As you may know, certain members of this forum neither practice nor advocate traditional Reality Checks - i.e. double-checking a watch. For my part, I've never (in my limited experience) used a reality check to become lucid - only to affirm of what I'm already fairly certain. I have been advised, instead, to be constantly critical of reality. I examine every nook and cranny of the room, question anything out of place, and never let inconsistencies slide.

I went to church this morning. What had been an immaculate building when I first visited a week ago now had several burned out bulbs, half the previous amount of people, and morning service in a different room. The baby Jesus looked like a possessed Cabbage Patch doll, the crucified Jesus had the build of Gimli the dwarf from The Lord of the Rings, and yet . . . I had to conclude that I wasn't dreaming, obviously. It frustrated me, the amount of occurrences that I couldn't easily explain.

In the short time that I've been practicing this critical examination, I've already seen it affect life outside of dreaming. I was watching The Fellowship of the Ring for about the thirtieth time the other day, and I pointed out about ten mistakes I'd never seen before. During my recent ACT exam, I saw unexplainable ribbons and clips attached to the ceiling. I went into my garage this afternoon, and noticed my dad's old bike hanging on the wall. According to my mother, it's always been there.

In short, questioning reality like this has already affected my perception dramatically. Even for those of you that only do a few reality checks per day and nothing else, I would imagine that you've sensed a fresh spin on life. Have any of you had similar experiences and effects? Improved BS-radars? Better grades? Lose 20 pounds?