Faith in RC

[unrest]

I don't understand how some reality checks are supposed to work. I mean, don't you have to really believe that your finger will go through your hand, or that you will float, for it to happen in your dream? I don't think I can do that. I will always have my doubts as to whether it is a dream or reality. It seems to me the only reality check of any value is the one where you look at writing then look back. Can someone please clarify?

[arby]

Different RCs for different people =) As long as the reading one works for you, use it.

[Kane]

You sound like you havent actually tried any of these reality checks in your dreams. Have you ?

[seeker28]

Personally, I stick to only a few RCs. My current favorite it to close my mouth, pinch my nose shut and to see if I can still breate. The idea is that in waking life you will find that you can't breathe, and in the dream world, when you aren't really moving your body, you will be able to breathe. However, some people have said that they do this in their dreams and CAN'T breathe. Other RCs I use a lot are: to see if light switches work and if they are in places that make sense (in my dreams they don't work and are in crazy places); and to check the time on several clocks (in my dreams they rarely say the same time). Follow arby's advice -- find one or more that work for you.

[imj]

I don't understand how some reality checks are supposed to work. I mean, don't you have to really believe that your finger will go through your hand, or that you will float, for it to happen in your dream? I don't think I can do that. I will always have my doubts as to whether it is a dream or reality. It seems to me the only reality check of any value is the one where you look at writing then look back. Can someone please clarify? Hi, just choose the one that U believe will work... IMJ

[Eminence~]

Personally, I stick to only a few RCs. My current favorite it to close my mouth, pinch my nose shut and to see if I can still breate. The idea is that in waking life you will find that you can't breathe, and in the dream world, when you aren't really moving your body, you will be able to breathe. However, some people have said that they do this in their dreams and CAN'T breathe. Other RCs I use a lot are: to see if light switches work and if they are in places that make sense (in my dreams they don't work and are in crazy places); and to check the time on several clocks (in my dreams they rarely say the same time). Typically, I've found that the nose-breathing RC will only fail in a dream if you're not really thinking very hard about it during the waking hours. You actually need to think about whether you can breathe or not and what it would mean if you could.

[Original Poster]

Yeah breathing through a pinched nose is so effective I never bothered studying other RCs. Not once has it failed me in a dream unless I thought something like, "I'll do it in a second" and just forgot.

[b12]

You'd definately be surprised. The nose RC (pinch your nose, see if you can breathe) is the only one that's worked for me so far. Since you're not moving your real body and only your dream body, you're not pinching off any air supply. It's weird how dreams work.

[unrest]

You sound like you havent actually tried any of these reality checks in your dreams. Have you ? You're right. I haven't yet induced a lucid dream. They have only occurred spontaneously. I do a RC at random times during the day and when something strange happens. Unfortunately my dream self fails to realize that battling a giant mobile tree is strange, as was the case last night.

[roguext22]

you noobs but i like you.. rc is one and the same...if some! rc doesnt work for you mate..that means you dont even know what reality check is..that means you cant even do rc, because you dont know what it is.. and then you do "rc" you just think that its rc..but its not...

[Jdeadevil]

I don't understand how some reality checks are supposed to work. I mean, don't you have to really believe that your finger will go through your hand, or that you will float, for it to happen in your dream? I don't think I can do that. I will always have my doubts as to whether it is a dream or reality. It seems to me the only reality check of any value is the one where you look at writing then look back. Can someone please clarify? Well it's the only one I use, and believe it or not it's never made me lucid. Also, battling moble trees isn't strange at all, I just came back from killing one.

[Kane]

Yeah I thought you might not have actually tried and RC in a dream yet... Some of these RCs do seem pretty bizarre and unlikely to result in anything out of the ordinary in a dream, but they do work. You've got to find which one works best for you. I personally check my digital watch twice for an RC. Works almost everytime. Especially if im having false wakenings. I think the reason some RCs work is because we take those actions for granted every day without thinking about it. For example, I look at my watch several times a day. But when I look at it, I dont expect to see anything. I dont expect it to be a certain time. I just look at the watch to find out what the time is. I think this is why when I check the time in my dreams I can see non-consistent times on my watch... because my consciousness doesnt expect to see consistent time. Sometimes ,the numbers dont even make sense... like 34:05 was the time on my watch once. There are other things about my watch that I cant explain though... because there are times when I dont even see numbers ... just weird non-english characters. Floating on the other hand I think is an RC that is less widely used because it doenst work as easily. We have a fairly strong sense of gravity in waking life... we feel it when we stand, sit, walk, jump, when we pick up heavy objects, etc... our perception of gravity is extremely strong. This is why I think the floating RC fails when you try it. Somehow though, floating is the easiest thing in the world when you're not trying too hard... you've just got to know that you can fly... and you'll fly. Hope that helps. You're right. I haven't yet induced a lucid dream. They have only occurred spontaneously. I do a RC at random times during the day and when something strange happens. Unfortunately my dream self fails to realize that battling a giant mobile tree is strange, as was the case last night.

[innerspacecadet]

I do whatever RC seems appropriate for me at the time, or sometimes I just recognize dreamsigns. I did a really bold one this morning - jumping off a balcony. But at that point, I was already mostly convinced I was dreaming, because I'd seen dinosaurs running around beneath my balcony. Before that, when there were just crocodiles in the water (albeit HUGE ones), I wasn't brave enough to do that check yet. Less bold RCs have included trying (and failing) to put my hands through glass, suddenly floating in midair once I was mostly convinced I was dreaming, jumping up to see if I float (the "Princess Toadstool"), checking a watch or clock to see if something's inconsistent with expectations, and looking at text and seeing it change. The last two are probably basic enough that they should work. And I almost always do reality checks after having recognized a "probable" dreamsign already. I don't think I've ever performed the flicking lights on and off in a dream, though I sometimes do it in reality if I want to do RC practice.

[unrest]

I just don't know how people can ignore their expectations. I don't doubt that lucid dreaming is possible but it seems impossible to deny to myself what I "know" to be true. It's like trying to play a trick on yourself. (I suddenly want to watch The Matrix).

[hankwheels]

Dear unrest: There are many other reality checks besides the finger-poking-through-hand one. lol. Simply looking at your hand is probably better, hands are usually always warped and wierd in dreams. Just try to get in the habit of doing them, especially whenever that feeling of "something doesn't feel right about this" comes over you. I play a CD at night that says "Do a reality check" every three minutes. And then during the day I set my MSN to say "Do a reality check" whenever someone comes online. That way, it helps me to get in the habit better. As for the finger-poking thing... maybe one night you will end up doing one in a dream and you can prove it to yourself whether it is a valid reality check or not. lmao

[camera_man1231]

One way i find that works great is as followed: Try to find an RC that works best for you, mine would be controlling the 4 elements. Then, get your phone and set it's alarm to vibrate every 30 minutes. Try to think of a good way to practice your RC. So i am a very visual person, so what i do is try to catch something on fire with my mind. Every time your phone rings, do your RC. After a while, your mind will start to adjust to doing reality checks and hopefully it will notice them in dreams. Another good thing is that not only will your mind recognize these signs more, but you'll probably see them more often in your dreams because of the frequent RC's.