# Lucid Dreaming > General Lucid Discussion >  >  Inception totem

## zeldafreak

In the movie Inception the characters have "totems" that they use to see if their dreaming because that act differently in a dream

A top that never stops spinning or loaded dice are two of the totems in the movie

what would you have as a totem and how would it act in a dream? Do you think this could be a new form of reality checking?

----------


## exdreamer

I haven't seen the movie yet, but what you describe just sounds like dream signs.

----------


## Jhony

Totems only worked in the movie when they entered someone's else's dream. 

Having a totem like the top defeats the purpose of knowing if you're awake or asleep in your own dreams because your subconscious will make the top fall even when you're sleeping.

----------


## jasonresno

It works in the film because they are entering other peoples dreams. And other people won't understand how other totems work. It's a cool idea but I don't think it'd apply in real life. Because your subconscious would understand how your totem work and that would render it unreliable.

----------


## Zanwolf

It could work, but the opposite way.

Take something that you haven't a clue how it works. Then when dreaming and it's there, see if it starts working. You know dreams have a funny way of doing things like that.

----------


## zeldafreak

but if you think it will work ex. not stop spinning wont it do as you think it will
Don't take the laws from the movie word for word, take them then expand on their idea

----------


## juroara

I think a totem could work if you use it as a reality check  :smiley: 

In this case you need a totem that has enough details for you to double check. Every time you stare/touch your totem you should as though you were examining it for the first time. It should be small enough for you to carry with you. Or, you could just use your totem when you're sleeping to help you with false awakenings. In that case you'd have to thoroughly examine your totem before you sleep and every time you wake up.

Don't expect your totem to magically work different in a dream, just use it as a tool to reality check.

----------


## bluecrane

I loved the film and definately think a totem could work. I've made an origami crane out of a bit of magazine page and then weighted the body and the wings of it with coins placed inside the folds. Hopefully through holding it and observing it enough in waking life, i'll look for it in a dream. As soon as i notice that the writing on its changed or its weight is altered that should take me into a lucid state, i think these could make good reality checks as long you observe its behaviour enough, i think the writing on it will help because this often changes from one moment to another in a dream. I only made it yesterday but i'll hopefully look for it in a dream and see results. 
Its a cool concept and a brilliant film!

----------


## novellucidity5

I think it actually (almost) worked for me last night.  Ever since I saw Inception, I've been carrying around this small rock with RC (Reality Check) carved into one side and GC (my initials) carved into the other.  I can't remember it that well, but I do remember pulling the rock out of my pocket and looking at it in a dream last night.  However... whether or not I actually gained lucidity I can't remember.  :Sad:

----------


## Feynaro

I placed a penny below my pillow last night while falling asleep and told myself that I would dream about the penny and realize I was dreaming. In my dream, I met a guy and a girl who told me they dreamed that I had put a penny under my pillow. I remember thinking how funny it was that other people dreamed about the penny instead of me. I failed to realize I was dreaming.

----------


## InceptionLegend

I used to wear blue rubber bands around my wrist all the time. As my "totem" they worked pretty good, because if I was dreaming, I would look at my wrists and they wouldn't be there.

----------


## scrumpy

People use digital watches like that, I heard of someone only starting to wear a digital watch so that he could use it as a RC.

----------


## Lshem16

So I saw something today at It's Your Move that I went ahead and bought because it might actually work as a reality check. It's these buzzing magnet things that are basically two pill-like metal ovals with magnets inside that always line up the same way no matter how you try to spin or position them, and when they meet while you are holding them they make a very distinct sound but when they meet on a surface without being held they make a completely different but very distinct sound. I figure something that behaves so "magically" but also so consistently in so many different ways and something that is heavy-enough to always be felt in a pocket (constantly aware of it's presence or lack thereof) but completely innocuous and portable might the be the best tool see if things are behaving strangely. I figure that basic idea behind a reality check is that you are trying to catch your brain getting something wrong so you can catch it dreaming, and this would provide more opportunities for that. Really like the totem.

----------


## Puffin

Yes, but you won't always have the totem on you; it's just the nature of dreams. As you wear different clothes in dreams and end up in different locations, you won't always have the same items on you. You'd have to summon it like a DC or pull it from a pocket, which can be difficult for beginners at dream control. A simple nose-plug or finger-count reality check is twice as effective.

