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Hey! I'm new to lucid dreaming! So I need an answer to a question I have! I'm having a hard time including reality checks to my daily routines! Do you guys have any tips? I need something solid. The "do-a-reality-check-everytime-you-walk-through-a-doorway" trick doesn't work... I'm a forgetfull guy! xD
ask yourself if you are dreaming 10-20 seconds after ppl start talking to you
(like someone randomly walks into a room and asks you something) - that's the most challenging time to RC.
I'd suggest doing a reality check whenever you feel like it (such as "oh, I havn't done a reality check in a while", and then you do one) or whenever something strange or out of the ordinary happens (such as "is that man really talking into a sparkly pink phone?"). Hope this helps!
set a reminder in your fone dude and jus try and do them as much as you can and aftera a while you get used to it more
good luck! xD
First off, try to RC every 10-15 minutes. If you find that hard, make a suitable timeframe for yourself. Try to look at a clock every so often, and notice how long it has been since you last reality checked.
Also, when do you reality check, don't just do your technique. Don't just say, "Well my finger isn't going through my hand. So I am awake." Literally check reality. Look around you. Feel gravity. Feel your weight. Feel what it is like to move around. Test anything you can.
Eventually, reality checking will become concreted into your head, and you will do this in your dreams, and achieve lucidity.
Good luck!
-Muggler
Write RC on your hand every day and RC when you see it and especially when you think about it without having seen it.
Place post-its around your room/house/whereever reminding you to RC. Try to anticipate them.
Use the mnemonic aid of visualizing your day and all of the cues you've left around for yourself.
Set an alarm to go off as frequently as possible, and RC when it goes off.
Switch through all the ringtones on your phone, and anticipate your main ringtone. Every time you hear it, RC, then continue flipping through until you reach it again. Practice this, so that whenever your phone goes off you think to RC. If you watch tv, do the same with commercials. If you listen to the radio, do the same with commercials. Etc.
Remember to follow the tutorial and I recommend this.
Ok, guys! Thank you! I'll try these! But one mroe question, how often is it really needed to do a RC's per day?
In all actuality, you could probably become lucid with very little to none at all. Granted, it would take more time, but it can certainly be done. I've done it...twice.
I prefer reality checks mostly to confirm that I'm dreaming. The main purpose of RCing throughout the day is to increase your awareness. Awareness is key for lucid dreaming. After all, a reality check is not much good in a dream if you perform it and never think about it.
Reality checking is a brilliant tool, but I wouldn't rely on it entirely. Like Shift said, I would try to incorporate some MILD techniques, and possibly even WILDs. Of course, I wouldn't drop RCing altogether. It does work wonders for a lot of people. Really, it's all about finding the method that works for you. I kinda prefer MILD because I'm lazy...
So, back to your question, I would go with RCing at any interval from 15 minutes to every two hours or so. It varies from person to person, but what you really want to avoid is falling into the habit of doing an RC and not thinking about it. So, go with whatever interval best satisfies this condition for you. Not very helpful, I know. :P To start, I would suggest one every half hour to hour. Alternately, leave sticky notes lying around, etc.
Please pardon my wall of text.
If you want a reality check you can do without being conspicuous try to move things with your mind or put your hand through a solid object.
I tend to find in dreams if I put my hand/body against a wall and ignore the fact the wall is there (I cant really explain the thought process.. it's more like I just dont care that it's there) I can sink into it/walk through which obviously doesn't work in reality!
RC as much as you need to to become lucid. What does that mean? Well, it depends on you and your life right now. So, if I were you I would aim for as high of a frequency as possible just to get it on your mind, and then when you're able to remember, I'd do it until it works and you have a concept of how much you have to do it. As Mario pointed out, DILDs are especially about awareness. On the one hand, you want to be aware of yourself, your behaviors, your emotions, your thought-processes, your unconscious behaviors, why you do what you do. You also want to be aware of your environment. Sometimes, raising awareness is sufficient to allow you to become lucid. You'll see something strange and it will suddenly -click- that you are dreaming. No doubt, you'll simply laugh at yourself for not realizing it earlier.
