Thread: Reality Checks

Even if you can't identify good dream signs, reality checks can still be helpful. If you get in the habit of reality checking throughout the day, the practice may carry over to your dreams. My favorite reality check is to think about my recent memory to be sure it makes sense. How did I get here? Does this all feel normal? While I am thinking about this, I count the fingers on my hands. I'm pretty good at recognizing the feeling of a dream if I stop to think about it. Of course, I still get fooled all the time, so a finger count is a good back up.

RCs often don't work if they become too "habitual" (unless you really question if you're dreaming).

If you walk in real life, you'll walk in a dream.
If you take singing classes in real life, you might find yourself singing in a dream.
If you just do reality checks without really stopping and looking around, being aware, you'll end up doing them in your dreams too, which can end up getting pretty frustrating!

I rarely use RCs myself; the majority of my lucids come from sudden awareness. I use reality checks to test if I'm awake or asleep, but not to cause the actual lucidity.