and then I rolled over thinking I was lucid and then I opened my eyes within the dream, and I couldn't tell whether I was dreaming or not, so I checked the time which kept changing but for some reason I didn't become lucid, although I knew that I was dreaming.

Either these things will happen or I will wake up naturally once I realize I'm dreaming (without getting that rush of becoming lucid)

Anyone know how to troubleshoot this?

**sparkley** · 04-02-2014 02:45 AM

You need to do Awareness. The one where you rub your hands is a stabilization thing, making your dream more clear. Awareness is the main thing that gets you lucid. Just be aware every once in awhile everyday, in a dream everything seems normal so doing a RC is normal in it. Awareness helps you notice things in dreams.

**Valdast94** · 04-02-2014 08:31 AM

Like sparkley said, you lack awareness. Doing mindless RC's throughout the day will only serve one purpose: doing them mindlessly in your dreams!

I'll share with you a trick that I've been trying for a couple of days and it seems to work well (I interrupted a dry spell and had a wonderful DILD): first be aware, then do RC's. To do so, throughout the day, instead of doing RC's, first tell yourself "I'm aware/present right now in this world", thus not questioning whether you are dreaming or not. Take some time to observe the environment, how you feel, what is happening around you etc THEN, ask yourself "Am I in the waking world or in the dream world?" and do some RC's. The trick is that when you ask yourself the second question you are ALREADY aware

**AstralMango** · 04-02-2014 09:02 AM

Hi there!

As others have said above me, you need awareness. Awareness is usually what gets people lucid; RCs just confirm you're dreaming. Here are a couple of helpful links:

Puffin's DILD Guide - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views
http://www.dreamviews.com/induction-...kingyoshi.html

**OneUp** · 04-02-2014 04:06 PM

yes!! All day Awareness and/or Self Awareness! they will never let you down!

**Lucidordie** · 04-02-2014 05:59 PM

All Day awareness guide < - How I got lucid without performing a RC

**chelle** · 04-04-2014 04:58 AM

thanks sugarplums- I've been meditating and practicing self-awareness/ADA for most of the day, hopefully it'll work for tonight or the next!

**Screen** · 04-04-2014 11:11 AM

There's no guarantee. Reality checks confirm lucidity, but they aren't great at inducing it. Honestly, it's a flawed method that works better for some than others. Why? It has too many opportunities to fail. First, you have to notice a dream sign. Then you have to perform an RC. Finally, it has to be successful--since you're not lucid until that final step, sometimes your mind will rationalize anomalies. And there's no guarantee any of these chances will appear in your dream. Not trying to make it sound hopeless, only saying that your frustration isn't unwarranted, and not entirely your fault.

All reality checks do (while we're awake) is to form a habit that will hopefully transfer into our dreams and make us a lucid. But that's only part of the equation. I'd explore other methods alongside this one to see which you have the most success in. Personally, I go with the wake back to bed methods.

**FryingMan** · 04-04-2014 01:22 PM

The best thing is to have a really big bag-o-tricks to get that little nudge into lucidity. Yes, (self) awareness and memory are key. But RCs help too. Even if you only get 2 out of 50 or less LDs from the RC leading the awareness instead of the other way around (which is most often for me, too), wouldn't you rather have those 2 than NOT having them? Lucid is lucid, take them where you can. And RCs can save lucids as well. You should make the RC (+ raised self-awareness) a reflex to just about anything out of the ordinary, any time anything grabs your attention. I do a lot of RCs (many dozen nose plugs a day easily) and have never done a RC-and-forget in a dream yet. I've gotten lucid just once out of 29 LDs from a "that's weird, <reflex RC>, oh, I'm dreaming" moment. But several "I might be dreamings" have been cemented into lucidity with the RC, and at least one (really good) LD was saved and prolonged with the RC (nose pinch all the way). If you have your RC as a quick reflex, you don't lose precious dream time thinking what to do and fading to awake.