----------


## reere

Your mind could trick you too well with a totem... :paranoid: 
You would always wake up and figure that your totem RC didn't work.
Find your own RC but be sure to have effective ones. ::biggrin::

----------


## Dre4m3r

A "totem" could work. I liked the idea of it when I saw the movie. But of course.... It's going to work nothing like it does in the movie... It just won't. In order for a "totem" to work for us, it would, like everyone else said, have to be a reality check. It needs to be something very specific and something that you see very often. 

I have a dice that has my name on it. I used to carry this around and look at it while I did my reality checks. In my dreams, when I saw this die I would begin to examine it. Sometimes it didn't have my name on it. Sometimes it had the wrong numbers on it, wrong color. Anything like that.

If you have something very specific like this. Use it as a reality check. It works great.

----------


## Conkt

Does anyone have any ideas for what might make a good totem?

----------


## Robot_Butler

Carrying something around with you to remind you of lucid dreaming is a cool idea.  Every time you feel it in your pocket, or see it in your purse, you could reality check.  Obviously, it couldn't work exactly like the movie version.  It would be cool if it did something mechanical, though.  Something like the wristwatch reality check.

----------


## Conkt

Right now, I'm thinking of a plain necklace with a something hanging from it. I can't decide what, though...

----------


## ZeRo_EsScEnCe

The "Totem" is actually a rather good idea however the way it works in the movie and the way it would actually work in a dream are different. I think the best "totems" are digital watches, watches in general, something that works in reality, but has a very different effect/appearance in a dream.

For instance digital watches will never read the same time twice in a dream or even read out numbers same goes for a watch. Or a piece of paper with something written on which you observe in reality, will not read the same or might not even be eligible. If you choose to go this route you should take these things into consideration.

----------


## Jerredic42

I made a necklace with a bullet caseing that I carved numbers my name and "READ ME" on the side of, I haven't had it long enough to make it a very effective reality check but I hope later on it might be a little bit helpful :smiley:

----------


## zeldafreak

I think that the digital watch idea for a totem would work if they were not used so often because it is usually on your wrist you get used to it being in plain sight that is why i think a totem should be something you have in you pocket or maybe since you do not see it as often as a watch, your wallet.

----------


## reere

Digital watch is a well known reality check. Time on it will be weird and never the same twice.

----------


## Phaedrys

> Carrying something around with you to remind you of lucid dreaming is a cool idea.  Every time you feel it in your pocket, or see it in your purse, you could reality check.



This is exactly what I was thinking. I have a habit of putting my hands in my pockets (which are often empty) a lot - maybe I could put something special in there and reality check whenever I touch it.

----------


## d00m42

I haven't been on here in a few years, but after seeing Inception a second time, I was inspired a little bit to get back into exploring my dreams.  I've only had 3 LDs, although in one of them I woke up very quickly at the shock of realizing I was dreaming.  In another I flew for maybe 5 minutes, and in the last, I had at least two hours of doing random stuff.  I tend to remember my dreams fairly often, and recently have been trying to write down the details I can remember clearly just after waking up.  My normal dreams range in how vivid they are, and I don't have nightmares too often.  I'm still deciding how to start getting into the habit of reality checking, and think I may carry around a small object in my pocket (like the totems in Inception) and RC whenever I touch it.

----------


## Cosmix

I really like Ariadne's totem - the chess piece.  I'd probably use a chess piece as well only it would be the Knight.  I'd have it heavily weighted in the front so it would tip over when placed down, so in someone else's dream it would not.   :smiley:

----------


## WakaWaka

> It works in the film because they are entering other peoples dreams. And other people won't understand how other totems work. It's a cool idea but I don't think it'd apply in real life. Because your subconscious would understand how your totem work and that would render it unreliable.



Even so, many totems could work. Even the top. It seems many people fail to remember that in dreams everything is not put together perfectly. A top could definitely keep on spinning. Especially if you expect it to keep on spinning.

The biggest problem with the totem is getting them into the dream. It would almost have to hold some importance to you just to make transition into the dream easier.

----------


## SilverBells

I dont think a totem like the top would work. Maybe if each time you spun it you convinced yourself you _really_ expected it to spin forever it might.

A totem could be quite useful for getting you to remember to do RCs. Say you spun the top or rolled the die every so often and did an RC whilst doing it then it could be useful. Sort of like the A on your palm

----------


## Baron Samedi

> Yes, but you won't always have the totem on you; it's just the nature of dreams. As you wear different clothes in dreams and end up in different locations, you won't always have the same items on you. You'd have to summon it like a DC or pull it from a pocket, which can be difficult for beginners at dream control. A simple nose-plug or finger-count reality check is twice as effective.



