# Sleep and Dreams > Research >  >  (POLL) RCs - 'spontaneous dream habit' or 'confirmation of suspicion'?

## slimslowslider

PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY FIRST
Poll only open to people who have LDs featuring reality checks (RCs)

It would be very useful to know more about doing waking RCs to create a dream habit.  The theory is that you do RCs during the day and this becomes a habit that carries over to dreaming, so that you find yourself spontaneously doing an RC.  If it fails, then you become lucid. 

In my experience (and many others) this has never happened. In these cases the RC is performed to CONFIRM that you are dreaming AFTER something else had made you question the unreality of the dream. 

I've read descriptions of dreams from people who subscribe to the 'habit' theory but their accounts clearly show that something else had already made them question reality - and the RC was simply done to check.

So the poll is to try to gain some insight into all this.


If you've had a LD involving RCs, ask: "Why did I perform the RC?". Please try to think clearly about your experiences.

If you can say "RCs spontaneously appear in my dreams - i.e. for no apparent reason I find myself trying to push my finger through my hand, or breathe through my closed nose or whatever. I do the RC, it fails, and I'm surprised to discover I'm dreaming."  
Then Option 1 is for you

If you can say "For some reason ( a general sense of unreality, or an impossible dream sign/ weird inconsistency etc) I suspect that I may be dreaming and do an RC to check. It fails, confirming my suspicions." 
Then its Option 2

Any comments welcome of course :p

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## pj

For as much as I try to cultivate the habit through dreamsigns, an alarm watch and common life experiences, just about every LD I've had by DILD has resulted from an initial suspicion.

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## Moonbeam

Recently I had a dream where dishes on a shelf that were too high for me to reach fell into my hands as I reached for them.  In the dream, I thought "That's weird; I better do an RC."  So I did (hand check--missing pinky), and I became lucid.  

However, I think that was the first time I ever became lucid due to an RC.  All other times, I spontaneously became lucid, and then dic RC's just to see what would happen.  

I used to think that doing RC's during the day just kept my mind on dreams, so I was more likely to think that I might be dreaming when I actually was.  But now I think that they can work both ways.

Later, in the same dream I described above, I was going to jump off of a balcony to fly, but I got scared and did some more RC's.  This time they all failed (finger count, finger thru palm, and nose-hold).  So I didn't jump, even tho I was pretty sure it was still a dream.  That was the first time that I ever had the thought I might be in a dream, but then wasn't absolutely certain that I was.  So two firsts in the same dream.

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## MindDaguerreotype

OK, I re-read all my dream journals to get accurate statistics...

Out of 40 total RCs, I counted : 
18 to confirm an initial feeling that it is a dream or that "something is strange here..."22 "spontaneous RC"
*However* out of those 22:
12 were at the beginning of FAs, because I did a RC everytime I awake during a period where I had many FAs. Implicit initial suspicion, I would say.6 were at least partially associated with a specific dream-sign that I incubated during the days or weeks, but some of them were quite random.2 were done because I was "talking about LDs" with a DC2 were done because I was seeing my hand or my foot, so I counted the fingers.
I was really surprised of the result (dreaming!) for about 8 of them.
So, "RC with no apparent reason" ? Very few in fact; They all occured when something was hinting to a dream at some level.

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## xcrissxcrossx

For all of the LDs I have had, not one has included a RC. Kind of wierd, but whatever.

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## Replicon

I only perform RC's when I already suspect I'm dreaming. But to be fair, I think it's because I don't really perform them during the day anymore to develop the habit. In fact, even when I'm like 99% sure I'm dreaming, I'll often do the "read something, look away, read it again" check cause it's cool (but I usually wake up as a result haha).


After a WILD, I never do RC's. Haven't had one of those in a long time, though.

Also, not sure this is related, but I don't seem to react to dreamsigns. Like I'll dream about my teeth falling out, but I usually don't remember to do an RC. I think I've become lucid only once, thanks to dreamsigns.

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## slimslowslider

Thanks for the feedback folks.  I want to wait a while, then PM any people who voted 1 - to find out more about the circumstances under which they spontaneously RCed and how they feel the habit was acquired.  

It seems to me that habits don't cary over into dreams - so perhaps the RC works as per option 1, but only for a while when first attempted, because of the novelty - a bit like going to the circus then dreaming of clowns.

I feel another poll comming on...  i.e. how common is dreaming of everyday habits?  Like putting on clothes, smoking (for smokers), searching for your glasses, washing the dishes, brushing teeth etc.  I do all the above more than once per day and virtually never dream them.  Again this would IMO question the accepted wisdom on the RC method as a way of inducing lucids.

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## Adam

For me, I normally do this for fun. I have never heard of RCs or anything before I found this site, so now when I am lucid I will try out the RCs to see what they feel like. And often have made my own as I go along i.e 'If I am dreaming then I can put my finger through a window without breaking it.'

I sometimes feel like I'm 50/50 with knowing im lucid and have done an RC to confirm, but I would say most of the time its out of curiosity more than anything  :smiley:

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## Vall3y

the habit is actually having spontaneous suspect in reality. what i mean is, the habit is think 'is it a lucid dream' and then do an RC after. if you think about doing an RC, even before doing it you can 90&#37; of the time tell yourself wether its a dream or not, even without doing it. so the habit is actualy thinking about doing RC. know what im saying?
most of the time i just remember im supposed to do an RC. i relize im dreaming, and do an RC to confirm.

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## slimslowslider

I think that's the point.  To me its about being present-centred.  How to do this though?!?!?

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## Osimero

I had a weird experience with RCs in one of my lucid dreams. 

I was in a room, and on the wall there was an apparently normal looking dial, I walk over to it, and I see that there are 9 different positions that the dial can be in. Currently it is in the 0 position, so I turn it up a notch and do a nose RC. I  can not breath so I don't go lucid. I turn it up another notch, and do another RC, again the results are like what would have happened in RL, so I don't go lucid. Each time I turn the dial up a notch I become slightly more aware, and each time I do a reality check. The first eight all act as they would have if I were awake. Then finally as I switched the dial into the ninth and final position, I instantly became fully lucid, and did a RC just to confirm I was asleep. This time it worked.

Sorry for the block of text, but I had never heard of this happening to anyone else, and I thought it was interesting.

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## FreeOne

ive had both.  Lots of the time,  i will be suspicious that i am dreaming already, then do a RC.  But on weeks of just RCing spontaniusly  somtimes  i will just RC for no apparent reason at all and just be suprised to find that i am dreaming.

Like in this one dream. I was sitting on the grass next to some apparments.  I was thinking to myself,  "I havent done a RC in awhile.  I know i am awake but but im over do."  i did a reality check  and was so suprised,  i almost lost the dream!  I held on to it though,  and tried to go swimming.  ::D:

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