Thread: Reality Checks - RCs

Thanks for the awesome tutorial Gab!

I just had a couple novice questions:

How do I get past the feeling of "I am definitely awake" in WL? I have been trying to do at least 5-10 RCs every day for the past four weeks or so, and I try to be aware as possible when I am doing them, but I always get the feeling that I am definitely awake. I want to get rid of this mindset because I know that it will carry over into my dreams, but I don't know how to fight my brain saying "This is so real, it can't possibly be a dream". Even when I tell myself that I might be dreaming, I don't feel like I am really believing it, and because of this, I feel less excited about doing a RC.

Also, how do I know that I have come to a logical conclusion in a RC if I do not acknowledge whether or not I am dreaming? For example, what I have been doing in the past is, after finishing a RC I would say to myself "OK because I understand where I am, how I got here, what I'm doing, etc., and because the RCs did this, I must not be dreaming". If I should not acknowledge that I am not dreaming, how do I prove to myself that I have collected enough evidence one way or another to finish the RC? And does this mean that I should not acknowledge that the specific reality tests I performed failed?

Originally Posted by dreamingnow

How do I get past the feeling of "I am definitely awake" in WL?

Build high levels dream recall, dream awareness (meaning, awareness *of* your dreams, realizing you do dream, a lot, every night, etc.), and acquire a few hundreds/thousands of non-lucid dreams in your DJ (doesn't take all that long with 5+ dreams recalled per night). Particularly, vivid dreams where you feel truly present in the moment and entirely "awake." The ones where you wake up and think to yourself in amazement, "Wait, you mean, *that* was a dream!?!?" Do this and you will deeply acquire the gut realization that any conscious moment could be actually taking place in the dream state. Somewhere around 11% of our conscious experiences take place in the dream state, so that's a pretty good chance!

Also, how do I know that I have come to a logical conclusion in a RC if I do not acknowledge whether or not I am dreaming? For example, what I have been doing in the past is, after finishing a RC I would say to myself "OK because I understand where I am, how I got here, what I'm doing, etc., and because the RCs did this, I must not be dreaming". If I should not acknowledge that I am not dreaming, how do I prove to myself that I have collected enough evidence one way or another to finish the RC? And does this mean that I should not acknowledge that the specific reality tests I performed failed?

It depends I suppose on the particulars of your RC(s). With nose pinch in a dream, it is so obvious to me the particular feeling I get, like my internal breathing apparatus is disconnected from my physical body. Also note that you may get lucid without ever doing RCs. RCs are helpful to cement budding lucidity in a dream, but sometimes you just get lucid without needing to do a RC. This comes from building familiarity with the dream state as compared to the waking, and something in your internal "spidey sense" just tells you that this is the dream state.

I think Gab's point is really to avoid forming and dwelling upon the "I am not dreaming" conclusion, because this thought can prevent lucidity. Sure, some little part of you knows this, but you want to avoid forming this complete thought and dwelling on it. Rather, redirect your thoughts to something like (this is what I do), "Hmm, well, I *will* be dreaming TONIGHT! And I'll get lucid!"

Something else I like to do from time to time is "fake" a RC. Like, do nose pinch, but intentionally "miss" my nose so that I can breathe, and then pretend that I am getting lucid in a dream. If this happens in a dream, all the better. And it lets you get some practice in experiencing the thought of "Yes, I am dreaming!" and hopefully build this thought into your dreaming mind.

If you get a RC result that indicates "not dreaming," it's good to slow down, and reeeeeeaallly concentrate on it. Do several different RCs, carefully and thoughtfully. The worst thing is doing an RC in the dream state quickly and ignoring the result. Doing RCs slowly and carefully is the best way to prevent that.

Trust me, once you get lucid (and you WILL! probably very soon!), a lot of the mystery will become clear. It just takes time and experience with the dream state.

Thanks FryingMan! This has given me a new perspective on RCs!

I have been trying to do at least 10 RCs per day, and for the past couple weeks I have done an average of 7-10 each day, with 5 being the bare minimum. Is this enough to improve my awareness, or should I be doing more? I want to make sure I am doing as many as I can, but I am also trying to be very careful to make sure that I don't start to get tired of RCs as a chore that I "have" to do.