I agree. But, something like watches work well because people always wear them. Also the left-brain is not fully awake, so numbers are going to look weird in dreams. 

If you use another type of object, I suggest something with writing or number on it.

----------


## The Subatomic Level

I think the totem (and reality checking) is just a tool to get you questioning your reality.  For example, in a dream I become lucid immediately when I question whether or not I am in a dream.  The reality check is only for solidifying the lucidity in my opinion.  

In my experience, I have never thought I should do a reality check without actually truly knowing before the reality check is complete whether or not I'm in a dream.  I believe that the act of wondering if you are in a dream or not turns on the logic switch in your brain, and the actual reality check is not needed to become lucid.  This is because you should already be lucid once you initially had the thought to do the reality check. 

Is it the same for most of you that you know you are in a dream before the result of your reality check?  If so, one could use almost anything for as a totem for reality checking, because as long as your critical thinking and logic switch turn on you should know that your in a dream.

----------


## pontozero

> because as long as your critical thinking and logic switch turn on you  should know that your in a dream.



 - couldn't agree more  :smiley: 

I think the totem would only work if it had properties the subconscious couldn't simulate that often, like a written word or something like that. An aspect that when double checked would confirm or refute the idea that I am dreaming. I can only remember the reading/clock option... anymore you can suggest?

----------


## BrandonTyberius

> I really like Ariadne's totem - the chess piece.  I'd probably use a chess piece as well only it would be the Knight.  I'd have it heavily weighted in the front so it would tip over when placed down, so in someone else's dream it would not.



I didnt understand the chess piece. How did it behave differently to let her know its a dream?

----------


## BrandonTyberius

A RC could be seeing if you could make a top spin indefinitely. Or seeing if you could simply pull a top out of your pocket if you dont carry one with you.

----------


## Cosmix

> I didnt understand the chess piece. How did it behave differently to let her know its a dream?



I have no idea either  :tongue2:   All it showed was her knocking it over.

----------


## Perlinfalcon

> I think the totem (and reality checking) is just a tool to get you questioning your reality.  For example, in a dream I become lucid immediately when I question whether or not I am in a dream.  The reality check is only for solidifying the lucidity in my opinion.  
> 
> In my experience, I have never thought I should do a reality check without actually truly knowing before the reality check is complete whether or not I'm in a dream.  I believe that the act of wondering if you are in a dream or not turns on the logic switch in your brain, and the actual reality check is not needed to become lucid.  This is because you should already be lucid once you initially had the thought to do the reality check. 
> 
> Is it the same for most of you that you know you are in a dream before the result of your reality check?  If so, one could use almost anything for as a totem for reality checking, because as long as your critical thinking and logic switch turn on you should know that your in a dream.



I used to think that merely questioning whether I was dreaming or not was clearly evidence I was dreaming. That was until I started doing regular reality checks. Now I have had the experience where I did my usual RC (nose pinch) even though I "knew" I was awake, only to find that I could still breathe through my nose! I've had this experience quite a few times now, which makes me realize how hard it is to realize you are dreaming sometimes. Even when I can still breathe with my nose plugged, I still sometimes come up with an excuse for why that is and continue the dream non-lucid.

Reality checks can be tricky. One has to keep in mind that the dreaming mind seems to really want to believe dreams are reality. I'm all for keeping reality checks as simple and obvious as possible.

----------


## TheDayDreamer

After reading everyone's opinions I believe that totems are possible to have, even if that means switching out your totem from time to time. Yes, if someone carried the same item around with them forever eventually it would seep into their dreams flawlessly and they would never know they were dreaming. But if they changed the item for a different one every now and then it should work the same way. As for the item having to have significant to you, just look at that item as your only means of obtaining lucidity, even though it's not true. Or maybe even find a way to only see the item in your dreams, if you can somehow managae that then it might become a sleep habit and every time you dream, if you see it it'll make you lucid.
Now I'm gonna shut my newbie mouth up before someone makes me eat my own words  :tongue2: 

I think I have a pretty good idea for a totem though. You could use those wristbands that have words or sayings on them. it's something that you can constantly keep on you and it's not that strange to have, and you can use the reading trick  :tongue2:  and even better, if you have any of the places that can imprint words onto blank ones near you, you can put the question "Are you awake?" onto it  ::D: . I have a red wristband that's been on my right wrist for about 4 years, I haven't taken it off since I put it on, but it's blank. If I were to write a word on the inside of the band in permanent marker or burn it in or something, then for an RC I could just flip it inside out and see if the word is the same.....or would that only work like the around the corner trick? O: would the word appear because I expect it to be there when I flip the band around?

