Thread: What should you do if a dream seems completely realistic no matter what you do to test it?

Last night I dreamed that I had travelled home from university to visit my mother at home - by plane, which was in itself a dreamsign, since I always take the train.
Anyway, I suddenly realized that I had major problems remembering anything at all about my home journey, and that was really weird since I always can remember at least a couple things no matter how absent-minded I am.
I said to my mother "mom, I can usually always remember at least something about my trip back home, but this time I can't remember a single thing - isn't that weird?".
She almost seemed a little upset by this question, and then told me that this often happens to her as well.
I wasn't convinced by this though, since I felt very clearly that something was weird about the whole situation.
So I tried levitating up into the air by sort of "willing "myself to lift from the ground - that didn't work.
Next I tried to jump into the air several times in an attempt to fly, but it really felt exactly like jumping in waking life.
Then I think I tried plugging my nose and breathing through it, but even that RC failed.
After running around like this for a while I finally had to admit "okay, this is waking life then" - and then I woke up!

How are you supposed to tackle dreams like this, when they persistently simulate waking life so flawlessly?
I certainly don't consider this a "failure" by any means, this is definitely very close to a real LD, it's just a bit confusing how a dream can conceal its true nature so well.

You did everything right, having a couple of reality checks. Personally, I would go for a nose plug first and then try flying. If there was ever a time where flying didn't work, I would try summoning stuff. I would try summoning my usual girl who is very easy for me to summon. If that didn't work, I would try pocket summoning (checking you pocket for something you expect to be there) which has never failed me.

After your reality checks fail, try all of the dream control that's usually reliable for you. Getting down a few diverse methods of dream control down is good for this purpose.

Originally Posted by dolphin

You did everything right, having a couple of reality checks. Personally, I would go for a nose plug first and then try flying. If there was ever a time where flying didn't work, I would try summoning stuff. I would try summoning my usual girl who is very easy for me to summon. If that didn't work, I would try pocket summoning (checking you pocket for something you expect to be there) which has never failed me.

After your reality checks fail, try all of the dream control that's usually reliable for you. Getting down a few diverse methods of dream control down is good for this purpose.

Yes, I will give those a try the next time.
It was kind of discouraging in this dream though, because I felt more and more like I really was awake, and that everything was so solid and lifelike that I couldn't bother anymore.

It still was a rush though, I am always amazed by how good your brain is at simulating waking life like this.

Doing dream control stuff is always a good way to test if you are dreaming (listen to dolphin... he is awesome). Later on you should get a "feel" for the dream world, if an RC fails, then you can just check and see if you can feel that. If so, you know you are dreaming. It is very nice to have.

Your RC's failed because you were doubting it was a dream. I remember when this happened to me one time. btw My RC check is pretty drastic, I always go find myself a window to jump out of(if you live in a tall building). But that one time, I was reluctant to do it because the dream felt so real, even though it wasn't. But, think about it, when you are in reality, you know pretty much 99% of the time that it's real. You don't even question that it's a dream. So everytime you do an RC, it's likely that you are already in a dream. So if it ever occurs to you again that you are doing an RC, just snap out of it and embrace that it is the dream. You kna mean?
There are a lot of better RC's. At this point, I don't even require RC's but if I have to, I usually go outside and try doing something unusual such as, if you live in an apartment, go try opening someone's door. Talking to random DC's like on the streets would be.
Try solving a math problem such as evaluating an integral...

Don't sweat it, it's progress As far as reality checks go, I have recently started trying to perform telekinesis when I'm in doubt. In waking life at least -- I haven't done it in a non-lucid since I started. My reasoning behind it was that I had done it in a couple of non-lucids and just accepted it so I was trying to train myself to recognize that as a dream sign.

So what I'm saying is try to find something abnormal that you just accept in a dream and run with it in waking life instead of the other way around, in your case if that's happening frequently I would keep close tabs on my memory of where I am, how I got there, etc if you aren't already. Hopefully that would train you to go deeper into that problem when it comes up and you can figure it out in your head inside the dream without the need for a physical reality check. Just my two cents.

