Can someone help?

[Clidu]

Today iv noticed something about the way i dream and im quiet confident that the one thing that makes me assume that my dream is real life is people! Associating with people makes everythong seem real in a dream which stops me from boeng lucid. Iv tried many times with reality checking when im in a new place ect but its never usually the place that makes me lucid in dreams i kinda just know...but iv had a few dreams where people have also triggered me into luxidity. My question is.....how do i do a more in depth reality check when i see or talk to people? I dont like the idea of counting my fingers whilst in conversation with someone ect....thanks

[Goldenspark]

The only thing I can suggest is, try looking closely at people's faces and notice whether they look right. You might find that the faces are contorted or change when you look, look away, then look back. It's something I've been thinking about myself. Also, if it's someone you know, check carefully, because sometimes you get a feeling that it is the person, but actually in the dream it doesn't look much like them.

[Clidu]

You have gave me some good advice and ill definatly take on board what uv said and i hope it works and i know what you mean...its asif in a dream you maybe sence and assume its them but if you look closer ot may not look much like them. Im also going to make sure what people say is relevant to the situation im in...thanks again =D

[Goldenspark]

Your question caused a direct dream sign for me last night. In the non-lucid I was looking very closely at this girl, and her eyes seemed to be sparkling. What was unusual was that I kept looking closely at her eyes for what seemed like thirty seconds or so. The next sequence was about doing reality checks, but neither got me quite lucid :'( although it did feel close and I had that strong sense of something that I needed to do. Maybe next time....

[Clidu]

No way cool man and i haveto remember to pay close attention to peoples faces whoch i keep forgetting as its a new thing but ill get used to it =) i wanna try something new like this whilst waiting for my meditation to pay off which will take a while but im.patient =) let me know if you succeed with the face check in a dream

[gab]

Try to get used to the idea that you are ALWAYS dreaming. That way, every time you are dreaming, you will just know. You said that sometimes you just know, so that's the way to go!

[Goldenspark]

The people thing is a recent idea for me. I notice that I don't tend to dream about people who are around in my normal waking life. I tend to find that dead relatives or people I've not seen for ages crop up in my dreams, so I'm trying to stop and think in waking life, is this person normally around, and is it really them (do they actually look right)? Many times in my dreams people actually have something strange about them, like sparkling eyes or a distorted face, or they morph into someone else when I look again. The trouble is I still often drift through not becoming lucid even with these clues, but I WILL notice from now on!

[AnotherDreamer]

I really like the checking people's faces idea. It sounds like a really great way to be mindful in my everyday interactions with people - I will definitely try it out a bit. A couple other subtle reality checks that you could do in public, if you wanted, are the epiglottis block (where you close your throat and then try to breathe in) and doing telekinesis (it was my natural reality check that I would do to test if something was a dream, but I can understand how it might not be for everybody Every now and then I would just be convinced that I suddenly had super powers).

[Goldenspark]

The faces thing is quite interesting. I notice that normally in WL I would glance at someone just for a moment, and then mostly look away, even if talking to them. Now I'm trying to look people in the eye more, and check if they are real (as it were). I'm hoping this will bleed over into my dreams and act as a dream sign. I've also taken to noticing what other people do in terms of making eye contact regularly, or not. A lot of people don't look at all and will talk to you looking off to one side. I guess I always knew this, but never really gave it much thought before.

[oneironautics]

i use my kids to reality check, will check if i know where there clothes came from, if its the right season for clothes, count there fingers, check if theyre the right age etc. Then i say in my head if i were dreaming i would know

[AstronomyDomine]

Reality checks can be mental as well as physical. Example: the text I typed 10 minutes ago still isn't changing. There's a well-known glitch in the dream matrix where letters and text do not remain constant: they rearrange themselves and become numbers and symbols when you turn away and look at them again. Sometimes you can see them moving around, as though the text were alive and breathing. You can test this while driving and taking multiple glances at billboard signs. Just a tip.

[Goldenspark]

Reality checks are easy when you know you are dreaming I tend to realise I'm dreaming and then do a reality check as extra confirmation. I've only ever once done a reality check in a dream automatically and become lucid as a result. There's been loads of times where I've sort of noticed text not being right or changing, but so often I fail to convert that into lucidity. That's my nemesis at the moment, half realising I'm dreaming but not quite enough to get lucid!

[pdunc]

Reality checks are easy when you know you are dreaming I tend to realise I'm dreaming and then do a reality check as extra confirmation. I've only ever once done a reality check in a dream automatically and become lucid as a result. There's been loads of times where I've sort of noticed text not being right or changing, but so often I fail to convert that into lucidity. That's my nemesis at the moment, half realising I'm dreaming but not quite enough to get lucid! I hear you there Goldenspark!