Another newbie (With questions of course!)

**Kanzaki** · 09-02-2011 03:10 AM

Yup, just as the title suggests. Well I've been lurking for quite a while and believe me I have questions too! Oh but first; hi everyone!

Getting right too it. I don't want to create other threads with these questions so I'll just be asking them here. I do hope I get some answers, because I've been wondering for a while.

First one, I became lucid after what seemed like a very long dream. I was happy, because it happened at a place I really wanted to become lucid and in control at, so I just went from there, skipping along the road leading to the apartment of the guy that I really wanted to see. When I was at his front door, I remembered that people often appear if you expect them to (naturally, since dreams seem to only run our own expectations), so I counted down 3-2-1 in my head and what do you know! On 1, the door really opened. Too bad I woke up completely right before I could see his face! It seems that my dreams (the lucid ones anyway) never really wants me to see this guy. Any ideas why?

Secondly, I had a case of my head rationalizing why my reality check (trying to breathe through a pinched nose) failed. That makes me mad, because they were sparse, but worked perfectly fine up until now! Was it just bad luck, or could it have happened for a reason?

Thanks!

**Solarflare** · 09-02-2011 04:05 AM

and maybe you were so excited about seeing this guy you woke up. I dont know about Q. 2

**RebelSeven** · 09-02-2011 04:44 AM

Hi!

Your first question might have just been a problem with expectation, deep down you don't think you will be able to find this person. Or it might have just been your time to wake up (end of your REM cycle and your body can't keep dreaming after it.) The second problem, about the RC, is quite common if you do not perform your RC thoroughly enough. If you don't really pay attention, then it registers in your mind as a passing test. Avoid this by being very thorough with every single RC you perform.

Even then you may sometimes do the RC right, but can't quite remember if breathing meant you are asleep or awake. Go by the simple rule, if you are not sure, you are almost certainly asleep.

**Kanzaki** · 09-02-2011 08:51 PM

Thanks guys!

RebelSeven, that would explain it I guess, I have a hard time believing that I'm actually seeing him in my lucid dreams. Once I became lucid completely at random it seemed, right after I'd passed him in the hallway at my old boarding school. I looked for him and I was like, ALONE. No one was there. I picked up a pen that was on the desk in my room, in order to stabilize and everything went spinning out of control and I was "thrown out" of my own dream

But in my regular dreams, he's very realistic and I have no problems believing he's there. How do I get better at convincing myself that I only need to want to see him and it'll be possible?

The reality check thing makes perfect sense too, should've thought of that. I've been slacking a lot with my reality checks, sometimes just holding my breath and not using my head to analyze my surroundings

What are your reality checks like, in detail?

**RebelSeven** · 09-03-2011 04:10 AM

That's a hard question to answer. There are plenty of methods developed to summon people, like the door method you already tried, but if there is a bigger underlying reason you will probably still have some difficulty. The best I can offer is to try and discover the reason your subconscious is keeping him from you and deal with it on that level.

When I RC I am often already sure I am dreaming and only do it out of habit. The trick is that doing RC's raises your base level of awareness, which in turn keeps the logic centers of brain more active during dreaming. But when I do check, I plug my nose completely and breathe in and out a few times with very long breaths, I focus only on the RC. If I am ever confused as to whether or not I'm dreaming afterwards I try to float, which is even more fool proof than the nose plug for me.