Other times, you'll strongly suspect you are dreaming, but want to do reality checks to reassure yourself. You may feel pressured- perhaps you are surrounded by other people. Would running around screaming "I'M IN A DREAM!" be something you'd regret if it weren't true? Are you afraid of something in the dream? Just reality check to really convince yourself. Sometimes dream characters will respond to your declaration of lucidity with "What, what's wrong with you? Of course this isn't a dream." and, if you take their word for it, you'll lose lucidity. You want to use reality checks as a tool, a tool to test reality.
You also want to make your reality checking a reflex or habit. You don't have to suspect your dreaming. If it becomes a habit, fantastic! You just want to make sure that you don't make a habit of not paying attention. Lots of times you'll feel the need to RC or something fairly normal will still cue you, and without even truly suspecting you'll suddenly find that you have 8 deformed fingers. So, moral of the story: Do you reality checks, and be absolutely serious about them. Also do multiples in case one fails. NEVER put off reality checking because there are people around you- exactly how often do you have dreams without a single DC? If possible just do discrete ones- check the time, read some text, whatever. There are ways to RC without declaring it to the world. Pretend you have an itch and scratch your hand- but don't focus on your act, focus on your RC. Read the text on a shirt or a clock or the spine of a book. Close your sinuses from within and do a 'nose-pinch' test. Just remember to give them adequate attention. Never slack.
Btw, MILD is actually a very intensive method, I'm not sure why you think it's good for lazy people, Mario? With all of the prospective memory training, dream journaling, visualization, reality checking, and analysis for dream signs and reality checks during the day, I'd say it's a technique that requires quite a bit of dedication.
Please thoroughly read my wall of text.
What you have to do is you need to be in the frame of mind (always) that you could possibly be dreaming. Do not just assume you are awake. Instead, assume you are dreaming in the first place, so, the things running in your head all the time should be "I think I am dreaming, It is very possible that I am dreaming. Let me check just to be sure" then if the RC shows you are awake, then just go with it. Just say to yourself, "ok, I'll check later, you never know". And repeat that over and over the whole day, every day.
That is something which Naiya had pointed out to me. Very useful information.
Sorry, allow me to rephrase that. I'm too lazy to WBTB or WILD, but I enjoy the increased certainty of MILD. I happen to find it easier to repeat a mantra than do RC's all day long, too. Memory stuff comes easy to me, I guess.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shift
Place notes around your room, in front of the computer etc. Also wouldn't be a bad idea to place pictures of your dreams signs about. If you're out of the house a lot, get either a watch that beeps every hour or write something on your hand to remind you to RC.
Just practice different tricks and see what works. ;)
-chase
Haha! It's funny, I did some of the things you wrote, and I acctualy had a LD this night! I remember doing an RC, and the finger went right through my palm! Did som flying and stuff, my first intentional LD!
Nice one.
I guess I'll get a watch or something, myself... So far I've only done like 3 RCs a day :P
there is an app in the iphone call TIMR which you can program to go off any time you wish... as many times as you want...
i just set mine to go off five times today as an experiment
i'll do an RC wherever i am.
well i gave myself a tattoo thatt i use for recall that looks like this: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...9&id=734966311
every time i ask myself if im dreaming i look at my tattoo and it tells me if i am or not
also if you can put a banner on your cell phone just put "are you dreaming" as it and youll see it every time you open your phone
Interesting tatoo.Quote:
Originally Posted by cL0cKradi0
And yea, things like wallpapers are good.
Like for example, look at a screen shot of my desktop.
So, I don't need to be actually on my desktop to see "RC".
Only problem is that it is now normal to me and I don't pay any attention to it. The best idea for this kind of thing is to regularly change the appearance of it, so it doesn't become too familiar.
I'm not sure why I can't find it on his threads anymore, but Banhurt made a pretty neat pop-up reality check program. I've got it on my computer but as he's not hosting it I won't pass it on unless he says it's ok. Would be worth PMing him to ask. Both his programs (RC/DJ) are fantastic.
