Reality Checks in dreams

[RandomNumber677]

Ok, I have two questions to ask in this thread. 1. When you reality check in a dream, do you just say, pinch your nose automatically without thinking about it because of how often you do it while awake and then you realise you're dreaming and start thinking or do you think to do a reality check during the dream? 2. Every time I reality check (every 15 minutes), I look at the time to see whether I should reality check or not yet. Would this make me unable to reality check in a dream as I'm used to looking at the time beforehand?

[Maria92]

In answer to your first question, absent-minded reality checking will do little good. The main purpose of a reality check is to get you to question reality. On top of that, you really want to pay attention to your RC's. I've read of all too many people performing an RC, having it fail, and paying no mind to it. Doesn't sound like fun... In answer to your second question, just RC and question reality whenever you happen to think of it. Always assume that you could be dreaming at any minute. Use RC's to disprove or confirm this. Naiya had a great tutorial on this somewhere...I'll try and find the link if you want it.

[RandomNumber677]

I didn't mean that I do it absent mindedly, I think about it in while awake but do you think about it in a dream or do you just do it and you suddenly become lucid? And I have a problem with that as I'm constantly thinking about RC'ing so I would have to do it all the time which would get just a bit annoying.

[Maria92]

Hmm...I'm fairly sure that reality checks in a dream are designed to cause you to begin questioning reality. In a dream, the logic centers are switched off, so your brain would think nothing of a time skip or a finger through the palm, or even breathing through your pinched nose. I think you have to think about it in a dream for it to be effective. As for your RC problems, you could leave sticky notes in strategically-placed areas, and do one every time you see one of these notes, etc. That, or if the idea of RCing isn't appealing altogether, you can try swapping them with the WILD method, or substitute some of them for the MILD method, and use RCing merely as a way to disprove the notion that you're dreaming.

[RandomNumber677]

What I say to myself in my head is; Am I dreaming? If I'm dreaming then I will be able to breathe with my nose pinched. *Pinches nose and tries breathing* Am I dreaming? If I'm dreaming then my hand will be different. *Imagines hand having 6 fingers then looks at hand and counts fingers, 1, 2,3 etc* Five fingers. Am I dreaming? If I'm dreaming then my finger will go through my hand. *Imagines finger going through hand with a ghosty hand and tries pushing finger through* Am I dreaming? How did I get here? *Remembers parts of the current day* Is that ok as an RC?

[Maria92]

What I say to myself in my head is; Am I dreaming? If I'm dreaming then I will be able to breathe with my nose pinched. *Pinches nose and tries breathing* Am I dreaming? If I'm dreaming then my hand will be different. *Imagines hand having 6 fingers then looks at hand and counts fingers, 1, 2,3 etc* Five fingers. Am I dreaming? If I'm dreaming then my finger will go through my hand. *Imagines finger going through hand with a ghosty hand and tries pushing finger through* Am I dreaming? How did I get here? *Remembers parts of the current day* Is that ok as an RC? Yes, that's exactly the sort of mental alertness you want to have throughout the day. I also love that you're doing multiple RC's, and that you really kind of use them to dispel the notion that you are dreaming, rather than to prove it. Perfect mindset, if you ask me. Congrats, man! Happy dreaming.