Or you could find a necklace or bracelet with an A on it.
Or train yourself to do a reality check whenever you hear or say a certain word.

Totems could also be items that you see everyday, and no matter where you go. You could try to control things around you  :Cheeky:  like point at a stop light and will the light to turn a color that it shouldn't change to or will something white to turn blue whenever you see a certain object.

----------


## stjimmy

> Even when I can still breathe with my nose plugged, I still sometimes come up with an excuse for why that is and continue the dream non-lucid.



Hahaha that's brilliant! ::lol::

----------


## Darkmark2400

what about this a totem..

I'm pretty good at solving a rubik's cube so maybe in the dream i cant solve it but in reality i can..... or do u think because i have done solved it many times my conscious would expect me to solve it.....but to solve a rubik's cube you have to know these algorithms and different methods to solve it.... if i was dreaming would i remember solving it and dong every single twist and turn and would it magically just be solved.. as in reality i would have to remember every twist and turn to solve it..... 

just a thought as my totem.... also the rubik's cube that i solve has custom stickers so it is different then all other rubik's cubes....

----------


## scrumpy

> It's these buzzing magnet things that are basically two pill-like metal ovals with magnets inside that always line up the same way no matter how you try to spin or position them, and when they meet while you are holding them they make a very distinct sound but when they meet on a surface without being held they make a completely different but very distinct sound.



I have a set of these and a couple nights ago I was in a dream and saw these on a table. It was like a gift from my subconscious, I remembered this thread and immediately became lucid.

I know thats not how totems work and I'm not going to use them as a totem but it was still great becoming lucid and it shows that just browsing DV helps  :smiley:

----------


## stjimmy

> what about this a totem..
> 
> I'm pretty good at solving a rubik's cube so maybe in the dream i cant solve it but in reality i can..... or do u think because i have done solved it many times my conscious would expect me to solve it.....but to solve a rubik's cube you have to know these algorithms and different methods to solve it.... if i was dreaming would i remember solving it and dong every single twist and turn and would it magically just be solved.. as in reality i would have to remember every twist and turn to solve it..... 
> 
> just a thought as my totem.... also the rubik's cube that i solve has custom stickers so it is different then all other rubik's cubes....



I think that you would "magically" be able to solve it in your dream and it wouldn't seem odd at all to you that you did so without the fancy algorithms. Like Perlinfalcon said, your subconscious can even trick you into thinking that breathing through your plugged nose is normal. I don't think it would have any trouble fooling you into solving a Rubik's cube. I think examining the stickers would be a more effective RC than trying to solve the cube.

----------


## Alexii

I'm not entirely sure that this would work for everyone but this is what I suggest. 
Find or buy yourself something like a necklace or a bracelet or something you can put on yourself - but it has to have detail on it. Study this object, put it on, but only for a while. Make sure you take it with you everywhere and get accustomed to seeing it but do not put it on for more  then a few hours. When you get quite attached to this "totem" you should start noticing that in your dreams it appears to be ON you rather than in your bag, desk or wherever you keep it. This is why its important to have it always with you but only wear it for a short while. If you wear it for long lengths of time it becomes redundant. If you don't want to wear it on you I guess the same logic could be applied for a something small like a rock or a matchbox if in the dream you find it in your pocket rather than wherever you usually keep it. The whole concept is that you become so dependant on this object that you start to see it as a part of you and while your clothes may change in the dream this should always be on you.  Again I can't guarantee this would for everyone but so far for me it's been working brilliantly. Hope this was helpful!  :smiley:

----------


## Pikunxu

I have always had trouble with lucid dreaming, so bad it was need the edge of hallucinations. I would have entire memories that didn't exist. My grandmother actually gave me the idea of a totem when I was about 9 years old only she called it a charm. She came up with the idea because of her night terrors. 

My totem is a rosary, but a very specific one my grandmother helped me make. It has distinctly scented rose beads and a sterling silver dove for the hail holy queen bead. The dove is connected the the chain with gold coloured chain links while all the other links are silver. All the beads are perfectly smooth, but every third bead if the decade has a small hole drilled in it. On the crucifix (which is pewter so it doesnt match the dove) INRI is inscribed upside down and the forth decade only has 9 beads rather than the usual 10. 

