R-CAR: An experiment

[Zaephr]

R-CAR: An experimental reality check routine The R-CAR technique is a rather easy technique to follow and use, and usually takes about a minute to complete. During your reality check, you must cycle through your senses and be aware of the information around you. Similar to mindfulness, ADA, and SSILD, these habits during the reality check will carry over to your dream world and increase both vivdness and awareness. I myself have had a lucid dream every night after practicing this technique. Here are the steps: Step 1: The Reality Check Do your favorite reality check. Simple as that. Step 2: The Cycle Complete this step by focusing on a sense for about 15 to 30 seconds, performing a reality check, and moving on to the next sense until you have completed the full cycle. Repeat more times for increased awareness in your dreams. (Using a mantra can also assist with R-CAR) -Part 1: SIGHT Absorb all the visual information that normally you don't consider. Pay attention to the smaller visual details and traits to objects that you see everyday, such as shadows, clouds, textures, and more. -Part 2: SOUND Close your eyes (if you'd like) and focus on all the sounds around you. Voices and ambience especially. Listen carefully to all the inflections and variety in the voices you can hear, if any. -Part 3: SOMESTHETIC (Touch) Focus on the physical aspects that you can feel. Notice the texture in the pen you're holding, or the shape of the keys you press as you type. Take into account the internal workings of your body, such as heartbeat and breathing. Essentially, the technique goes as follows: Reality Check -> Sight -> Sound -> Somesthetic -> Reality Check It is effective to perform this every hour at the very least, but to maximize the productivity do it every 30 minutes. Please record your feedback and success rates below, and thank you for reading. If you have any questions at all, ask them below and I'll be glad to help.

[Baron Samedi]

Great idea. Very simple and straightforward.

[VagalTone]

My most vivid dreams happened while i was practicing a very close RC routine, although it was pretty intense at that tive and i eventually discontinued it. but yeah this is a very grounded and mindful RC. Thanks for the suggestion

[ezzolucid]

Wow, i 'invented' this technique for myself just a few weeks ago! lol I have been doing SSILD at night with good success and after reading about SAT and quality reality checks, i thought that a great mindful reality check would be to so the ssild cycles during the day (I have posted this below from a previous posting that I did) I then decided that as it was daytime i would simply open my eyes during the 'seeing' step and that would tie in nicely with ADA. My version lasts a bit longer though as I wanted it to last about 5-10 mins to tie in with SAT. I also recommend that during the 'feeling step' we 'feel' our hands and repeat 'next time i see hands i do a reality check' This was, when doing SSILD cycles at night it 'slots in' a MILD affirmation. I love SSILD as its so flexible (even if cosic.iron says to not mess with it) Here is a previous posting by me championing the use of SSILD ******************************************** SSILD can be used at any time day or night and heres a breakdown of the 'whys' Do SSILD during the daytime whilst sitting / standing up - WHY? Doing SSILD during the day is NOT for inducing a lucid dream, it is used for a great meditation session and also doubles as a practise session. The SSILD cycles are a type of mindful meditation, you are guiding yourself through the cycles concentrating on your senses, On the 'seeing' step you can open your eyes and take everything in and so the daytime SSILD becomes a hybrid of ADA and a productive mindfulness seated meditation session which builds self awareness along with all the other benefits of meditation. Do SSILD as you lay to sleep - WHY? Doing SSILD as you lay to sleep is NOT to induce a lucid dream per se. Doing SSILD as you lay to sleep acts as a fantastic relaxation method that gets you to sleep fast and once again is great practise for the night ahead Do SSILD as a WBTB - WHY? So this is where SSILD will be most effective and why it is used for lucid dreaming. Perform a wbtb, I stay up from between 3 and 10 mins. I then get comfy and perform the cycles, the trick is to fall asleep whilst performing the cycles, You should aim for at least 3-4 cycles before you nod off. If you feel you are falling asleep during the very first cycle then you can put your arm or elbow in the air until you have done 3-4 cycles to keep you awake. Remeber, the magic happens AFTER you fall asleep so theres no need to stay still - you can scratch & swallow etc.............. Why does SSILD work? who knows? Fo me the logic is straight-forward - by cycing through the sense you are increasing your self awareness of these senses so as you sleep, your self awareness is raised allowing oddities to be spotted in dreams. Do SSILD as a WILD - WHY? During the steps above it is possible if you feel like it to continue doing the steps until REM kicks in. You can cycle the steps or as Dolphin does, focus on one of the steps and use it as an anchor to WILD. My last WILD involved me cycling the steps and when I started getting dreamlets i then focused more time and attention of the 'seeing' step, nest thing i know i am feeling vibrations and got on OBE :-) So SSILD can by mix matched to suit your needs, experiment with adding in other stuff such as a affirmation during the 'hearing' step or what i do is during the 'touch'step i 'feel' my hands and tell myself to reality check next time i see my hands SSILD is powerful - a very powerful sedative, it really puts you in a trance and can be used for many applications. When i first started out there were 100 techniques to choose from, 100 daytime meditation techniques, 100 'relax to sleep' methods and it all becomes an overwhelming choice. So you see, you can use SSILD as a one-size-fits-all meditation, lucid dream induction and relaxation aid. If you have not read the tutorial it can be found by googling 'cosmib.iron ssild' Post successes here and dont forget to add any alterations that you made to the technique - happy SSILD'ing! Ezzo

