What to say to yourself after a reality check ?

[lucidstruggler]

I don't bother making new threads since this website feels like a ghost town most of the time, but I need to ask one thing. What should I tell myself after I do a reality check ? Some people say tell yourself you are dreaming, some say to say you're not dreaming, others say use a mantra. I'm on the fence about this one. The way I do my reality check is by becoming aware of my surroundings first (using KingYoshi's ADA technique), then I do the reality check and tell myself "The next time I'm dreaming I'll realize I'm dreaming". I'm not a fan of mantras though. Any ideas ? Edit: Almost forgot, have you ever did a reality check where you couldn't come to a conclusion ? Like you know you're awake, but you just can't be too sure or convince your mind that you are ? Sorry if it doesn't seem to make sense lol.

[Zoth]

The best thing to say is: or even: Serious reply: Some people say tell yourself you are dreaming, some say to say you're not dreaming, others say use a mantra. The first one can actually be considered a mantra: even if it has a literal meaning, it's being used to ascertain a specific message with a psychological power. In the end, it doesn't matter what you say: the exercise itself (and not the action!) is the most important part of the habit. It's not what you do, it's the fact that you're actually evaluating your state. In this perspective, repeating a sentence is actually counter-productive if it contributes to a mechanical way of reality checking. For me, reality checking is so much more about feeling. Watch the first 6 seconds: "I guess I thought the dream-space would be all about the visual, but it's more about the feeling." And that's what you want to encourage with a reality check: you're seeking a disturbance on your state. Dreams can be extremely mundane at times, so you want the feeling that you're dreaming, regardless if your hand still has 5 fingers or the person next to you is telling you that you're dreaming.

[Hukif]

What zoth said. What you "say" is not as important as what you "do" or "understand" from the action; a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that saying = understanding, and so false-lucidity came onto being. Even if you say out loud "I am dreaming" if you can't understand its meaning then it is useless.

[SnorlaxDreamer]

I usually look at my fingers, count them from one to five, and if I have five, I think to myself (or tell myself with a hussed voice): "I'm not dreaming". What happens when I look at my fingers in my dreams, is that I usually have around 8-9 fingers on one hand. When I've counted them I instantly know I'm dreaming, and tell myself I'm dreaming. The key part is to really believe that you are dreaming until you have checked for yourself. Heck, you might even start to question if you actually are dreaming even when you've checked your hand and told yourself (as well as understood) that you are not dreaming.

[lucidstruggler]

The best thing to say is: or even: Serious reply: The first one can actually be considered a mantra: even if it has a literal meaning, it's being used to ascertain a specific message with a psychological power. In the end, it doesn't matter what you say: the exercise itself (and not the action!) is the most important part of the habit. It's not what you do, it's the fact that you're actually evaluating your state. In this perspective, repeating a sentence is actually counter-productive if it contributes to a mechanical way of reality checking. For me, reality checking is so much more about feeling. Watch the first 6 seconds: "I guess I thought the dream-space would be all about the visual, but it's more about the feeling." And that's what you want to encourage with a reality check: you're seeking a disturbance on your state. Dreams can be extremely mundane at times, so you want the feeling that you're dreaming, regardless if your hand still has 5 fingers or the person next to you is telling you that you're dreaming. I don't even need to click the link to know where that quote came from lol. Inception is one of my favorites, as I'm sure it is for a lot of lucid dreamers Actually just watched it again yesterday, so that quote is still fresh in my mind. I understand it's more about the feeling, which is why I'm trying to get that feeling back. I've only had 3 or 4 LD's up until now, but that's because I never put in the effort. Did you see the edit I made at the end ? Have you ever experienced that ?

[lucidstruggler]

Lol look at the question in my edit. Usually I'll do the RC and pass it but can't convince my mind that I'm awake even though I know for a fact that I am. Any idea why that is ?

[Zoth]

Almost forgot, have you ever did a reality check where you couldn't come to a conclusion ? Like you know you're awake, but you just can't be too sure or convince your mind that you are ? Sorry if it doesn't seem to make sense lol. Most people tend to complain the other way around Skepticism towards your state is not a bad thing, because it forces you to maintain awareness throughout longer periods of time (as opposed to immediately accept the outcome of your reality check). Actually, continued skepticism is also a factor that draws the line between high and médium lucid dreaming frequencies: at some point, awareness is always in the background, and the paradigms shifts away from "reality check" to "awareness of state". If you think about it, that's all it is: a reality check is nothing but a basic step towards a state of awareness - you start with conscious/intentional/specific exercises until they become habits integrated in your unconscious behavior. I've only had 3 or 4 LD's up until now, but that's because I never put in the effort. One thing to consider: Just like Cob's totem (which wasn't the spinning object we kept seeing throughout the whole movie), the key for LDing is also hiding in the plain sight: time and consistence

[lucidstruggler]

Hey Zoth got one more question. I've been trying out ADA for about 3 days now. Today I had a dream where I was conscious but it was in the back of my head. I felt like I could've chosen to go lucid but I didn't do it. Am I making progress ?