I keep it in my bra everywhere I go because, as a girl, no matter how much I'm changing clothes that's typically something that is NOT going to change... If I ever have de ja vu, or i'm caught staring off into space and I can't look away, or I encounter a scent that brings up vivid scenery in my mind I pull it out and smell it and count the beads while I pray. If there are only nine, I close my eyes and let my dream dissolve around me.

As you can see VERY VERY specific and nearly impossible to be recreated even by my own mind. The best part is the rose scent; I'm very sensitive to smell and my mind can never get it perfect. 

This has always worked very well for me in the past.  :smiley: 

I had 2 other ones that I used temporarily when I was in public school because any religious affects I would have been caught with would have been confiscated and I'd have gotten a detention... The first was a 1976 matchbox metal canary yellow jeep wrangler car that sat on it's axel wrong so it wobbled and drifted to a certain side when you pushed it. Only I knew the specifics of how if wobbled and to what side it drifted... It had an angel wings decal on the hood. 

The second was a weighted pewter turtle with a jade shell that had a small heart etched into the bottom. Only I knew how it was weighted and about the little heart on it's underside... 

Just some thoughts for those of you thinking about creating your own "totems"  :smiley:  I think that vision is easily deceived and that it's harder for the mind to conjure up more realistic feelings for some of the more complex senses such as smell or taste... Another thought is keeping spearmints in a peppermint box, or vice versa: Your dreaming mind will expect to find peppermint but it won't be, hopefully you will notice the incorrectness. Maybe a marble with a small bit of flat surface: hard to see at first glance, but when rolled gently it will rest on it's own. Or keeping a magnet with an object that's not so obviously magnetic (i.e. rather than a paperclip, use a hair pin, etc) The laws of physics may be bent in your dream world, so it may not stick. Maybe a spoon even: if you look at your reflection in the concave end and it's right side up, that could be your RC...

----------


## Rozollo

My fiancé has a black diamond, in her first LD, it was bright red.  So, it works in theory.

----------


## mrdeano

I have been using my digital watch as a RC tool for the past month or so. The watch beeps hourly which allows me to RC using the time.
This RC hasn't really worked for me. So I am considering making a totem instead.

----------


## newtz1995

I have a joker card that I carry around with me that I reality check with (among others) pretty much every hour. It has 'Tiger brand playing cards' on it as well as 'JOKER' down the sides so hopefully those words along with the picture of a tiger will make an efficient RC in my dreams. U just need to get your brain so used to carrying around your totem that you also do in your dreams. Whether this is possible or not worth the effort I'm yet to discover.

----------


## FireArcher

I have a small pocket watch that i guess is kind of a totem. I carry it with me and check it constantly. I think a wartch works better because generally in a dream the time will change or be mutilated or something, but the spinning top in the dream it might just fall down anyway, so i think the type of totem is important.

----------


## silver2k

> Yes, but you won't always have the totem on you; it's just the nature of dreams. As you wear different clothes in dreams and end up in different locations, you won't always have the same items on you. You'd have to summon it like a DC or pull it from a pocket, which can be difficult for beginners at dream control. A simple nose-plug or finger-count reality check is twice as effective.



I have to agree with Puffin. You always have your hands with you(lmao) but your totem might not be in your dreams that often.

----------


## MoonshoesPotter

I actually have a replica of Cobb's top that I carry around with me all the time. I don't expect it to work like in the movie, but I like what it represents and it reminds me to question reality often.

----------


## Emecom

I think that a cell phone would work because most of us carry them around with us everywhere, plus they tell the time and have tons of writing in them.

----------


## RooJ

I guess if you can call it a totem mine would be a metal die. I actually have 2 dice, one chrome and one gold in colour, eg:


I tend to carry one in my pocket nearly all of the time, its a small token i can carry around that reminds me of dreaming and lucidity. I also use it to reality check with by randomly taking it out and counting the spots on whatever side is initially facing me, i then add that number to the spots on the reverse to make sure they add up to 7. While doing this I study the face to make sure the dots look even and non....dreamlike  :smiley: . It only takes a few seconds and nobody ever notices me doing it which means i can perform a lot more RC's.

