Thread: Reality or Dream?

How can you or anyone distinguish a dream from reality?
I am new to this website and new to the whole dream thing so I would really appreciate feedback, thank you.

The best ways are dream signs and reality checks.

If you write your dreams down regularly you will become aware of strange things that recur in your dreams, like your teeth falling out or getting in a car accident but not actually crashing just finding yourself standing next to the wreck(they aren't necessarily so bad, these are just my dream signs). Whenever you see these things there's a very good chance you're dreaming.

Another way is reality checks. Try doing something that you can do in a dream that you can't do in waking life, like putting your finger through your hand or levitating. Conversely you could do something you can't do in a dream like flicking on and off the lights. This is a sure way to know weather your dreaming or not, though sometimes reality checks do fail(like you'll try to put your finger through your hand and it won't in a dream). But if you do manage it you'll know that you are dreaming.

well, great timing i must say.

Well, im not an expert, but...

I have see inception 11 times now and completely understand how they(and how I) distinguish between a dream and reality.

You can have whats called a REALITY CHECK. This is when, while in a dream, you perform a small task that lets you know the difference between reality and a dream.
You can do this by for example pushing two fingers into your palm and if your fingers go through your hand, then your in a dream. This may get confusing if you start to really look into it because the "logistics" part of your brain shuts down while your sleeping. This is why you arent phased when you see a tank in a shopping mall while dreaming, you have no logic.

Or possibly a totem that you can tell when the physics of a dream are off.

And a dream sign, so say you think about a red ball, and if you see a red ball start bouncing by in front of you, then you know your in a dream.

Or your wallet. If your like me, your wallet will have no money in it when your in reality ;D

Originally Posted by Danshan

Or possibly a totem that you can tell when the physics of a dream are off.

If you don't have a totem with you, though, you'll have to summon it (which can only happen if you already know it's a dream).

OP; you basically do small tests called reality checks. The most common ones are plugging your nose and seeing if you can breathe through it, really paying attention to details of the stuff around you and seeing if anything looks strange, trying to push your finger through the palm of your other hand, and counting your fingers.

And then there's dream signs, which essentially are, no surprise, signs that you're dreaming. Seeing a flying pig, for instance, is a dream sign. Having more computers in your house than you should is a dream sign. Flying is a dream sign.

Usually, both these things are used after you gain awareness/lucidity in dreams, and are only used to test if you're dreaming or awake. Usually it goes like this...

1 - You're walking down the sidewalk.
2 - You suddenly stop and look around, becoming a bit excited. "Wait, is this a dream?"
3 - You do a reality check or look around to find a dream sign, which confirms the fact that you're dreaming.

Let me ask you this....what if what we thought was reality was actually our dreams and our dreams actually reality?
would that change your perspective on things?

Originally Posted by Jake1392

Let me ask you this....what if what we thought was reality was actually our dreams and our dreams actually reality?
would that change your perspective on things?

The scenario in Inception is impossible; unless you have a mental illness or some form of other problem with your mind, there's no chance at all that you can confuse dreams with reality. Inception hit the nail on the head with many aspects of dreaming, but it held back in others. Physics doesn't apply in your dreams unless you make it apply, and you can't really go into limbo.

Okay another question; when you're in a dream you don't remember how you got there you're just in the middle of it, now when you were born did you remember that?

Nope, you don't remember how you got to where you currently are. It's exactly like not remembering what happened when you were born. This can be used as a reality check, asking yourself if you can remember what you did before you got to where you are at that moment. And yeah, I have to emphasize dream journaling; it's definitely an important part of LDing.

The point I am trying to get across though is, what if your whole life was a dream?

I apologize for being so pushy with the questions and somewhat of a....smartass but I'm honestly interested in others opinions on the matter.

I've seen Inception about 3 times already which is the whole reason why I found interest in dreams. Its a great movie I absolutely love it. I mean imagine being able to share dreams with one another, being able to interact while in a dream state and have total control of what happens.

I find the human mind to be extremely complex, even more so than what most perceive it to be.
Now I've read a bit about Lucid Dreaming and I find it very interesting to be able to control whats going on in your mind. If there is anything you can teach me or any knowledge you can give me about it please enlighten me.

I want to be able to experience Lucid Dreaming and all its said to be.

Anyway thank you for the response.

Originally Posted by Jake1392

I've seen Inception about 3 times already which is the whole reason why I found interest in dreams. Its a great movie I absolutely love it. I mean imagine being able to share dreams with one another, being able to interact while in a dream state and have total control of what happens.

I find the human mind to be extremely complex, even more so than what most perceive it to be.
Now I've read a bit about Lucid Dreaming and I find it very interesting to be able to control whats going on in your mind. If there is anything you can teach me or any knowledge you can give me about it please enlighten me.

I want to be able to experience Lucid Dreaming and all its said to be.

Anyway thank you for the response.

Welcome to Dreamviews, I'm from Texas too
Start with a dream journal. Some get lazy and put it off, or say well I have good dream recall already there is no need for me to have one.
After a few weeks of keeping a dream journal and writing down as many dreams with as much detail. I have learned some of my dream signs which have helped me become lucid.
Its going to take time and patience

hahahah. I win

naw they jes woids. In one place physics applies and it doesn't in the other.

Very true about dream journalling.

Originally Posted by stonedape

naw they jes woids. In one place physics applies and it doesn't in the other.

