How to recognize transition and false awakening?

Lately I’ve been trying SSILD with DEILD. I will sleep for amount of hours, wake up for WBTB and go back using anchor. When I do this on my back and transition happens I will mostly get HI’s and other sensations and I will know and be aware that I will soon get in dream. But since its very unconfortable, hard to fall asleep and leaves me tired when I try to do this on my back I am using my normal sleep position.

My problem with normal sleep position is that i very very rarely get any sensations when transition happens and end up in false awakening. I will start it and I will either fall asleep or blackout and wake up for real or be in false awakening laying in my bed, which happens all the time. I try to do nose plug RC most of the time and catch these false awakenings, but I want to learn to recognize when transition is happening or I am in false awakening so i wont have to move and disturb my trance or progress.


I am in need to find a way, sensation or anything that will allow me know without having to move and do nose plug reality check that transition is happening or has happened or that I am in false awakening.

Do you focus on other senses too or just visual HI? There very well may be some other changes that indicate you're in a dream that you can recognize without having to move to perform an RC, like your sheets feeling different or a new sound that wasn't there that night. You could also try to use dream control as a RC, one that doesn't require movement; something like trying to levitate above your bed without moving your body. I'm assuming you have some lucid experiences with flying/levitating in this case.

For my transitions it's usually something very small, often not perceptible to the usual 5 senses. By this I mean the room takes on a different feeling, like I "know" it's a dream. You ever notice how, when you first notice something off in a dream but haven't performed a RC, you already know, a little bit, that it's a dream? This knowledge of what the dream feels like and how it's different is an invaluable tool that you can use to recognize your transition, especially once it's complete. The only way that I can think of to train this feeling and recognize it is to have more lucid dreams, so practice!

Quick question from me to anyone reading this: the nose plug RC works because, despite you closing off your nose you can still breathe. What about just closing your epiglottis? (the little flap that stops food/drinks from going into your lungs) This is basically an internal form of this RC that doesn't require any obvious physical movement and could be a "motionless" RC for events such as these.

Wear a sleep mask. The reality check is to simply become aware of your vision. If you can see anything, you are dreaming or hallucinating. No movement necessary and works in any position.

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Originally Posted by Burke

Quick question from me to anyone reading this: the nose plug RC works because, despite you closing off your nose you can still breathe. What about just closing your epiglottis? (the little flap that stops food/drinks from going into your lungs) This is basically an internal form of this RC that doesn't require any obvious physical movement and could be a "motionless" RC for events such as these.

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I do this epiglottis check periodically, but I have never once tried it in a dream (or, it has always only indicated 'awake').

Part of the problem of FAs is the sense of "giving up" that results in losing lucidity -- "yeah, that was a great dream, and here I am 'awake' ". Instead, try to rehearse catching FAs and transitions when you're awake: imagine a lucid dream scene "ending" and you maintain your awareness and critical faculty and do an RC or just "know" that you're still dreaming.

I would get used to the sensation of a dream ending, and use that time to remind yourself that "the next thing I see will probably be a dream." That will build the habit, like FM is saying, to perform reality checks (or better, just maintain awareness) after the "end" of a dream--whether it's a true awakening (and good DEILD situation) or just an FA.

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Originally Posted by sisyphus

Wear a sleep mask. The reality check is to simply become aware of your vision. If you can see anything, you are dreaming or hallucinating. No movement necessary and works in any position.

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As I am practicing SSILD which results a lot of FA, I am going to use eye mask tomorrow to not miss the FA. Thanks for this tip, Sisyphus!