----------


## joshdamighty

Sometimes the object doesn't have to have any uniqueness in it.  I mean, I carried an object in my pocket and every time I felt it (about every 3 hours), I would do reality checks. If its not in your pocket (for whatever reason), just thinking about the object reminds you to perform reality checks so in a dream, you think about the object or feel the object, just do reality checks.

Well, goodnight!

----------


## Freemymind93

> Carrying something around with you to remind you of lucid dreaming is a cool idea.  Every time you feel it in your pocket, or see it in your purse, you could reality check.  Obviously, it couldn't work exactly like the movie version.  It would be cool if it did something mechanical, though.  Something like the wristwatch reality check.



this is exactly what i was thinking. Maybe it would act the same way as in a dream, but couldn't it be a reminder to check if you're dreaming. This, i see the practicality of.

----------


## TheExtractor

I think a totem would work as a good reality check. I've heard of people who do the five finger reality check, but they still have five fingers in their dreams. I think it's because they see their hands so often, and it's ingrained in their subconscious that it should have five fingers. Maybe a good totem would be a pair of dice, with one catch; only one die is loaded. So then, when you test one of the die, you don't know if it will land on your loaded number or not. This could work for or against you in dreams however: either you roll the die and it lands on a random number, and you go on about your dream, or it lands on your loaded number, and you realize. Really a 50/50 chance, I guess.

----------


## Reby

It's a brilliant way to reality check imo. I use a loaded dice just like Arthur. I can use it in different ways and it works perfectly.

----------


## Remorseless

I find many of Inceptions tools for story to be a blindfold for those new to lucid dreaming. The most blatant being death = waking up, which is just completely untrue. Carrying around a totem where ever you go is also silly, because the entire world is full of dream signs; there's no reason to _carry one around with you._

----------


## saltyseedog

My Idea for a totem: a glass pendant with a swirly design you can where as a necklace all the time in waking life. When you look at it in a dream it will actually be swirling like a little portal or something. The expectation would cause it to work in a dream.

----------


## Reby

Remorseless: That was one of the most stupid things I've ever heard since everone's dreams are different. Maybe for you it works great without a "totem", but don't you seriously think people have used this way of checking before the film? Who are you to tell what is working and not, when the way of dreaming is one of the most individual things we have?

And sure, it is not necessarily just so simple that when you die in a dream you wake up, I know people who have "revived" themselves in the dream and also people who have turned into living dead's in their dreams. But for some people, maybe this is the way it works. For myself, I always wake up _before_ I die.

----------


## Remorseless

^ That's just your mindset, though. You can't shake the habit of waking up before you die, it's not a _law_ of the dreamworld that can't be avoided like in Inception.

Another example is the "five minutes in the dream is an hour in the real world". Completely untrue.

The laws and methods of dreams in Inception are strictly there for the story--which was all the film had going for it--but are completely confusing when taken as fact.

----------


## TheExtractor

Jeez, Remorseless. If you don't like the movie just say so. Who cares if it's untrue? IT'S A MOVIE. The only True movies are documentaries! Inception was a kick-ass movie, so whatever if it doesn't apply to real life. Either talk about the forum subject, or just shut it.

----------


## Sam1r

Hmm...wouldn't work in my opinion...
In the movie the purpose of the totem was to check if they were in someone else's dream...
Since they knew exactly how the object behaves,it would behave differently in another person's dream...
Face the fact that its only a movie...It was amazing,my favorite movie hands down..
But the movie features many things which aren't possible or untrue...
And the possibility of using a totem seems rather silly...I mean its your dream,your subconscious,why would you be testing it?
 just my opinion
 -sam

----------


## ChrisGlet

I wish it would work, because it's a cool idea, but I'd rather use dream signes. However, I could see that if I went out and bought an inception totem, and carried it everywhere with me, I bet it would act as a great dream sign weather or not is stopped spinning.c

----------


## Remorseless

> Jeez, Remorseless. If you don't like the movie just say so. Who cares if it's untrue? IT'S A MOVIE. The only True movies are documentaries! Inception was a kick-ass movie, so whatever if it doesn't apply to real life. Either talk about the forum subject, or just shut it.



Excuse me, but I'm stating that the fictional Inception methods shouldn't be attempted in real life, which is indeed the forum subject; so shut your little fanboy hole up, stop excusing the movie, and let the thread come to a conclusion.

Inception Totems would only be worn by suckers and fanboys, the same way Materia is worn by FF7 nerds, who probably think _that_ shit is real, too.

