Question regarding Reality checks

[Nav]

Hi I recently had a short LD experience which I did post on this forum, it occurred while I was in my car and I performed a reality check while looking at my left hand and stretching the index finger. In Waking Life, should I continue performing this particular RC in my car in the driver's seat (obviously parked up)? Will this create a new connection in my brain to help induce future Lucidity? Thanks

[Tiktaalik]

It’s possible that this may trigger another lucid dream in future but you’re limiting yourself as you may not find yourself in a car in the majority of your dreams and not make the connection. You would be better off doing the reality check at multiple times in the day when different dreamlike occurrences happen. It’s also a good idea to do more than one RC as sometimes the first can be unreliable. I recommend asking yourself what you’re doing right now and if it makes sense and looking away and back at a digital clock to see if it changes.

[Hilary]

I would continue using this reality check as it seems to be working, however, like Tiktaalik said, don't limit yourself to just the car. Perform the reality check in waking life whenever anything strange happens. This builds your "critical reflective attitude". You can also set predetermined triggers to RC to - building prospective memory. So, you can make them up (every time you see a red car, every time the phone rings, etc.), OR you can base them off of dream signs. So like, if you have a dream with mangoes in it, make that a reality check trigger. If you dream about a specific person, make them a reality check trigger. You get the idea. The benefit of using your personal dream signs is that it will get you thinking about your dreams more, and focusing on those sensory-based details. Everyone is different, and what works for one person may not work for another. All I can say is that building prospective memory is critical for me in achieving lucidity. I know that's my weak spot. For you, it may be something else. Good luck!

[Nav]

I would continue using this reality check as it seems to be working, however, like Tiktaalik said, don't limit yourself to just the car. Perform the reality check in waking life whenever anything strange happens. This builds your "critical reflective attitude". You can also set predetermined triggers to RC to - building prospective memory. So, you can make them up (every time you see a red car, every time the phone rings, etc.), OR you can base them off of dream signs. So like, if you have a dream with mangoes in it, make that a reality check trigger. If you dream about a specific person, make them a reality check trigger. You get the idea. The benefit of using your personal dream signs is that it will get you thinking about your dreams more, and focusing on those sensory-based details. Everyone is different, and what works for one person may not work for another. All I can say is that building prospective memory is critical for me in achieving lucidity. I know that's my weak spot. For you, it may be something else. Good luck! I've been journaling over a month and I've noticed my decease mother appears frequently. How can I use that dream sign as a predetermined triggers to RC? Should I have a photo of her on my wall or if I see the photo of her on my phone and at the moment do a RC? Thanks

[Hilary]

I've been journaling over a month and I've noticed my decease mother appears frequently. How can I use that dream sign as a predetermined triggers to RC? Should I have a photo of her on my wall or if I see the photo of her on my phone and at the moment do a RC? Thanks I would reality check if 1. You see a photo of her 2. Someone mentions her name 3. Something reminds you of her Don't go out of your way to put a photo up - that will defeat the purpose of it, because you'll know beforehand that it's there. You want it to be organic. That will boost lucidity more because you need to awaken the part of your brain that says "Hey!! Wait a minute..." That said, it may not come up often. That is okay. One strategy is to select several reality check triggers so that your chances of one of them coming up are higher. And as always, reality check to anything that seems strange to you.