Thread: please help with reality checks

I make my reality checks very subtle, by just touching my arm, pinching my nose (not too hard, just a simple touch) and try to exhale, look at a clock, look at another, and look back, or try to read something twice. This way, no one thinks I'm crazy by like flapping my arms to see if I can fly. Just make it a routine to do these things as often as you can in your spare time, don't wrap yourself around them. Maybe touch one arm, then the other while on the computer or reading over a paragraph every so often in a book. Once this is a routine, in a dream when I touch my arm, it feels very strange, like my arm is asleep and my skin is very hard. Sometimes my finger goes straight through. Just make a routine of subtle checks, and you'll surely LD.

ok, thanks! So to see if I understand this correctly now: I go about my daily things and sometimes (and making it a routine thing) I just pinch my arm or check my watch twice? I don't have to wonder whether I'm dreaming or not? (because that seems a bit silly during the day ) Pretty cool thing if you can do that in a dream!

Well, don't drive yourself insane by questioning reality, just look for dreamsigns or such. But if you think "Am I dreaming" in your head often, you'll make it a habit, not actually questioning reality, just think about it. So when you are in a dream, that might help you figure it out or help you realize that that cow flying by is not realistic.
The point of checking the watch/text twice is to see if its changed dramatically.

great, thanks, I think I get it completely now

good luck.

just one thing...pinching yourself isn't a helpful reality check, and is actually a bad habit to get into. if you do it in a dream you will simply produce the sensation of a convincing pinch

the whole point of reality checks is to recognize the main quality that distinguishes dreams from waking life: changeability.

see, dreams can be incredibly realistic (which is why we accept them), but they are almost always shifting and changing, and generally producing certain situations or objects which have been changed in such a way as to be different than normal, realistic, stable waking life.

so, this is why pinching yourself in a dream will only fool you if you do it in a dream.

checking text twice is one of the best ones, as it takes advantage of the shifting nature of dreams. as well, hopping in the air expecting to fly is an excellent one (as gravity is almost always changed slightly in dreams) if you float for even a second, you can be sure you are dreaming. as well, think back over the last five minutes and try to remember everything in logical sequence. if you can't, or it doen't make any sense (e.g. you were at the store in your hometown, then at a circus in china, now in your bedroom) you are likely dreaming.

not nitpicking, it's just way easier to get into good habits right off the bat

it will help immensely to always keep this in mind when thinking about lucid dreaming....when you become aware in a dream it will usually not seem less realistic, only less stable and logical.

thus, never use how realistic your surroundings/situation seem as a way to tell if you are dreaming, only how stable or to put it another way, never use how realistic a pinch feels as an RC, but something like whether or not you have seven fingers on the hand doing the pinching (changeability).

sweet dreams

I make a habit of squeezing my nostrils shut about a dozen times a day and
proving to myself that I am indeed awake because I can't breathe.

It has become so routine that I do it in my dreams without thinking. Being able to
take a deep breath with my mouth shut while pinching my nose has been a very
reliable RC for me. It also feels very strange because you are mentally aware of
something you are doing in reality while being asleep. After that, deep breathing and
hand rubbing solidifies my lucidity.

Also, this has made me more comfortable with being underwater in my lucids.
I enjoy walking at the bottom of rivers and lakes. Being able to breath when I
know I shouldn't be able to doesn't feel so awkward.

Good Luck !

I agree with Carter about closing your nose and trying to breathe. This method is very effective. This is the reality check i chose, because trying to pierce my hand with my other hand wasn't convincing me i was dreaming. It really works, but i've got to get better at doing them often during the day.

Yup. I´m trying to do them during the day, but I keep forgetting... But evertime I think about it, I do a reañity check, but it isn´t often enough... I´ll keep trying though!
My dreams have been kinda sucky, but I´ll try..

easy one,

write in your palm. "Am I dreaming?" or "Do a Reality Check?"

Do this for about 2 weeks and when it starts appearing in your dream you will remember to do it.

Good luck!!

ok, that's a good one! I'm going to try that, I don't really have time to do anything else these two weeks, so I can really practice the rc's. thanks!

I simply look at my watch, look away, then look back again. I always write "RC" on my hand, though, otherwise I'd forget.