Thread: I Feel Cheated...

i would reccomend you do more thorough reality checks, as it seems this one didnt quite cut it. Closely observe the environment around you... ask yourself, and mean it, "am i dreaming?"

you could try pinching yourself but people might wonder why your doing that.

The nose-pinch. Always works.

Originally Posted by Clark_Bennon

you could try pinching yourself but people might wonder why your doing that.
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I always wondered how pinching is supposed to help.

That has happened to me countless times. Especially the clock checking method. Appariently it is supposed to be different if you look away then back at it, but it never works. Also I tried the spinning technique but I just felt extremely dizzy and woke up with a headache. The only method that works every time is the nose plugging one. If your mouth is closed and your nose is plugged and you can still breathe, the only logical answer is that your in a dream.

I've been trying that method... I'm just afraid of doing it in public. Such as in my dream last night. there was a girl infront of me and did the finger through hand thing nonchalantly incase I wasn't dreaming, so I wouldn't be in an awkard social position.

I find I can pull off the nose RC really fast if I pretend I'm itching my nose or something. Just quick grab your nose for half a second and breate in at the same time. If anyone asks you were just itching your nose.

Or you could try studying your hand to see if it looks odd in any way, but a lot of people *including myself* have problems with this one.

I always wondered how pinching is supposed to help. [/b]

Supposedly you won't feel pain, and when you're awake you do feel pain. Doesn't always work though.

hehe.. but not too fast or they thinkin you picking it lol

lol i do the nose thing every 10 minutes during the day and no one thinks anything of it... just quickly plug ur nose and try to breathe. no one notices.

Originally Posted by Eminence

I always wondered how pinching is supposed to help.
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Yeah i know i always see people in movies say "pinch me i must be dreaming" finally they found a use for it

Originally Posted by Clark_Bennon

Yeah i know i always see people in movies say "pinch me i must be dreaming" finally they found a use for it
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If it's in a movie it must work, then

Anyways, what do you suspect would happen in a dream? You would pinch yourself to test if you're dreaming. Then, in the dream, you will say. Ouch, that hurt, I'm not dreaming!

Anyways, try a different reality check. Try looking at your watch... that's always worked for me.

I'll second the watch RC. I swear by it -always works while dreaming, and doesn't look odd to others while awake.

doesn't that only work with digital watches? cause I only have clock watches...

I find that what works in real life normally works in a dream, so I have to carefully analyze everything around me and decide whether I'm dreaming or not. Of course, the plus side of this is that no one can see that you're doing it so you don't have to feel conscientious. On the other hand, it takes longer and requires more brainpower, which is maybe why it's more effective.

Originally Posted by metcalfracing

doesn't that only work with digital watches? cause I only have clock watches...
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No, sir! I've had a couple lucid experiences becoming lucid by analog. Not analog watches, but clocks (still shows that it works). What happens for me is A) the hands switch positions dramatically each time B) (which is cool) they spin around franatically and like crazy the first time I looked.

For all watch RCs, mainly give it two looks (I'll say below why watch RC is so effective). It will either A) be all messed up numbers/impossible numbers/heiroglyphs/spinning around hands on the first look. Or, it will be pretty normal the first time and on the second time it will either change dramatically (numbers or hands) or just be doing some other impossible thing.

Originally Posted by metcalfracing

I find that what works in real life normally works in a dream, so I have to carefully analyze everything around me and decide whether I'm dreaming or not. Of course, the plus side of this is that no one can see that you're doing it so you don't have to feel conscientious. On the other hand, it takes longer and requires more brainpower, which is maybe why it's more effective.


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I don't know why you say it's more effective... it's only more effective for you. For some people, in fact, that technique causes your mind to rationalize things. "Holy shit Jimmy has a pink elephant head... I might be dreaming... ah, nevermind, he just had nose surgery so he was bound to get swelling and redness." If you are doing it right, I suppose you could prevent this. In fact, you should live like this all the time. Personally, I should make sure I am in the right PLACE, because in my dreams I am always in places where the time or situation does not make it appropriate. For example, I was in Ecuador last night and in my art class on a weekend.

The watch RC is so effective because it relies on the instability of your dreams. Your dreams have a hard time keeping numbers or letters the same. Some people might not have this, but the fact that everyone says your dreams are not stable... your dreams become unstable (if you think its a fact in your dream, it will happen). Even if this is so, we exploit this for reality checks.

And it does take more brainpower and everything, which is one reason why it isn't the most popular reality check Some people if they are in a test during class or doing something else that requires their full concentration, then they can't reality check like that really. That's why watch reality checks pwn

Don't worry about it, you'll have another shot at an LD. I remember one dream not too long ago that a meteor was coming down towards Earth. I had a weapon that could stop it, and the drawer it was in was locked. I started to panic and did a reality check. It failed, so I continued to panic.

Then I woke up, and felt horrible.

Pssh. I'm sitting here in my Comp Apps class, doing the nose plug RC like there's no tomorrow. No one has said anything.

Edit: On the watch check topic- This does not work for me. My mind seems to have no problems keeping numbers and letters the same.

Wow, that's weird, I understand with the finger through hand technique, I tried that for a week and no luck, not only did I forget to use it most of the time (though I've poked my hands so many times while practicing that they're sore) when I did try, it didn't work. I think the trick is to believe that in a dream it'll work but obivously, you've tried that.

My advice, though I'm no expert, is to do the nose pinching trick since you're numbers seem to work for you, it does work, I've never practiced in real life but in a dream it's the one thing that I remembered while in it, have you tried other methods of getting an LD like a WILD (which i've never acheived), WBTB, or MILD? DILDs are the most practical way, as it only takes dream recall (for dreamsigns) and meory of something you do routine (RCs)

I hope you find what works for you

[size=3]The breathing through your nose while holding seems to work very well, and you could always say that you have to sneeze or something like that.

anyone who asks you "why are you holding your nose like that every 10 minutes!?" has some serious issues of their own for watching you so intently.

I find that just doing the breathing thing a lot will give me a DILD weekly at least... Since you can never breathe in waking life, when you do it in a dream it feels really cool and you realize ur dreaming. Hell i kept breathing like that for 10 minutes after i became lucid because its fun. lol

Just to add my two cents,

I'm no lucid god but as of yet, the nose-plugging RC has 100% efficacy. I think it has to do with the fact that you're consciously breathing in, thus making your lungs breathe in in real life? Even though your dream nose is plugged, your body can't deny the fact that your lungs are physically intaking air. I could be wrong but this makes a lot of sense--and it makes me believe it'll work

GRRRRRRRRR... this time I actually did my nose plug RC in my dream and I was Astonished to realize that I could breath... I was like "woah! I'm dreaming" and woke up right after I said that from Excitement. Grr... Thats one more for the close, but no cigar list.