Reality Checking At Doorways is Hard!

[Ethereal]

I know I don't have the best habitual memory, but heck, it is hard to remember to reality check when walking through doors! Most of the time I only do it 50% of the time. It is very odd because no matter what you tell yourself, something is bound to come up and distract you. Which is why it seems like a great place to start, a challenge you can tackle in reality. It is a great idea, because I know I've walked through doors in my dream, but the idea of a door is to go someplace, and so we're always distracted or focused on what we're headed for. This hit-yourself-in-anger type feeling happens a lot to me when I realize I've missed a RC, but the one that really gets me happened today. (I've been doing this for about 3 days, I'm assuming it gets easier with time). Two minutes before French class ended, I did a reality check and reminded myself to do the same when I left... but as I was leaving someone was debating Emma Watson vs Alizee and I completely forgot about reality checking as I joined in. (Alizee is > ) Anyone else have difficulty remembering, or is it just me? And will remembering even only half the time still matter?

[gameover]

Of course it's not easy to think about doing reality checks all day. More important is to question your state of mind as interesting things develop in your dream. It's helped me more to check my state as things are going on then when doing something boring that I do constantly(ie... walking through a door). It seems like dreams are filled with distracting stuff so if you train yourself to look for strange events rather than boring everyday events, I think it'll help. But the short answer is yes. I have lot's of trouble remembering to do reality checks and I think many, if not most, do as well.

[Ethereal]

Eh, believe me, I've been doing that for about a year. It just doesn't work for me. Thanks for the advice, but I'm guessing it only works for some people.

[mrdeano]

Yeah. That's why I prefer to write 'RC' on my hand During the day I would accidentally notice it and cause me to do a reality check.

[jetboy]

I constantly find myself kicking myself for flicking the light switch and not doing my reality checks. I've begun doing one every hour (not on the dot, just within the hour) and I find it keeps Lucid Dreaming on my mind throughout the day. So while I may not be constantly thinking about it, I'm thinking about it enough that it's on my mind. I think reality checks are only truly necessary if you're attempting a DILD rather than a WILD. Although, if a false awakening occurs, a reality check is a good idea. At the least, try doing one before bed and one when you wake up. That's an easy habit to form and it prevents false awakenings. You're not alone, I assure you .