Thread: Failed reality checks

I agree that all reality checks can fail, they just usually don't. Even the nose one has failed for me a couple of times. A good reality check is jumping and trying to fly. I usually try three to five different ones until I'm sure I'm dreaming or not.

i always count my fingers, it usually works. Last night i looked at my hands in the dream and i saw i had only 4 fingers. and its a really easy reality check do do when your awake.

Originally Posted by MSUPokerGod

the best reality check by far is attempting to remember waking up that morning. If you can't remember past 5 minutes ago, you're dreaming for sure

If you were dreaming that would take an awful lot of thinking power though, which would probably wake you up ! But if you didn't mind waking up then yeh, that would be the best .

Originally Posted by jongiambi

i always count my fingers, it usually works. Last night i looked at my hands in the dream and i saw i had only 4 fingers. and its a really easy reality check do do when your awake.

whoooooaa that exact thing happened to me last night... its actually freaky a little bit, but the excitement of knowing its for sure a dream overpowers the freakyness ^_^

If you were dreaming that would take an awful lot of thinking power though, which would probably wake you up ! But if you didn't mind waking up then yeh, that would be the best .

remembering what you were doing a little while ago takes a lot of thinking power? Is that cause it activates the memory part of your brain (hippocampus) and this isn't usually activated? or are you just theorizing?

Originally Posted by MSUPokerGod

whoooooaa that exact thing happened to me last night... its actually freaky a little bit, but the excitement of knowing its for sure a dream overpowers the freakyness ^_^



remembering what you were doing a little while ago takes a lot of thinking power? Is that cause it activates the memory part of your brain (hippocampus) and this isn't usually activated? or are you just theorizing?

It takes next to no thinking power you look at your hands when your awake and in the dream you look by habit and see your hands look wavy or have less or more fingers and you become lucid.

Originally Posted by jongiambi

It takes next to no thinking power you look at your hands when your awake and in the dream you look by habit and see your hands look wavy or have less or more fingers and you become lucid.

well yeah but this thread is about failed reality checks, I'm assuming that the hands one is common enough that this thread wouldn't exist if it were indeed a completely foolproof test... as remembering waking up certainly is

while we're on the topic... I also like the technique of examining something closely to see if its texture is consistent. This is also a technique used to extend the lucid dream if you are indeed in one, I remember seeing on these forums (don't remember exactly where). Try to pick something complicated... I'm looking at the wood grain of my loft for example, a bunch of small swirls and dots that remain completely constant when I stare at them.

Originally Posted by Blitzwing

hmmmm??? the breathing RC actually really CANT fail!

But sure it can. If you believe you can't breath, you simply can't. I don't think there is such a thing as a perfect RC. It's important that you expect an RC to fail in a dream (reality check failing = dreaming), if you don't, it most likely won't. Mechanically repeating RCs during the day without questioning the state will probably take you nowhere. You'd just do them in dreams the same way, mechanically and pointlessly. But if you question your state when doing an RC, I think you don't even have to fully execute it when dreaming. The act of questioning your state may already be enough to become lucid.

BOOOOOOOO! I failed the fingers through palm one last night :<

Originally Posted by MadHatter17

Can too if you have a stuffy nose.

That's right. It happened to me. I could breath but I still had a feeling that I wasn't getting enough air. Luckily I had encountered a dream sign so I continued with other RCs that worked. Maybe it's best to do 2 or 3 different RCs.

@ gigaschatten:
no, really. the breathing rc actually can't fail, cos your real body is always brathing. there are just two ways that RC cant lead you into a LD:
- your mind is so strong that your real body is holding its breath (so you gotta do the RC longer than you can hold your breath, but...)
-... this could cause you to wake up.

Originally Posted by Blitzwing

@ gigaschatten:
no, really. the breathing rc actually can't fail, cos your real body is always brathing. there are just two ways that RC cant lead you into a LD:
- your mind is so strong that your real body is holding its breath (so you gotta do the RC longer than you can hold your breath, but...)
-... this could cause you to wake up.

What you perceive in your dream must not necessarily be what your real body does. I had dreams where I drowned and could not breathe no matter how hard I tried. I woke up in the end.

Originally Posted by gigaschatten

What you perceive in your dream must not necessarily be what your real body does. I had dreams where I drowned and could not breathe no matter how hard I tried. I woke up in the end.

uhm.. as I said. ^^ no really: as i said.

Originally Posted by Blitzwing

uhm.. as I said. ^^ no really: as i said.

It's of no use as an RC if it wakes me up.

Remember, if there is any question to whether or not you are dreaming, then you are dreaming.

Originally Posted by gigaschatten

It's of no use as an RC if it wakes me up.

yeah, but it never tells you that you aren't dreaming when you are dreaming ^^

and yeah thanks tdsand, cool mnemonic ^^

I think a good sign that you are dreaming is when you are emotionally strongly upset. I can't recall any dream where that wasn't the case, no matter what kind of emotion it is. If you count to 10 to calm you down when upset, maybe adding an RC would be helpful.