Can Reality Checks Fail In A Dream?

I use two pretty often; the finger through hand technique and I also try to breath through my nose it's pinched.

LDs happen very spontaneous for me and never when I want them the most. I decided to start experimenting with audio and I had some success in the beginning. Unfortunately, I've gotten to the point where I hear it, but I habitually ignore it. I have started to listen to the track (which has a voice that reminds me that I'm dreaming) during the day and I'm trying to make RCs an automatic response when I hear "you will remember to check your reality."

I'm just wondering one thing. If I turn this into a habit during the day (when it is impossible for my finger to go through my hand, for example) is it possible that during a dream, when I automatically do an RC, that my finger won't go through my hand, because my brain has done the exercise so many times that it will automatically display what it's seen so many times?

Also, I have noticed that one reason I am not having many lucid dreams is that I go through my day without paying much attention to details around me (because my brain is so in the habit of going through school) and when I'm dreaming, I fail to notice obvious signs that I am dreaming. Does anyone have any tips on increasing attentiveness to detail in a dream?

Thanks,
Nick

First of all, :welcome: It's nice to meet you!

<div align="center">*shakes your hand vigorously and for a bit too long*</div>


The Tutorials section is a great place to get info, I&#39;d specifically recommend This one. It&#39;ll take you through the whole paying attention-to-details-throughout-your-day bit. You may not have asked about dream realism, but more clarity and vividness will help you recognize what you need.

As far as too many RC&#39;s, I think that as long as you are actually trying to test your reality—and not just going through the motions—you should be ok. Like, as long as you actually think &#39;am i dreaming?&#39; and actually try to breathe through your nose (instead of jus acting it out and expecting the same result every time) you should be ok.

Last but not least: There are a lot of really smart really experienced people here, I&#39;m a noob... These are things I gather because I read other people&#39;s posts often. If you hear something contradictory, it very well may be true.

Thanks man.

I&#39;ve been reading this forum for a couple months now, but I haven&#39;t registered/posted because I have always been able to find answers to my questions. I was just curious about the RC bit.

As for the dream realism, my dreams are actually really realistic. Even my day-dreams can be surprisingly realistic when I enter a trance. It is why I became so interested in LDs in the first place. I have been doing various experiments with mediation, hypnosis, memory improvement... It has all helped me gain more and more control over my body and mind. This is just another aspect I&#39;m looking at.

Once again, danke schön.

Nick

I understand what you&#39;re asking, but I think more important than that problem, you should worry about conciously thinking, every time you do a reality check. Really look around and asking yourself "Could I possibly be dreaming? Don&#39;t let it become reflec, then also if you do remember to do an RC in a dream you&#39;ll be sure to think conciously, and thats the key :) .

the finger through hand technique failed for me several times. Actually, i can&#39;t actually remember a time when it worked.
But the breathing reality check worked for me 2 times so far, and yet never failed :)

Whenever you do a reality check it is a good idea to reinforce it with awareness. For example when I do a reality check, I first look at my hands and focus intently to see every detail of them while I ask myself if I am dreaming. I then look around and look for clues in my line of sight. Finally I look at a clock or stretch my finger. The "finger through the hand" technique has failed much, but the clock never fails.

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Also, I have noticed that one reason I am not having many lucid dreams is that I go through my day without paying much attention to details around me (because my brain is so in the habit of going through school) and when I&#39;m dreaming, I fail to notice obvious signs that I am dreaming. Does anyone have any tips on increasing attentiveness to detail in a dream?[/b]

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You are correct. In my experience, this is the most important thing of all. I have been practicing this for a few months now and I find that reality checks are almost useless at this point. I know I am dreaming without having to check; in fact checking is almost laughable.

It all depends on how far you are willing to go. My goal is to be completely aware all day everyday. I am up to 9 hours a day now. I notice hundreds of things no one else does, all my anger, frustration, etc is disappearing, and I find that I can now logically and objectively view any situation. Of course, my lucids have increased ridiculously, and I find anything I attempt to accomplish much easier than it ever was in daydream mode.

I started off being "here and now" for one hour each day and increased it one hour per week. At first you will notice things in dreams you usually wouldn&#39;t. I remember arguing with people in one of my dreams. I was telling them that a box on the shelf was white about 5 minutes ago, and now it&#39;s black. They all said I was crazy and should shut up; but I knew better. Upon reality checking I became lucid. As the weeks went on it got better and better to the point where I will be dreaming and something weird will happen and I become lucid instantly without surprise or needing to check.

While being "here and now" you must focus on not dreaming. The idea is that if you stop dreaming while awake, you will do the same in dreams. Do not think about the past, it does not exist, nor does the future. Remember that there is only now. Do not daydream, do not worry. Focus on what it is you are doing without becoming engulfed in it. Ask yourself many times during the day if you are dreaming. Do not identify with the mind. You will find your mind wanting to go off on different things all day. Keep it in check.

According to the Tibetan monks, if you master this your consciousness will always be alert. You will also realize that waking life is also a dream of sorts. I am starting to really feel this way myself; it is as if I can feel how all my senses are just a screen from which I am viewing an untrustable illusion. It is awesome because dreams are becoming easier to detect because of this. The two realities sort of blend in a way, so that it is no longer "unnatural" or difficult to become lucid.

If you don&#39;t want to be that serious about it, then I would at least suggest being aware whenever something weird happens, and do a very detailed analysis of your surroundings for a few minutes.

I&#39;ve had the nose pinch fail many times in dreams. It fails when I just do it in a dream out of habit. When something prompts me to check for reality, it never fails.

The key seems to be an awareness of possibility up front. Like right now... if I RC, I KNOW I&#39;m awake so I don&#39;t pay that much heed to it. The problem is that I take that same attitude when dreaming.