[TDHXIII]

I'll be incorporating this method into my daily RC's.. This sounds good.

[ezzolucid]

I also have another 'twist' on SSILD which I call the SSILD10 Sometimes when im awake after 6 hours of sleep, i know that i am in prime time REM territory and by doing basic SSILD, i feel i am giving up a chance for WILD instead. During earlier wbtb's such as 3-5 hours i will perform a 'normal' SSILD and hope for a DILD but when I know REM is close I put the SSILD10 into action. Its really simple - I perform the wbtb of 5-10 mins then lay down to SSILD with the intention of completing 10 cycles. With each step, i repeat a mantra 'am i dreaming'. By performing 10 steps would normally take about 15 - 20 mins by which time a succesful WILD would occur. This is very similar (is not exact) to Michael Radugas Direct Techniques. The mantra is there to keep a slightly extra layer of awareness as i cycle through the steps. If a step starts to 'react' then i will 'latch on' and stay with that step. For instance, if Im on the seeing step and start to get strong Hypnogogia then I will stay with the seeing step and move away from 'hearing' and 'touch' After 10 cycles, one of the following will happen 1) You fall asleep after several cycles and you have simply performed a normal ssild, so a DILD may be on the way 2) You succesfully WILD 3) You are still awake. If this is the case then discontinue and go to sleep and hope for a DILD I hope some of this was helpful

[RelaxAndDream]

i have a question regarding your method: do you look around you while doing the seeing part or do you just "open" your eyes and look into everything you can see what is in your periphery. because when i start looking around and in 360° it gets a little bit much i think? but i also incorporated sageous RRC. i look around look for details and notice what have changed and where my influence is. might be not bad to. but this i do when i have some spare time and calm. i dont like to do your "R-CAR" when i am on the run or in a bus or something. but maybe this will change with practice.

[ezzolucid]

Hi Relaxand dream, all SSILD cycles including 'seeing' are to be done in a passive manner. Do not look for images as it is the act of simply seeing that is the goal. Take a look at the main SSILD technique by googling ' cosmic.iron ssild'

[RelaxAndDream]

thank you for your answer. i am familiar with SSILD and use it on my own. normally it is done with closed eyes. here it is about R-CAR. -Part 1: SIGHT Absorb all the visual information that normally you don't consider. Pay attention to the smaller visual details and traits to objects that you see everyday, such as shadows, clouds, textures, and more. You have open eyes. My question is now do you use the peripheral sight radius you have when you just have open eyes without moving your head and try to absorb as much as detail then or do you start looking around and turning and try to see everything? (probably with less detail if when you focus on a area?)

[ezzolucid]

Hi Relaz and dream. R-car above is taking about using SSILD during the daytime as meditation where you intake everything around you with your eyes open. Its only at night when trying to lucid dream that you keep your eyes closed.

