Why didn't RC work?

OK, I've been following some tutorials for a month, keeping a Dream Journal and just recently started to incorporate RC into my habits. Already found out some Dream Signs and I'm now determined to control a lucid dream.

However, I've had a problem that has happened twice already.

One of my dream signs is me going home, some of my dreams feature me trying to go back to my house.
One night, I had a dream where I was going back home from the shop. As an incorporated habit I tried to make my finger go through my hand to check whether I was dreaming or not. However something odd happened, my finger didn't go through my hand and I could feel my solid hand. I started to look around but nothing was out of the ordinary, I can remember myself thinking "There are cars here. There never are cars in my dreams".

As stated before, it is not the first time this happened. On another dream, I saw someone flying and did the same RC and again, my hand felt solid.

Anyone has an idea about why this happened? Sure, I became aware of my environment but thought it was still reality. I know the RC works, I've tried it in another dream and my hand was blurred and my finger went right through it that time.

I personally don't like the finger-through-hand technique. It's not always trustworthy.
I prefer to plug my nose with my hand and then try to breath, and if I still can, I'm dreaming. In dreams you can feel the solid ground, a solid wall, or another solid person. Your hand is no different so sometimes that technique doesn't work.

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Originally Posted by Moose

I personally don't like the finger-through-hand technique. It's not always trustworthy.
I prefer to plug my nose with my hand and then try to breath, and if I still can, I'm dreaming. In dreams you can feel the solid ground, a solid wall, or another solid person. Your hand is no different so sometimes that technique doesn't work.

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I agree, pinching my nose has been effective. It's easy to get in that habit of doing, and it got me my first taste of lucidity earlier today.

There is so many reliable reality checks, why did you choose one that have a even bigger history of failure ? Your hand is solid, obviously; so it's no new that it would be carry to the dream and the RC fail.

Try the nose pinch and the looking at hands.

With reality checks, here's the thing... They have to convince you 100% with no doubt that what you just did can ONLY be possible in a dream...

You said: "There are cars here. There never are cars in my dreams". ... The problem with that, is there IS a possibility that cars can be in your dream, this not proving whether or not its Real or Fake. Now, if the car was flying, that is different.

Since you were able to logically think in your dream, and know you are dreaming, all you have to do now is simply prove it, convince yourself. If you are conscious, but not yet lucid, you can try doing multiple reality checks, more dependable dream signs, etc.

Ultimately, it all comes down to having irrefutable proof that where you are isnt reality, believe it, and take control.. rather, share control with your subconscious.

-----> That will always work! .. However, In some cases, simply saying "this dream" or "im dreaming" or "this isnt real" is enough to make you lucid.

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Originally Posted by Brunor2

There is so many reliable reality checks, why did you choose one that have a even bigger history of failure ? Your hand is solid, obviously; so it's no new that it would be carry to the dream and the RC fail.

Try the nose pinch and the looking at hands.

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I've read numberous times that the finger through hand worked for people, beisdes it's the easiest one to remember when doing RCs, hence my reasons for choosing it as the one to do more often.

Also, I forgot to mention, I looked at my hands both times, they weren't blurry, I had five fingers and could even see my fingerprints and lines.

I'll try to do the nose plugging one more often now, thanks for the replies. Just found it really weird that I could see my hand so detailed and feel it.

The purpose of the Reality check is to confirm your doubt. In your case, it failed.
The best ''relity check'' is awareness. In your dream, everything was looking right, but you would probably feels different in some way - it could be your weight, your feel, everything. It's good for you to have a couple of RCs, you have the finger through hand, the hand looking and the nose pinch. For me, the nose pinch failed ony - probably - when I was with my head burrowed on the pillow in some way, so I would probably not feel the air, otherwise it's almost fail proof (only if you have some exterior thing blocking your nose). The hand looking works great too, there were some times when they looked normal, that's why it's good to have a couple of RCs to do.

I hate when that happens :( You are probably too accustomed to having your reality checks prove you are awake. You need to question reality more whenever you do your RC. Really examine your recent memories and your surroundings. Don't let your reality checks become a habit. You really need to give them some attention.

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Don't let your reality checks become a habit. You really need to give them some attention.

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This. When you try to stick your finger through your palm, picture what it will look like and think about how it will feel. Go back through your recent memory and see if events seem logical. Any lapse in your memory is a sure sign of dreaming. Also, perform more than one reality check at a time. Just the other night I spent an entire dream doing reality checks because they kept failing, but I still had reason to doubt this assessment.

Always assume that it's a dream; instead of RCing to prove that it IS a dream, RC to prove that it ISN'T. (If that makes any sense.)

Double post, sorry. >_<

In my experience, the nose pinch RC is by far the most reliable, because it is physically impossible (or highly unlikely, anyway) that your real body will lift its hand to its face and pinch its nose shut, and unless this happens, your breathing can't really be obstructed. Your brain can't really make the nose pinch RC succeed in a dream because your dream body's breathing is the same as your real body's breathing (unlike your dream hands, which are distinct from your real hands, and act unpredictably).