Question regarding "looking at your hands"-RC

Hey guys,

I just wondered why there is a RC which says you should look at your hands or fingers.
I mean when you sleep the logical part of your mind isn't fully awake. So even if I look at my fingers and suddenly there are 7 of them I would accept that, because there's nothing in my mind that would prevent me from thinking it's not normal.

The above is just a thing I don't understand. I don't get why this should work.
Just tonight I had my first lucid dream, where I did this RC.
I remember looking at my hands did not trigger lucid state, but doing the "finger through palm"-RC and the "breathe through closed nose"-RC did it.

greets,
enco

Well people usually count their fingers. If they count more than or less than 10 then they know they're dreaming. Just looking at them probably wouldn't work.

Different things work for different people.

One thing to remember about reality checking is that the reality check itself is completely useless without awareness. I often look at my hands when I suspect something might be out of order, not as a habitual reaction. This often leads to lucidity. Many people however, simply look at their hands, asking themselves if they're dreaming without putting any effort into it. If they except to see nothing out of the ordinary, well, then they probably won't see anything out of the ordinary in dreams either.

It's all a matter of awareness and expectations.

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So even if I look at my fingers and suddenly there are 7 of them I would accept that, because there's nothing in my mind that would prevent me from thinking it's not normal.

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This depends on the person. If they've been reality checking properly in waking life, lucidity will be triggered.

The finger-through-hand reality check rarely works for me, for instance. My palm often feels like steel instead.

Also, :welcome: to DV! :D

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Originally Posted by XeL

Also, :welcome: to DV! :D

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Thanks for welcoming me, I introduced myself over there.

So I think this is the reason to do more than just one RC, because it doesn't work the same for every person. I will try to count my fingers from now instead of just looking at them. Maybe it will work in my dream, too.

Well, yes. I'm just stressing the fact that you have to put effort into your reality checks, regardless of which ones you choose to use. Don't let them become a mindless body motion.

If you decide to count your fingers, expect to see more or less than 10 (after all, that's exactly what you want to see when you're in a dream).