Starting off with dream recall

[Habba]

Hello, instead of trying to have a LD all at once I've broken my practice down. I'm going to stick with dream recall for a bit. I'm confused about dream signs though. What do i do if i dont have any reoccurring dream signs? How am i suppose to trigger a DILD? I have not worked on dream signs yet. I'm just confused on how it works. Reality Checks, where and when do i perform these? Quite a few questions sorry. Just a tad confused

[jammylammy]

Dream signs: I tend not to use dream signs as they haven't really worked for me, it seems like dream signs tend not to appear consistently enough. Reality checks: These are extremely important, and have been the sole reason for me experiencing DILDs. They become more important when dream signs are not reliable, as you may need to perform one without any particular reason to do so. This means that reality checking should become ingrained habit, performed regularly throughout the day. You should also perform one when something seems "off," meaning that it is more likely to be a dream. This is similar to dream signs except without any specific sign.

[Habba]

Thank you for your reply. I will start doing daily Reality Checks. On the other hand, i just woke up from the last part of my dream. I dreamt that the DC's where becoming lucid then i woke up.

[FryingMan]

Dreaming about lucidity is a sign your first LD is close! Dream recall is always great to work on, we dream so much every night, yet barely begun to approach remembering it all. I wrote up my tips for dream recall, have a look through it maybe you'll see something that helps you out with your recall goals. Certainly, start daytime awareness work at the same time. RC's are the *result* of awareness and memory work, not the cause of them. Short summary for how to build awareness: pay attention to life: your thoughts, reactions, situations, etc. Be "tuned in," strive to avoid "autopilot/zombie" mode. You can capitalize on regular dream signs by doing "daytime MILD:" visualize your dream with the sign occurring, see yourself recognizing the sign and becoming lucid. Resolve strongly to recognize these signs.

[Habba]

Thank you!! I will start Day Time Awareness and Reality Checks. I thought I would add that I have been using WBTB. I'e only been recording my dreams for a few nights but i can now see that there becoming more clear and easier to remember.

[Redrivertears]

Hey there, About dream signs... literally anything can be a dream sign. Find out which elements appear in your dreams quite frequently. They do not have to be 'strange' or 'absurd' or the like. They can be very mundane things. Maybe you often dream about driving around in your car, then start making a habbit of doing a reality check whenever you get in your car when you're awake. Maybe you dream of work or school often. Then do a reality check whenever you enter work/school. Simply find the reoccuring elements in your dreams and use them as hooks to do reality checks. -Redrivertears-

[CoffinCakes]

I know plenty of people have already answered, but I might as well add my two-cents in, yeah? ^^ In reality, worrying about dream signs are only for people who actually have dream signs. If there really is nothing at all that you can think of happens fairly often, or at least a quarter of the time in your dream world, then just don't bother with it. It's nothing to stress out about. RCs, on the other hand, are a different story. I suggest creating your own reality check, because it will be more personalized and, if you're in love with it, you'll be more likely to remember it than the standard hold-your-nose test. Just for example, I never do any of the traditional RCs; instead, I picture something behind me, convince myself that it's going to be there, and then if it is . . . well, I'm dreaming. I've done this successfully with those green Mario pipes (ya know what I'm talking about?) and a cougar cat. I hope that helps!