The most effective time to do RC's

[lucidboarder]

Ok, throughout my time with Lucid Dreaming, DILD seems to be the method that works for the most people and yields the most lucid dreams. (unless you can wild at will in which case we all despise you ) The thing is, weird things do not happen much throughout the day, because it not a dream. If flying purple squirrels flew around in reality then that would not be a good dream sign anyway you know? So, when do we do reality checks so we make a ritual that hopefully we will carry over into our dreams? I want to know what works for everyone as far as doing RC's in reality, and then doing those when you see them in your dream. If people could post a list of things they have tried and had success with, i think that would help everyone. EX (doing an RC everytime you walk through a doorway)

[seeker28]

Although I'm a natural and don't use RCs much, I suggest doing a RC everytime you wake up. This will catch any FAs.

[Shift]

Most people like to do a reality check whenever they use a light switch. The only time I remember using a light switch in a dream (FA), yea the light blew... hmm Have you gone through and tried to figure out what your dream signs are? These give good clues to the best times to do RCs. I like to do them whenever I am looking at a digital clock, whenever I randomly am reminded of dreams (especially past dreams as I often experience deja reve(that's what I call it, anyway), whenever I wake up, whenever a strange coincidence or experience occurs, whenever I hear a certain song that I have taught myself to do RCs to, whenever I hear someone else say "dream", and whenever a dream sign or something reminding me of a dream sign occurs.

[imj]

The best time to do any RC is when you are sleeping. But for it to work into the dream you need a cue to RC that goes off at fixed intervals when you fall asleep. Me I am using a light that goes off every half an hour...at low setting of course.... IMJ

[seeker28]

The best time to do any RC is when you are sleeping. O rly??

[lucidboarder]

The best time to do any RC is when you are sleeping. But for it to work into the dream you need a cue to RC that goes off at fixed intervals when you fall asleep. Me I am using a light that goes off every half an hour...at low setting of course.... IMJ do you have a nova dreamer or something? i really want to try this technique but dont want to buy expensive equipment. How did you do it?

[imj]

Here's my youtube link....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4I-u-aWbOY I'll try to explain this simple idea but complexly explained....The quite expensive part is the electronics project kit, not designed by me in any way but bought as a kit that is used in the black box to control the duration the light is on for like 4s and it goes off. The entire timing of when the light comes on is controlled by a standard plug-in timer not the digital type but the old fashioned slot type. The blinking I added but is of no use so I use a steady on now. I think someone else here posted a similar set up but with strobe lights instead. The light does not work like a NovaDreamer because it does not cue the dreamer while he is still dreaming. Instead it acts as a "intent inducer" to RC when a light goes off...so I set it to half an hour to get the 'suspense' of waiting to RC the minute it goes off. Theory is that you will fall alseep with the intent as part of the drifting thought before dreaming. In case you are wondering if it works..the answer is no gurantee because it's not entirely an objective method like the NovaDreamer so when the mind changes so does the success rate. It does not have to be a light, leaving your computer on and having flash a dream cue image should do also so it really depends what you like to use as a cue. IMJ

[Blargh]

The thing is, weird things do not happen much throughout the day, because it not a dream. I just do RCs when something not quite right happens during the day, and there are a lot more occasions where this happens than you might think. Just when something doesn't got exactly as you expect it to, do an RC and actually think about it. Maybe you try to change the tv channel and end up hitting the volume change, or try to add a couple of numbers and get it wrong. Of course if a pig flies past your window, do one then too. I don't know if it's the best way to do RCs or not but this is what I do and I think it's working.

[imj]

Yeah I remember I woke up one morning and looked out of my room window. There was some cloud cover and the light was diffused but strange thing was the sunlight was streaming from the gaps of the clouds onto the ground..it looked dreamlike and I did an RC..... IMJ

[Shift]

More thoughts: Reminds me of the other day. I logged into the chat on Dreamviews, and someone said something about a person named Harvey. Now, I don't know anyone named Harvey, but I know all about Batman and Harvey Dent. So immediately my train of thoughts goes: Harvey? Who is Harvey? Oh, Harvey Dent. Oh, Two-Face. Then my mind makes the association between Harvey and the Joker, because they are two of Batman's Foes but more dominantly, because of the recent movie the Dark Knight. A couple more sentences are occurring while I'm going through this association in my head, and then someone writes, without my having said anything, "Yea but it's all a joke." Or something along those lines. Coincidence? Maybe in real life, but I don't think so when it comes to dreams. In some of my lucids, as I am thinking things to myself DCs act out my thoughts or ask me questions based on what I am thinking. So these association-coincidences are when I do reality checks in "real life", because often enough I find myself thinking it is real life and that I don't have to RC, convincing myself to do a RC anyway, and then finding out I am actually in a dream. In a dream, things happen because you are thinking of them. Associations are powerful manipulations of your train of thought... maybe that's all your train of thought is, associations. So when I find association-coincidences like this happening, I do RCs. Because very likely if someone in a dream said "Harvey", I would go through to association and the concept of Joker, or Batman, or flipping coins, or acid, or disfigured faces, would somehow manifest in the dream, simply because I was thinking about it (even passively). The association could also run the other way, the "Batman's Foes" way, and if someone had said something about scarecrows, or penguins, or "Man I'm all itchy, I got in some poison ivy", or cats, or whatever I would've been RCing just as hard.

[RunflaCruiser]

I think what helped me most ever was carrying a list and writing down strange things I saw during the day. I had 4 nights of lucids when I did this. It doesnt seem to work unless you write it down and carry the list.

[lucidboarder]

Thanks guys, those are all good ideas! I think im going to try that list thing. Now that i think of it, almost all of my lucid dreams have happened because i realized something i thought about came true. Or because i thought to myself, if i think that, it will happen because its a dream. IMJ : So are you saying your light technique isnt not to cue you into a lucid dream while you are actually dreaming? because couldnt you technically set it to go off when you would probably be in REM periods like the nova dreamer does?

[imj]

IMJ : So are you saying your light technique isnt not to cue you into a lucid dream while you are actually dreaming? because couldnt you technically set it to go off when you would probably be in REM periods like the nova dreamer does? I tried it but the dreaming mind knows it's the light going off but does not get lucid.. because I do not incorporate it in my waking life. But if I did it would be too much for me...doing RCs whenever I see bright lights.... IMJ