Any tips for recognising Dream Signs and performing RC's !?

Last night I was able to remember 4 dreams in lots of detail. Upon re-reading them I notice that dream signs which i have already noted from previous dreams, popped up on numerous occasions. Frustratingly I don't seem to recognise these signs as a cue to do reality checks when I'm in the dream, despite the fact that I consistently do strong and frequent reality checks during the day.

Any experienced Lucid Dreamers out there got any tips for recognising dream signs whilst dreaming, and performing RC's in the dream?

Thanks!

DR

The majority of the time when I become lucid, it's not because I recognize dream signs but because I'll see something that is not quite right. For example, I was dreaming that I was in my bedroom and there was blinds on my windows instead of curtains. So you could do a RC every time you see/feel something that doesn't feel quite right.

I mostly agree with Barry, especially about when to perform RCs. However I do also become lucid as a result of seeing a dream sign and performing an RC. Happened last night and I was REALLY surprised I was dreaming! But my experience has been it takes awhile to develop recognition of dream signs. I would recommend practicing prospective memory in real life...."next time I see a _____ I will do an RC". Just pick one thing that as closely as possible mimics one of your predominant dream signs. I realize you may not have a prefect match in real life but your brain will hopefully build an association regardless.

As you fall asleep, set and maintain a strong intention to catch the dream sign until it occurs. The stronger the intention, the easier it is to remember while you're dreaming.

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Originally Posted by Rothgar

I mostly agree with Barry, especially about when to perform RCs. However I do also become lucid as a result of seeing a dream sign and performing an RC. Happened last night and I was REALLY surprised I was dreaming! But my experience has been it takes awhile to develop recognition of dream signs. I would recommend practicing prospective memory in real life...."next time I see a _____ I will do an RC". Just pick one thing that as closely as possible mimics one of your predominant dream signs. I realize you may not have a prefect match in real life but your brain will hopefully build an association regardless.

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I tend to do RC's at the moment whenever I see something out of the ordinary, so I will definitely keep this up as it clearly has worked for you and Barry.

Yes, the prospective memory thing does sound good. I've red a bit about that before, but as you said Rothgar I'm finding it difficult to associate something with my predominate dream signs, but i like the idea of picking one thats as close as possible.

Thanks for the advice guys, I appreciate it!

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Originally Posted by dolphin

As you fall asleep, set and maintain a strong intention to catch the dream sign until it occurs. The stronger the intention, the easier it is to remember while you're dreaming.

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Thanks Dolphin,

Could you give me an example of a concise mantra for drumming home the intention?

example mantra-"wait for the (dream sign)"

The meaning behind the mantra is more important than the words, though. You want your top priority while falling asleep to be to actively waiting for the dream sign and ready to catch it when it occurs.

After years of doing reality checks and years of occasional lucid dreaming, I came to the realization that in all my lucid dreams, I do the RC after becoming lucid. It has never been the case that I thought I was in waking reality, did a RC, and based on the outcome of the RC, changed my thinking to "oh, I guess this isn't WL after all, I'm dreaming!"

After I got the first NovaDreamer, back when it cost $1500 and had tons of wires going everywhere, my number of lucid dreams soared... when I wasn't wearing the NovaDreamer.

Something about trying to do RCs and trying to catch dream signs seems to be more important than succeeding. So keep trying, and don't worry about success. Its okay that you miss dream signs in dreams. You'll have lucid dreams anyway, eventually, and you'll probably become lucid spontaneously and not because you recognized a dream sign, or had a failed RC.

Maybe in dreams cause and effect doesn't work the same. Maybe in dreams the effect can precede the cause. Anyway, most important thing seems to be the waxing and waning of intensity of practice (with periods of waning intensity seeming to be just as important as those gung-ho periods - there was a time when I wore hour chime wristwatches on both wrists, with one watch set a half hour off, so that I would receive a prompt to do an RC every 30 minutes instead of every hour, drove my co-workers crazy with all the beeping... and had an increase in lucid dreams after I left the darn things at home for a week. But I'm sure that without that intense period of 30 min RC's 16 hours a day, I wouldn't have had the LD increase later).

Just keep trying. That seems the most important factor.

^^ This is a very important point. RCs do not "make you lucid." You must *already suspect* that you're dreaming in order to perform an RC, that is, you must experience a moment of increased access to memory or self-awareness (usually a combination of the two, they're inter-related). The RC is just to help "seal the deal," but not everybody needs that step, and not every time.

But the act of responding to that hunch with an RC is really important, as it helps to keep dreaming on your mind.

One thing that you can do with dream signs is daytime MILD: visualize a recent dream where the sign occurred, then see yourself recognizing the dream sign and getting lucid in the dream.

Also, before bed review dream signs and (as others have said) set strong intention to recognize the signs during dreams and to get lucid.

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Originally Posted by FryingMan

^^ This is a very important point. RCs do not "make you lucid." You must *already suspect* that you're dreaming in order to perform an RC, that is, you must experience a moment of increased access to memory or self-awareness (usually a combination of the two, they're inter-related). The RC is just to help "seal the deal," but not everybody needs that step, and not every time.

But the act of responding to that hunch with an RC is really important, as it helps to keep dreaming on your mind.

One thing that you can do with dream signs is daytime MILD: visualize a recent dream where the sign occurred, then see yourself recognizing the dream sign and getting lucid in the dream.

Also, before bed review dream signs and (as others have said) set strong intention to recognize the signs during dreams and to get lucid.

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Hi guys, thanks for replying to the post!

Skylight, your story about the double hour chime wristwatches is pretty funny :chuckle: ... Thats pretty impressive commitment to the cause, lots of respect!
I also appreciate the advice about the effort that needs to put in. I can tell that learning to lucid dream is a long process and requires patience and persistence.