[RelaxAndDream]

Hi Relaz and dream. R-car above is taking about using SSILD during the daytime as meditation where you intake everything around you with your eyes open. Its only at night when trying to lucid dream that you keep your eyes closed. dont know if i really write that cryptic or what the problem is but please reread my _question_ again... in as short as i can: do you move your head while seeing?!

[ezzolucid]

dont know if i really write that cryptic or what the problem is but please reread my _question_ again... in as short as i can: do you move your head while seeing?! Hi, yes you can move your head when doing ssild cycles, On the seeing step, actually look all around you, take in as much visual information as possible (look at how that shadow from the tree hits the house, how that bird swoops towards the ground etc) Really be in the moment with everything you see for about 1 minute. You can then CLOSE your eyes and switch your awareness to hearing. Listen to the hum of traffic, the ringing in your ears, your breathing, the kids shouting from a distant school etc, then switch your attention to 'touch' with eyes closed. Feel the clothes on your body, the itches, the gravity etc. Repeat all of this a few times or as long as you want WHY? - Well this is simple mindfulness meditation which not only is a reality check but also increases self awareness which is the cornerstone of attaining lucidity. I hope this helps. Ps: when doing ssild at night after wbtb then your eyes should remain closed as you try to sleep. I hope this helps

[TDHXIII]

This almost got me success a couple of days ago. At first i did the checks every hour but now i think i'll do them every 30 minutes.

[figurefly]

I've been doing this a lot! Surprised to have found this thread. Great RC routine

[RelaxAndDream]

Thank you, now you answered my question. all the around infos you give i know already. as i said i use ssild already. SSILD is a very good technique i really like because it has this meditative touch. As i said i add to see seeing step while doing it at daytime sageous RRC and i think this is a good tweak.

[TDHXIII]

After trying this method out for 3 days, my dreams seem to have gotten more vivid than before and my memory is a bit better. However, i got no LDs.. Is this another one of those methods that you practice for some time before results show up? Nevertheless, i'll still do it since my awareness seems to be increasing with each passing day.

[Tipharot]

Nice suggestion - good way to combine the awareness exercises and your usual RCs for someone struggling to remember to do both. The other good thing is it slows down your reality check process so you'll be less tempted to "rush to get it done" and instead be more likely to really question if you're perhaps dreaming at this moment. A suggestion by the way but since you're already combining reality checks and a cycle through the senses and your awareness of them, why not integrate them further and for example use a specific reality check for each sense, i.e. for example: - Perform your sight awareness exercise, then perform a visual reality check (like counting the fingers on your hand, moving it out of sight, then bringing it back and counting them again - and noticing if your hand looks different, or turning a light off and on - or both), - Next perform your auditory/hearing awareness exercise with eyes closed, then perform an auditory reality check (like speaking aloud and asking the dream/your subconscious a question, and seeing if there's a reply indicating that you're dreaming), - Then when you get to the touch awareness exercise you can do the fingers through hand and closed nose breathing RCs for example. That way you're already further associating the two processes, plus you're lengthening your usual reality check process which means that you'll be more likely to catch anything abnormal and realise that it's a dream.

[Zaephr]

A suggestion by the way but since you're already combining reality checks and a cycle through the senses and your awareness of them, why not integrate them further and for example use a specific reality check for each sense, i.e. for example: - Perform your sight awareness exercise, then perform a visual reality check (like counting the fingers on your hand, moving it out of sight, then bringing it back and counting them again - and noticing if your hand looks different, or turning a light off and on - or both), - Next perform your auditory/hearing awareness exercise with eyes closed, then perform an auditory reality check (like speaking aloud and asking the dream/your subconscious a question, and seeing if there's a reply indicating that you're dreaming), - Then when you get to the touch awareness exercise you can do the fingers through hand and closed nose breathing RCs for example. Brilliant idea! I hadn't thought of that. And in response to TDHXIII, it really depends on the person. I began seeing results the first couple of days, and progressively I started having more LD's. So I guess its more of a build-up, but alot of the times results come quickly from what I've seen.