Thread: My first post!

Well after joining I tried some techniques I saw here and unfortunately I didn't have a lucid dream, in fact I couldn't remember any of my dreams when I woke up in the morning. I think part of it was just me being excited about trying some new things. I'm going to try again tonight, and hope to have more luck.

One thing I'm kind of confused about though, what is the idea behind doing reality checks? I understand you use them to see if you're dreaming, then you become aware that you are dreaming and become lucid. The part I don't understand is that if you have the presence of mind to think, "I should do a reality check," then aren't you already somewhat lucid?

Also, what is the idea behind dream signs? Again it seems to me like you need to already be somewhat lucid to even have the presence of mind to look for dream signs. Could you actually increase your chances of noticing dream signs while you're dreaming by looking for dream signs when you know you're awake? For example if you start looking down at your hands to see if they look right and checking the clock to see if the time makes sense more often when you are awake, will that increase the chances that you would do that while you are dreaming?

Thanks for the help and patience, I'm trying to learn

Edit: Another question, what is the difference between wake-induced lucid dreams and dream-induced lucid dreams? I know the definitions of both terms, I mean is there a difference where wake-induced are more vivid and you have more control, or are wake-induced lucid dreams basically just for people who have trouble getting dream-induced lucid dreams? I guess what I'm asking is, does one kind of lucid dream give you a better experience than the other or are they just two ways of getting to the same place?