Failed reality check

[iamerror73]

So I've become lucid a few times now, every time I would plug my nose and try to breathe through it to see if I'm dreaming. I tried this in my dream last night but for some reason my mind thought that since I could breathe through my plugged nose that I wasn't dreaming. Anyone have this problem before?

[SpaceGod]

Based on what I've seen and read, I think that you may not be attaining lucidity, possibly due to not lingering on the question 'am I dreaming?' enough to get that realization. Because dreams are unconscious until lucidity is gained, you have very little control over what you think until that point, so it would probably take a good bit of focus to become sure that you are dreaming. Personally, when I do reality checks, I linger on the question for about one minute. I also think that doing different reality checks could help keep your subconscious from getting used to the same reality check, and would make failed reality checks less common. These seem to be some of the most effective pieces of advice that I have found.

[dolphin]

When we do a reality check with a strong enough expectation that we are not dreaming, rather than doing the reality check to seeking validation that we are dreaming, we do it to seek validation that we are not dreaming. This is because we want to prove to ourselves that we are right in our judgment. As we learn from these experiences, we develop a more open mindset when doing reality checks which makes this occur less often. Over time, we might forget what we learned and have to relearn this lesson but that's the way it goes. To learn from this experience, reimagine the dream only with yourself realizing you are dreaming. Tell yourself this will happen next time you have this dream.

[snoop]

Dolphin hit the nail on the head. Reality checks aren't a guarantee of any thing, and are subject to expectation as much as anything else in a dream. It makes a big difference if your attitude is one where you've decided on a possibility ahead of time and you want to check if you're right, and your default state of mind is to believe or expect that you are not dreaming. To add to that, even if you correct how you approach RCs while you're awake (to genuinely question whether you are awake or dreaming, rather than to simply confirm you are in fact not dreaming), it's still possible that they won't work from time to time. It's important to realize that by the time you're performing an RC, you've already realized to some degree that you are dreaming, so you're already lucid. An RC at this point is really just secondary confirmation that you are in fact, dreaming, once you already know you are. The results of the RC shouldn't let you slip back into non-lucidity (which has happened to me in the past), your lucidity isn't contingent upon the RCs success. Ever since getting that into my head, any time I've kind of sort of thought I was dreaming but wasn't sure, I was able to determine right away that I definitely was, even without an RC (although performing a successful RC was always nice because it confirmed things). I eventually recognized the feeling that that state of mind provided and knew I was dreaming.

[iamerror73]

Thanks for the advice guys, I have been recently thinking harder about reality checks and looking at my surroundings and asking myself if I am dreaming or awake rather than just "proving it" with a reality check.