----------


## Waterknight

Well I have noticed that my class ring was different in a dream before. I was even remaking about how my ring kept changing but I didnt realize it was because I was in a dream. I wish I could get that implanted in my mind. If my ring looks different then it is definitely a dream. That would probably increase my lucid rate by quite a bit because normally I just beomce lucid without any clues. I just suddenly know its a dream but to have something to look at and determine if Im dreaming would be good.

----------


## Remorseless

^ Yeah, I've noticed things like that, too: it's like you just get the _feel_ you're dreaming, or in another state at least. Normally, my weight and immobility contributes to my lucidity, it's like some primal instinct telling you you don't feel quite normal.

They're all just dream signs, though; reality-check tools which can be applied to many things.

----------


## joshdamighty

Carrying an object around with you works best by reminding you to perform reality checks.  I believe that the behaviors don't change from reality to dreams majority of the time.  I carried a top just to see if it would spin forever in my dream and never spun it when dreaming because every time I see the top, I perform reality checks and those are what really showed me if I was dreaming.

So yes, carrying an object in your pocket that has "special qualities" doesn't really help, but it just reminds us to perform reality checks more often and therefore will make us reality check in our dreams more leading to more lucid dreams.

----------


## TheExtractor

Don't tell me to "shut [my] little fanboy hole up", Remorsless.  At least I'm not an ignorant dick who judges people based off their profile, like you. And, honestly, I don't give a shit about what you think.

----------


## AstralFlare

> ^ That's just your mindset, though.



Exactly, that's someone elses mind set, not yours.  You kind of just proved their point there... Personally I think the totem is a nice idea and if someone can find something that they connect to, carrying it around might have some effect.  Sure depending what the object is it might not work all that well as a reality check, but it could still hold significance to being in touch with your dreams...

----------


## MindGames

I think it's important to point out here that totems could actually be used in real life as dream indicators. For example, if you were to go out and buy a totem like the main character in Inception's, you could train your subconscious to make it spin continuously whenever you're dreaming. It's similar to the case where you tell a DC to tell you you're dreaming in a future dream. The DC doesn't always alert you that you're dreaming, but we don't perform reality checks (nor would one whip out their totem and use it) in every dream, either.
Of course this requires some previous action on the lucid dreamer's part in order to make this work.

In my honest opinion, though, unless you're an Inception fanboy, stick with reality checks.


No offense to any fanboys here.

----------


## AstralFlare

It has nothing to do with being a fan boy really (well, it could to some), especially if it could have a benefit to someone's dreams.  An idea is just an idea; whether or not it was used to support the plot of a movie, an idea that at least attempts to fit into the world it's touching on is one that's worth thinking about.  What is stupid however is carrying a lump of "Materia" around with you as if it's actually going to have any effect, because we all know for sure that it isn't.  That's for the fan boys...

----------


## Remorseless

I could really imagine Nolan taking advantage of the gullibility of some people out there. Chess pieces, spinning tops, and sets of weighted dice, all at ridiculously high prices because people will actually believe that shit is just the _best_--and possibly _only_--way to lucid dream.

Also, all I've stated is that many of Inceptions methods are fictional and overdramatized; carrying a totem around may work, yes, but it's pointless busywork since dream signs are _all around you._ What ever happened to breathing through a blocked nose, or pushing your finger through your hand? Oh, I think I just broke the system by making it too simplistic. Don't tell anybody, okay?

Stop getting pissed off when you know I'm right.

That, and that Inception was an average movie  ::D:

----------


## RooJ

Carrying something small with you that reminds you to reality check and think about dreaming isn't a bad thing. The point isn't to rely on the unique behaviour of an object like in the film, its to bring your mind to the subject of dreaming when you feel it in your pocket (as an example).

----------


## AstralFlare

> I could really imagine Nolan taking advantage of the gullibility of some people out there. Chess pieces, spinning tops, and sets of weighted dice, all at ridiculously high prices because people will actually believe that shit is just the _best_--and possibly _only_--way to lucid dream.
> 
> Also, all I've stated is that many of Inceptions methods are fictional and overdramatized; carrying a totem around may work, yes, but it's pointless busywork since dream signs are _all around you._ What ever happened to breathing through a blocked nose, or pushing your finger through your hand? Oh, I think I just broke the system by making it too simplistic. Don't tell anybody, okay?
> 
> Stop getting pissed off when you know I'm right.
> 
> That, and that Inception was an average movie



The only person getting pissed off is you because people are disagreeing with you...

