Thread: Why didn't it work?

So, I had a False Awakening tonight. When I had it I did do a look at hands RC and they looked normal, then I did a nose pinch and I could'nt breath. Then I wrote in my Dream Journal in the FA.

Why didn't it work? Any ideas?

Although nose pinch RC is one of the best, no RC is foolproof. For nose pinch, you have to always expect to be able to breathe. This highly increases the effectiveness of the reality check.

I am slowly becoming a fan of three things:

--experiencing the waking world as a dream
--reading text
--checking a digital watch

I have sometimes failed to recognize them fully, but I've never been deceived the same way as a failed hand RC or failed nosepinch. Can expound on this if you are interested

Originally Posted by ThreeCat

I am slowly becoming a fan of three things:

--experiencing the waking world as a dream
--reading text
--checking a digital watch

I have sometimes failed to recognize them fully, but I've never been deceived the same way as a failed hand RC or failed nosepinch. Can expound on this if you are interested

What's the deal with that? If you pretend you're dreaming and carry on about your day, isn't it very likely that when you really are dreaming you will do the same thing? Without becoming lucid?

Originally Posted by ThreeCat

I am slowly becoming a fan of three things:

--experiencing the waking world as a dream
--reading text
--checking a digital watch

I have sometimes failed to recognize them fully, but I've never been deceived the same way as a failed hand RC or failed nosepinch. Can expound on this if you are interested

Yeah I'm interested; )

Alan Wallace and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche discuss illusory body in their books. Wallace's explanation can be found here: The Daytime Practices of Dream Yoga - Reality Sandwich

Mimi, I had your same reservations. If you just say the words, then the technique is useless. If you bring your awareness to the present moment and experience the dream-like nature of reality, then the technique has a lot of power. I feel it has helped my practice a lot.