If you allow it to become reflex it will certainly fail. Don&#39;t let it become reflec, conciously think about your environment and examine it each time you do an RC, this can be hard but you don&#39;t need to do many, just do them well when you do. If you expect a certain result in a dream you will get that result(this happened to me twice and I woke up an kicked myself) :blue:

Wow. Wise advice guys, thanks. Especially from Never. I agree with everything you said. I really need to start paying attention to the present as much as possible. Not only will it help with my dreams, but also with my time management (another thing I need to work on). The problem is that there are so many idle moments during the day during which I can&#39;t help but day-dream because they are going by so slowly. I will definitely start doing this.


I know that once I improve my conscious awareness during the day, I will have a lot less problems trying to become lucid. I also realize that when I hit that point, I won&#39;t even need to do RCs. But, just out of curiosity, what RC technique have you guys had the most success with?

Very nice suggestions, Never. And I must say that increased awareness works wonderfully when combined with other techniques.


As for nick8462, why are you using those 2 reality checks? They are bad. They are known to fail. They dont simulate your mind. They rely on your dream body....
Very simple - dont use them as your primary reality checks.

The best RCs are the following:
-Digital clock/watch reality check. You look at the clock, then look back. Do that two or three times and you will notice the clock change if you are dreaming. It is inevitable. Even the most stable and realistic dream WONT be able to maintain a stable digital clock for more than a couple times. The clock will change.. That is pretty much a law of lucid dreaming. Use it to your advantage. It doesnt matter if you do a RC on the clock out of habit or need, you will become lucid regardless.

-Light switch RC. An OK RC when you need one, but works wonderfully out of habit. Once again, almost like a law of dreaming - the mind has trouble switching from dark room to light room instantly. Even if the lights will turn on, there will be artefacts, glitches, not all the lights will turn on at once. That is very easy to spot.

-Reading RC - read a word or a sentence, and read it over once or twice. It will change or will make little sense. Once again the mind has trouble keeping the text stable, therefore it is almost like a law and is pretty easy to use.

I use those two because they can be done without extra objects; I need nothing more than my own body. That, and because I had no clue they were so unreliable.

I love the watch idea but I don&#39;t carry a digital watch on my wrist so I can&#39;t really turn it into a habit. Instead, when I go out, I take my cell phone and I use it to tell the time.

I think most of this goes back to being aware of your surroundings. If I tried to do one of these techniques while dreaming that I am at a beach for example, where there aren&#39;t usually any clocks/books/lights, in my effort, I might end up conjuring the clock or the book because of my desire to do an RC. Once I become more attentive, that alone should be enough to make me lucid.

Thanks for the advice.

I would say the nose close one, and clock one for certainty if you like, just be sure you really think about your situation and if you can breathe, it failed me twice
and i didnt even realize it in the dream

Your cellphone will work too, as the digital clock technique is based off the minds inability to focus/comprehend numbers effectively in a dream. If you try the digital clock RC you would be surprised how easy it is to find a digital clock in a dream if you feel the need to do a digital clock RC...

However the problem with the cellphone is that it may morph in so many unexpected ways that they may overwhelm you and totally go over your head. The digital clock has only so a few ways it may change so it is a lot easier to comprehend the change.

Good idea, I&#39;ll try that.

Alright guys, one final question.

Has anyone had any luck pulling off a WILD during the day?

I remember that when I first learned about LDs, I wanted to try it right away so I did it during the afternoon. I managed to get to the sleep paralysis part but I got freaked out by the vibrations (especially because I had no clue what was happening) and I shook myself back to consciousness. Is it possible to have a LD during a nap? The WILD might&#39;ve almost worked for me during that afternoon because I can fall asleep very easily, especially after school when I&#39;m usually exhausted.

Any related experiences?

I&#39;ve never had a WILD during nap and some of my "naps" are 4.5 hrs long :) It is quite weird for me - I may start to drift off and see HI, short dream fragments but as soon as I start to think about them I snap back to awareness and have a lot of trouble recollecting what I&#39;ve just seen.

I&#39;ve had borderline and near dream/borderline experiences during naps after exams ( I take awareness and memory supplements before exams).

I dont know if thats just me, but I dont experience WILDs anymore... Even if I have a wake initiated lucid dream there&#39;s no transition phase...

In the summer of 2005 I used to have weird stuff - I would wake up at 8.30, go to my job at 9 and slack off and take a nap at around 9.30-10. I had to be aware as I was napping at my job (a bunch of us were cleaning rooms). So I would lay on a bed, close my eyes and let go while having to maintain my awareness. Within a few minutes I felt weird and I could see the room around me through my closed eyelids. I could carefully shift my perception around the room and see people passing by the door, etc. That was really cool, but weird at the same time. I could get up from the bed at any time and there was no sleep paralysis at all. I&#39;ve had the same stuff happening to me as I was drifting off in classroom, but never that vivid.

Whoa&#33; Nice&#33;

I&#39;ve had experiences similar to yours. Two that I can remember having where during my Calculus class, and during a train ride. At the time, I was so intrigued by what was happening that I didn&#39;t bother to open my eyes to check if I could really see my surroundings with my eyes closed. Maybe I was entering a deep state of meditation where my remaining senses were heightened to the point where my mind could draw a picture of what was happening without seeing it.

As for WILDs during the day, maybe it nearly worked because I was so excited and I had my heart deeply set on achieving a LD.

What supplements do you use? They would come in handy when I&#39;m nearly asleep and need to take a test early in the morning.

The clock failed for me once and worked once. Otherwise I just become lucid like that (rarely with a RC)