Edit: I think this came off a little different than I meant, I'm really tired and confusing myself. I know you didn't "accept" it and you tried RCs because of that feeling, but my thought is that if you put your energy into WHY you can't remember or trying harder to remember, instead of physical RC then maybe it would click in your head even though the dream is fighting with you about it on the physical level. I've become lucid a few times because of that sort of thought process, mental RCs are great to get the awareness going.

I read that not being able to remember the last 10 minutes or where you have just been is a good RC (can't remember who said it - maybe I'm dreaming!), so perhaps when you asked your mother and said you couldn't remember, that was your best RC. I've only ever managed to do the nose plug RC once in an LD, so I'm can't really help you on effective RCs, although I suppose you could try writing down some text and see if it changes?

@Goldenspark... my dreams always create fake memories, so it doesn't work for me, but I love the awesome fake memories.

Also! Read about Hukif and be wise. He tried for 8 years before he could get a RC to work good. Had to create his own. After 8 years of trying, he didn't give up:
View Profile: Hukif - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

Originally Posted by Laurelindo

Last night I dreamed that I had travelled home from university to visit my mother at home - by plane, which was in itself a dreamsign, since I always take the train.
Anyway, I suddenly realized that I had major problems remembering anything at all about my home journey, and that was really weird since I always can remember at least a couple things no matter how absent-minded I am.
I said to my mother "mom, I can usually always remember at least something about my trip back home, but this time I can't remember a single thing - isn't that weird?".
She almost seemed a little upset by this question, and then told me that this often happens to her as well.
I wasn't convinced by this though, since I felt very clearly that something was weird about the whole situation.
So I tried levitating up into the air by sort of "willing "myself to lift from the ground - that didn't work.
Next I tried to jump into the air several times in an attempt to fly, but it really felt exactly like jumping in waking life.
Then I think I tried plugging my nose and breathing through it, but even that RC failed.
After running around like this for a while I finally had to admit "okay, this is waking life then" - and then I woke up!

How are you supposed to tackle dreams like this, when they persistently simulate waking life so flawlessly?
I certainly don't consider this a "failure" by any means, this is definitely very close to a real LD, it's just a bit confusing how a dream can conceal its true nature so well.

What are you supposed to do? CELEBRATE!

Whether you were lucid or not, when you wake up treasure that experience. Its a rare thing to have a dream that mimics real life so perfectly, and its dream like that - where you even have body weight, that makes dreaming so special!

I wish I could have dreams like that again, its been a long time. But when I had dreams like that I ran into the same problem. ALL of my reality checks failed on me. I have slammed my fist into the wall to see how solid it was. Solid. I tried to walk through a glass pane (which is easy in normal dreams) only to have the glass slam up against my face. Couldn't levitate and when I jumped I had weight.

I thought I was going crazy. Especially since this dream was in the middle of class, there was only so much I could do without feeling absolutely insane!

But here's a rule of thumb I've learned : If you feel you are dreaming, chances are - you are dreaming. The only exception is if you are suffering from schizophrenia. But if you are healthy and sober and you still doubt your reality even though reality checks have failed you - you're dreaming.

So, just trust that dreamy feeling!

Eventually in my dream, I jumped out the 2nd story window even though my reality checks failed me!! At first I falling down fast. I thought "my God Ive gone insane and now I've committed suicide!". But just before slamming into the ground and flew up into the sky. When I woke up I was disturbed that I jumped before I could confirm it was a dream.

But I also realized in real life I could never jump like that, because my fear of heights (which is only non-existent in dreams) would have taken hold of me.



There is another technique you can try doing. If all other reality checks fail you, but you still feel it might be a dream, then close your eyes. Close your eyes and imagine a new scene. Wait a few moments and open your eyes. That goes with a warning that sometimes people wake up when they do this.