----------


## saltyseedog

I think the idea is you have an object that reminds you to reality check and is a reality check in its self. Like my idea to check if the pendant on my necklace has a portal in it every time I feel it or see it or whatever.

----------


## sas911

Thought that the idea of using the concept of totems to check if you are dreaming was interesting, and works in mainly two ways:
1. You believe that the object will change in some minor way, as your mind can't recreate it perfectly, so seeing the object behave/look/feel in a different way will give you a cue.
2. For those like me, who believe that the mind can recreate everything that will actually cue you it's a dream, you can use it to remind yourself to do a reality check.

Really it depends on the mind set.

But it should be noted obviously the whole reasoning behind the totem which was used for the movie, DOESN'T carry over here.  The first two possible ways you could use a totem above is merely something obtained through basically common sense, and past experiences in dreams.  In the movie of course, totems are only for understanding if they are in someone else's dream, as they do not know how the totem works.  Technically if we wanted to actually follow the movie, you could even say totems would never work on your own dreams, as the movie says how people are unable to understand how strange a dream is, when they're in a dream, and only realize it when they wake up.

So obviously for this thread, I would like to refrain from constantly repeating what I said in the above paragraph, and rather focus on the effectiveness of totems in general in dreams.
------
EDIT: Oh and I kind of added the second paragraph just because of the arguments with remorseless.... "I could really imagine Nolan taking advantage of the gullibility of some people out there".  Again, the actual movie states totems are for OTHER people's dreams, in other words, Nolan couldn't take advantage of anyone even if they could.  What you have failed to realize, is that everyone else who is writing in the thread right now, is not talking about the exact same totem as depicted in the movie, but rather the viability of a totem in general as something to use as a reality check.  
"That, and that Inception was an average movie"
^ Frankly I felt the only reason why you would be so unable to be flexible in this thread is because you only keep telling yourself "OMG INCEPTION IS SO OVER RATED", and not actually really thinking about what we're talking about.

----------


## Sierios

I think all of you are missing something, I believe it can be used in a similar way as the movie but differently. if your totem is a loaded die set to 5, you will practice during the day to make it land on anything but 5. it will only be in a dream that you will be able to get it to land on something else. when it does your dreaming. the same goes for the top, you try to make it spin for two or three minutes.

----------


## WishfulThinking

I have had an idea. The idea of doing a RC is to test if something works with how you would expect it to, right?

Well, what if you carried around something (anything small really) that was broken? Then when you look at this broken object, you say a mantra where you state that if you was not dreaming, then this product should be working. 

-It's hard to say what I'm thinking..

Normally, if you try to push your fingers through your other palm, nothing happens. Upon doing this, you would say "If I was dreaming, then my fingers would go through my palm"

So to translate this with the broken object..

You look at your broken item and in reality, it doesn't work. You would then think, "If I was dreaming, then this item should work"

If you did this enough, then when you come to do a RC in a dream, would the item work, where you then catch on to this as you know that in reality, it's broken?



It's a long shot, but I'm just trying to expand on your idea of using totems. Anyone go anything further to add (As I am yet to have a LD)

----------


## MindGames

Inception totems are probably be far less useful than actual reality checks, and even so I doubt that idea in particular would even work. Objects already have a high likelihood of not working in dreams, so using the functionality of a device as a reality check would probably give you a very low chance of becoming lucid.


Inception was a good movie, but the fact is that the methods they use are far from being the best ones available.


Also if you haven't already had an LD then the last thing on your mind should be the methods used in Inception. Periodic reality checks + awareness are the way to go.

----------


## saltyseedog

Well I thought the idea was to remind you to reality check. And they would work in a dream if you had the expectation that they would. I only do reality checks for fun in dreams because they trip me out, and to show other people they are dreaming.

----------


## vespesque

If you want a totem, something to act as a reality check, the best option is something that your subconscious would know you had, but wouldn't be able to replicate realistically. Your best bet is simple: A scrap of paper with a phrase on it. Consider this: dreams are generated by the right hemisphere of the brain; the capacity to read and comprehend the written word is held within the left hemisphere. Therefore, whatever you write in reality should be incomprehensible gibberish in your dreams, because the right hemisphere does not possess the ability to understand text. Your subconscious will retain that you have the scrap of paper, but it won't be able to recreate what's written on it.

----------

