Thread: Do you think during reality checks?

It takes next to nothing to notice change, if it looks different, then your probably dreaming.

The only reality check thats worked 100% each time for me is the one where you plug your nose and try to breathe out of it, and I dont even think really when I do it, I just do it and if I can breathe im like "cool I can do it."

hmmmmmmm ive noticed clocks change and still no LD.

You HAVE to think when you do an RC. If you don't....it's not going to transfer properly to the dreamstate. Trust me, it is required that you really think and observe your state of consciousness when you do an RC.

Originally posted by themindsi
You HAVE to think when you do an RC. If you don't....it's not going to transfer properly to the dreamstate. Trust me, it is required that you really think and observe your state of consciousness when you do an RC.

rite, so what your saying is, dont just go through the motions, but actually think you may be dreaming right now! ive only been doing those kind of RCs for maybe a month now. yes before i was just doing random RCs without even knowing what was going on. yes bad.

I know that sometimes "thinking" to much about a RC might cause you to lose your lucidity but in general they can be done very easily. If you find reading to be to hard of a RC then try some others. A few that work for me are...

checking a digital watch and then looking back to see if you were right
jumping in the air to see if i can float (kinda like on the moon)
cover your eyes and try to make something change

those are the ones that work for me. I know that lucid dreams can be "tricky" to say the least, but with time you WILL get better at them. You just need to find a RC that works well for you.

Originally posted by dreamphoenix
I know that sometimes \"thinking\" to much about a RC might cause you to lose your lucidity but in general they can be done very easily. If you find reading to be to hard of a RC then try some others. A few that work for me are...

checking a digital watch and then looking back to see if you were right
jumping in the air to see if i can float (kinda like on the moon)
cover your eyes and try to make something change

those are the ones that work for me. I know that lucid dreams can be \"tricky\" to say the least, but with time you WILL get better at them. You just need to find a RC that works well for you.

That last one, about covering your eyes...i wouldn't want to try that, they say that if you shut your eyes in a lucid dream, you wake up...i don't tend to think when doing an RC..i find when i go lucid, i don't actually do a reality check...i know that sounds crazy, but the other night, i had a dream, where a baby was crying, and i was getting annoyed, and i thought 'no point getting annoyed, it's only a dream anyway'
And the baby stopped crying...and i was fully aware i was dreaming!
So, i don't know...it's all happenstance with me...

Incase I wasn't clear... I dont acctually close my eyes ( I also heard that could wake you up) I just use my hand to cover my eyes and it seems to work well. But like I said, everyone is different. catch ya on the flip side.

I think it pretty much depends on the reality check you're using, but as a rule of thumb, you should always question the reality when you're performing an RC. However, as I see the case, it's more crucial in those "mental" reality checks like trying to recall previous events, increasing your awareness or something like that.

On the other hand, you can do a reality check like pinching your nose or watching at a clock with only little doubt in your mind. In these reality checks your mind can't trick you so easily. At least I've had some success by making a habit of trying to breath through my pinched nose without that much thinking.

However, I think it's individual and everyone should find an RC and a way of doing them that works for themselves.

I figure we are smart enough to realize changes without thinking about it. When I have to consciously ask myself questions like am I dreaming and ponder it for a while, it just discourages me for some reason. When I have to double or triple check text, it's beginning to feel like a chore. It's not that i hate thinking, I think so much that I'm paranoid. It's all these questions in my head, like "what if I won't LD even though I get a reality check?" "Which method is the best method?" "you better revise your methods, they may be outdated" and so on. It's like I'm constantly shooting pigeon discs.

the one reality check that you will ever need is the hold your nose and breathe technique, its really easy to do and when your in public and you do it you wont look like and idiot (like if you were to stare at your hands ) also it has about a 99% success rate for me when I do it in a dream, the thing to remember when doing it is that you have to actually question reality, like actually think "hmm, was that pencil here a minute ago" or " feel like I’m dreaming" and then do a reality check, they aren’t just some random thing so you might do one in a dream, because even then you might not catch it unless you consciously think before you do it.... I hope some of that made sense

Originally posted by SantaDreamsToo
the thing to remember when doing it is that you have to actually question reality - - they aren’t just some random thing so you might do one in a dream, because even then you might not catch it unless you consciously think before you do it....

Not necessarily. Pinching your nose is a reality check where your mind can't easily trick you. That's because your breathing in dream and your real breathing are synchronised. Therefore you won't stop breathing if you don't consciously try not to breath, so you only really need to try to breath through your pinched nose.

That's why you can do it in random events, no matter whether they're dream-like or not. Your goal is to make a habit of reality checking anyway so that the habit would carry out in your dreams too.

However, there are some ways your mind could trick you in your dreams. You might think that you're not pinching your nose well enough, but if so, just do it again better or try another reality check as you already have a clue that you might be dreaming.