Okay another question; when you're in a dream you don't remember how you got there you're just in the middle of it, now when you were born did you remember that?

Originally Posted by Jake1392

Okay another question; when you're in a dream you don't remember how you got there you're just in the middle of it, now when you were born did you remember that?

Nope, but when I got older I learned how babies are made.

Realizing that what you see in a dream is a creation of your mind is part of the process of becoming lucid. When you imagine something you don't have to imagine all the causalities that go with it.

Well jake, really good point
I never thought of it that way.
Inception by the way is an aswesome movie. I just met someone in a different post that met the inception crew who told him he was dreaming and to fall asleep to be lucid, so he went into a dream within a dream and was completely lucid.
Lucky him eh!

Originally Posted by Danshan

Well jake, really good point
I never thought of it that way.
Inception by the way is an aswesome movie. I just met someone in a different post that met the inception crew who told him he was dreaming and to fall asleep to be lucid, so he went into a dream within a dream and was completely lucid.
Lucky him eh!

Lucky indeed haha I'm actually really jealous, as lame as that sounds. :p

So Danshan I'm truly curious to know...would your perception on things change if reality were a dream and vice versa?

well I believe that my perception would stay the same because if life is a dream, then dreams are our reality since we never really experienced "reality" outside of a dream.

I dunno, I kind of see the metaphysical idea your getting at but at the same time it doesn't really make sense. Things that happen in dreams are extremely fleeting. If you chop your arm off in a dream it comes back, not so in real life. The idea that life is a dream is just an analogy. Life is short so live now, don't wait around for the perfect conditions, if you do you'll be old to do what you where waiting for when you find them.

Now you can say that we are all just impermanent forms and that we all share some kind of universal soul or human archetype. That God is the dreamer and each persons life is one of It's dreams. That we are all part of a collective consciousness and all one, but I dunno, I see no reason to believe in such a thing. To me the oneness of the universe is expressing a different truth, that if everything was not exactly as it is you would not be who you are, the you that you are wouldn't exist.

Originally Posted by stonedape

I dunno, I kind of see the metaphysical idea your getting at but at the same time it doesn't really make sense. Things that happen in dreams are extremely fleeting. If you chop your arm off in a dream it comes back, not so in real life. The idea that life is a dream is just an analogy. Life is short so live now, don't wait around for the perfect conditions, if you do you'll be old to do what you where waiting for when you find them.

Now you can say that we are all just impermanent forms and that we all share some kind of universal soul or human archetype. That God is the dreamer and each persons life is one of It's dreams. That we are all part of a collective consciousness and all one, but I dunno, I see no reason to believe in such a thing. To me the oneness of the universe is expressing a different truth, that if everything was not exactly as it is you would not be who you are, the you that you are wouldn't exist.

I understand what you're saying, very interesting, I don't mean to force any ideas upon anyone I'm just curious is all.

I'm fascinated by the dream world and I wish to explore deeper into it but I want to get as many perspectives as I can before I do so.
I fully appreciate your feedback and the feedback of all the others. You can't judge something on one perspective alone in my opinion.

I am going to start on my lucid dreaming the thought of controlling my dreams seems very interesting as I have never known this was possible.

Your not forcing your ideas, it's cool.

The best way to get lucid, in my opinion, is doing a reality check, but it sometimes doesn't work. I usually end up becoming lucid without even trying, but whenever I do a reality check, I just look at my hands. It's worked pretty well, but I have a hard time remembering to do it. You should try experimenting and find what works best for you.

One of the ideas I tried to play around with, was not to distinguish between dreams and reality. Instead, they were just considered as various realms affording the opportunity to experience. I gave each realm its own name, so that when an RC was performed the result always ended with a positive identifier: "This is X" or "This is Y"; instead of it being: "This is reality / this is not a dream" or "This is a dream / this is not reality". I tried it for a few months, but eventually I got annoyed with the names I'd chosen for the various realms and eventually stopped doing it.

I guess the point was to avoid anchoring my reference point of where reality lies to a particular realm. Thus, when in a dream and I became conscious, it would be considered just another realm of experience - and thus ease my mind into being in that realm. Becoming conscious in a dream, and realising "This is a dream!" always seemed to jolt my system too much and the dream would fade.

I don't think that reality is a dream in the classical sense; that we have another body asleep somewhere, dreaming this reality into being. I prefer to consider reality a particular opportunity for experience, and from that opportunity we have created off-shoot opportunities for experience: dreams, meditative states etc. Is 'reality' just an off-shoot from some other dimension of being? It certainly is a possibility to entertain.

Sometimes I think I wouldn't be at all surprised if suddenly reality cracked open and in a murky instant I was an alien form, in a games arcade, the controller realising its psychic connection from my mind. I'd be misty brained, my friends would be looking at me: "Well, how was the game?" they'd ask...

Jake here's a thought:

What if neither were fake? What if they are both real? the "dream" and "reality".
There's something i've been pondering on.

Originally Posted by Zealot

Jake here's a thought:

What if neither were fake? What if they are both real? the "dream" and "reality".
There's something i've been pondering on.

Thats a very interesting point there I will take that into consideration. Thank you.

There are also some things that will be constant in reality that will not be constant in a dream.
For Example, One of my Reality Checks is my pocketwatch. I wear it everywhere in real life. I put it to my ear randomly and if it's ticking at a constant, steady speed I can assume that this reality check has suggested I'm most likely awake.