Well, I'll be honest with you, I don't really like the DJ program. But I know I would if I was to get used to it.
But the RC program is exactly what I've been looking for. Then I realised, I might be able to use the brain flooder, and change the settings enough so that it pops up for a reasonable amount of time and a reasonable amount of times.
I RC every time I see a Pontiac.
I found a program for you! http://bytered.com/software-realitycheck.html
It pops up every once and a while and asks you to RC. Cheers:P
Thanks for the tips! But if I had enough money for an Iphone, I could just as easily buy a Nova Dreamer. But I'll keep it in mind incase I ever get myself an Iphone.Quote:
Originally Posted by beachgirl
And to you other guys, thank you very, very much! It has helped me understand the point of RC'ing! I really take the time now, rubbing my hands, rubbing other surfaces, thinking about where I am, where I've been and where I'm going. Checking mirrors, texts and such! A big thanks to you guys! Especially Mario and Shift. :)
The program is great, the only problem is that I really don't use my computer that much...!
I just stare at my hands, but you really don't have to do anything. Just think to yourself occasionally "Am I dreaming". Some people say things like jump up and see if you fly, but that's going to make you look retarded if you do that at work or in public.Quote:
Originally Posted by Filimonki
Got lucid twice last night by counting fingers. The DC with me the first time was confused, and somehow I explained, "If you hold all your fingers out, but with your pinky down, your brain puts in an extra finger to replace it!"
So basically like W
http://mistupid.com/asl/images/w.gif except with the thumb out, only the pinky curled over, and in the dream there was a finger extended to replace it, giving me a default of six fingers on one hand.
A whole shitload of dream insanity, but hey- it worked! Maybe try to incorporate that somehow. It seemed like the dream hand couldn't make the weird contorted shape that happens in RL when I force my pinky down like that. That was just the feeling I got anyway, which probably means it's rubbish.
Sounds like a good idea! I'll check it out! I do the finger through palm trick, and I acctually got lucid some days ago with it!
The thread Shift would be mentioning is here :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Shift
http://dreamviews.com/community/showthread.php?t=79888
Does that actually have the link to the RC program? I had no trouble finding the thread, just the link (though, I didn't sift through the entire thread so forgive me if it is there somewhere!)
Oh, sorry. Here's the link to the RC program.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shift
http://dreamviews.com/community/show...68#post1153868
Sweet, thanks nn! :)
Depends how intently you question reality, and whether the clock is analog or digital (well, to some extent, anyway). You can try to use it as a springboard for other RC's (i.e. when you look at the clock, also look at your hands and plug your nose, etc.). You just gotta be careful of falling into the habit of expecting your RC's to fail...which becomes a lot easier to do if you do them in excess. :PQuote:
Originally Posted by blank530
Shift, I know this is full of holes, so please correct me. :D I am eager and willing to learn!
hmm.. i thought just looking at a clock, and looking right again is a good RC! And if that is true, one doesn't really need to strive to do RC's. Whenever you check what time it is, check again immediately. RC done.
I don't do RC's yet (too lazy), but i just thought of this. Won't it work?
Well, the thing is, for an RC to be effective, you must actually question the world around you. Merely looking at a clock will do you little good. Otherwise, you just sort of passively accept everything. When carried over to the dream world, where the logic centers are turned off, your odds of becoming lucid from a subtle change in the position of the hands of a clock decrease exponentially. It can certainly be used as an RC, but you probably want to back it up with mental alertness and other RC's, as this one is highly prone to failure, especially if it is an analog clock.Quote:
Originally Posted by rakeshvt
Hmm...perhaps we should await for the return of Shift, who is much more knowledgeable on the subject than I am.
oh yes, i did mean digital! forgot to add that! ;) but yeah, it was just a thought...
Naiya made a thread in the Attaining Lucidity forum about lucid dreaming in general and DILDs and WILDs. In the post she mentions how to reality check and, after thinking about it, it really does make sense.
To put it in a simple words as possible: Just pretend that you're already in a dream when you RC and prove that you're not by trying to use an ability or by trying to remember how you got to where you are. Then do a nose pinch or look at your hands.