Frying Man, i really like this idea of day time MILD visualisation. Ive been doing it a bit today, and its pretty interesting to do! Its funny that you say RC's don't make you lucid. Not that i don't believe you, because I notice a lot of people say the same. But a couple of books i have read talk about always maintaining the belief that you could be dreaming at any time. And its quite possible that one time you will do a RC and although it will seem like waking life, you will in fact be dreaming! Either way ill keep up the RC's.

HAS anyone ever had the experience of realising they are dreaming purely by RC'ing ?!?!?

Yes...happens for me quite frequently. But I must be in the minority as most believe you must already realize you are dreaming. But not me. My real life RCs are the same as my dream RCs and I am surprised when I realize I am dreaming.

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Originally Posted by Drinterstellar

Hi guys, thanks for replying to the post!

Skylight, your story about the double hour chime wristwatches is pretty funny :chuckle: ... Thats pretty impressive commitment to the cause, lots of respect!
I also appreciate the advice about the effort that needs to put in. I can tell that learning to lucid dream is a long process and requires patience and persistence.

Frying Man, i really like this idea of day time MILD visualisation. Ive been doing it a bit today, and its pretty interesting to do! Its funny that you say RC's don't make you lucid. Not that i don't believe you, because I notice a lot of people say the same. But a couple of books i have read talk about always maintaining the belief that you could be dreaming at any time.

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Absolutely! This is an important mindset. But it doesn't haven't anything to do with "random RCs," it has much more to do with maintaining a critical reflective attitude.

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And its quite possible that one time you will do a RC and although it will seem like waking life, you will in fact be dreaming! Either way ill keep up the RC's.

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Just doesn't happen for me. Not once have I done a "random" RC. It's *always* preceded by "WTF!" or "Wow, look at that!" or "Whoa, that's weird" or "Hey, wait a minute…" etc. Even "…about time for a RC…" I'd say is not "random," it is preceded by memory/intention.

And I'll go one step further and say you don't want to cultivate "random RCs" that include absolutely no mindfulness/paying attention/thoughts of dreaming. Because people *do* frequently experience performing RCs in dreams and ignoring the results, and that's can be one reason for that happening.

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Originally Posted by FryingMan

Absolutely!

And I'll go one step further and say you don't want to cultivate "random RCs" that include absolutely no mindfulness/paying attention/thoughts of dreaming. Because people *do* frequently experience performing RCs in dreams and ignoring the results, and that's can be one reason for that happening.

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I think thats a really good point and perhaps where i'd been going wrong regarding RC's. I need to attach more meaning and attention to them, rather than them being random. Gonna put this into practice and see what the results are. Thanks again FM, much appreciated advice.

DR

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Originally Posted by Rothgar

Yes...happens for me quite frequently. But I must be in the minority as most believe you must already realize you are dreaming. But not me. My real life RCs are the same as my dream RCs and I am surprised when I realize I am dreaming.

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Originally Posted by FryingMan

Just doesn't happen for me. Not once have I done a "random" RC. It's *always* preceded by "WTF!" or "Wow, look at that!" or "Whoa, that's weird" or "Hey, wait a minute…" etc. Even "…about time for a RC…" I'd say is not "random," it is preceded by memory/intention.

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I had to tell you guys that all this talk of RC's led me to have 2 dreams last night, one of which was Lucid!

I woke in the early hours after a cool dream. In this dream CM gave me a Vial of cyanide poison to take as an experiment, the idea was to see how long we could last before taking the antidote. We both took the poison and waited for the effects. At one point, I remember saying to him "if this was a dream, i wouldn't need to take the Antidote, because the poison wouldn't have any effect!" But I didn't have the courage to stick to this conviction in the dream. CM offers me the antidote in the form of a 'Red Pill' (no doubt a memory I have from the Matrix) and I woke up after taking it.

I lay in bed after waking up, so gutted that i hadn't become Lucid after my realisation that if this was a dream, i wouldn't need the antidote! Nevertheless i continued to use a MILD technique to re-enter the dream and become Lucid. I set the intention as you guys said, to remember to recognise that if this time i suspect I'm dreaming to do a Reality Check, and then remember to ground myself in the dream and become Lucid.

In the next dream, I wake up in a pool of shallow water. I notice that I'm in the garden of this incredible LA style Mansion, perfectly white and glassy, sun was shining brightly. I start wondering around, without any realisation yet that this could be a dream. But I definitely had an inkling in the back of my mind that all wasn't normal.
I them became surrounded by dream characters, and suddenly remembered to do a reality check. I checked the clock on my phone, and my phone glitched out, and the clock showed some very strange hieroglyphics. BOOM, i knew i was dreaming! I had a total rush of excitement, and knew i needed to ground myself or i would wake myself up. BUT, for some reason my choice of grounding myself was to crouch down and feel the concrete ground and the feet of the characters around me. Needless to say, the feeling of being bent crouched down in the middle of a crowd of people is very disorientating and I woke myself up!

I was disappointed it ended so quick, but very excited at the same time. The experience of doing a reality check, and realising that was in fact a dream was pretty amazing! Thanks for all the advice, seems like it really did help me out a lot.

You guys got any tips for grounding yourself in a dream, I've read a lot about verbalising your actions and rubbing your hands. But if you got any others that would be great.

best,
DR

I try grabbing or feeling things. I suggest if you can pick something up and carry...do so. My dreams sometimes fade very quickly, but if you keep feeling the object as the dream fades, sometimes things go black but you don't really wake up. Keep your mind on feeling the object and sometimes your dream vision returns in 30-45 secs and you get a longer experience.