Thread: Honestly, do you even do reality checks?

Ive had about 12 LDs since training (6/6/07). Every one of my LDs has been triggered by waking up (un-intentional) in the early morning, and going back to bed. that or naps. i never have triggered an LD from doing RCs. Now, I don't even do them in waking life anymore. Surprisingly, if i wake up at lets say 8am by the noise in my house, open my eyes, and go right back to bed i will become lucid at LEAST 50% of the time.

WBTB works great. no need to read lucid material, or waking up at 4am. I just sleep for 8 hours, wake up, and go back to bed. (And yes, I do sleep for a long time. Usually 10 hours)

Hey there,

I never do actual reality checks in my dreams unless I hit upon a dreamsign suddenly and unexpectedly (for instance the lightswitch not working), and then I'll usually try to test reality by running through the nearest door or wall, or jumping out a window and flying... so I guess by then at least part of me already knows I'm dreaming.

Still, I do reality checks during the day, not so much in the hope that I'll do them at night, but rather to periodically keep my mind on lucid dream. Additionally, I like to give myself the habbit to sort of question my surroundings from time to time, because if I can get the habbit in waking life to question, it will hopefully carry on to my dreams.

Many of my lucid dreams have apparently been spontanious lucid dreams, but one can wonder, maybe they're spontanious lucid dreams because I've taken the habbit to spontaniously wonder every so often if I'm dreaming or not, if you get my meaning?

Just my 2 cents,

-Redrivertears-

Originally Posted by Redrivertears

Many of my lucid dreams have apparently been spontanious lucid dreams, but one can wonder, maybe they're spontanious lucid dreams because I've taken the habbit to spontaniously wonder every so often if I'm dreaming or not, if you get my meaning?

Just my 2 cents,

-Redrivertears-

I personally think that natural lucid dreams (DILDs) normally accur because you know what a lucid dream is and your mind is open to this possibility. There are a few natural lucid dreamers who have many DILDs before being aware what a lucid dream actually is (me being one of them). But I think as soon as you open up someone's mind to lucid dreaming, thats 50% of the work done right there in working to achieve lucidity

I tried reality checks but they never really helped me LD, I basically gave up now. It felt ridiculous asking myself every hour if I was awake, because I knew I was awake already.

I don't really do reality checks when I'm awake much anymore. I use them mainly when I already suspect that I'm dreaming to confirm whether it's really a dream or not, just to be sure. Every rare once in a while, though, I may decide to do one or two while I'm awake for some reason, mainly when something pretty unusual (but still possible to be happening for real) happens.

The usual pattern is that I will notice something odd, suspect I am dreaming, then look at my watch for a while (my number one reality check—it works nine times out of ten ). If I see anything unusual (usually skipping numbers, showing the wrong or an invalid time, running backwards, etc.) then I know for sure it's a dream and then I immediately go to do my lucid dream experiments.

I tried the clock check for a while, it used to work pretty good. But after a while the clocks in my dreams would stay stable and the numbers wouldn't change anymore, so I couldn't use that method (which was the only one that worked well at the time) anymore.

I have being doing alot of rc's the last few days, mostly when i think something odd happens (it doesn't have to be that odd) like for example u see a car parked outside ur house that normally isn't there, or my oven isn't working properly, strange t.v program, people acting like they wouldn't normally act, and the list goes on.

I t has paid off for me because i have been doing this 4 days and i am starting to question everything in my dreams now. I had been doing alot of rc's anyway but i am going to stop doing random ones now because i don't do them in dreams anyway, only when i question something in the dreams like last night i had 5 ld's and i think 3 were spontaneous and 2 were through questioning the dream.

Originally Posted by Redrivertears

I never do actual reality checks in my dreams unless I hit upon a dreamsign suddenly and unexpectedly (for instance the lightswitch not working)

I'm the same way.

Originally Posted by LucidMike14

Ive had about 12 LDs since training (6/6/07). Every one of my LDs has been triggered by waking up (un-intentional) in the early morning, and going back to bed. that or naps. i never have triggered an LD from doing RCs. Now, I don't even do them in waking life anymore. Surprisingly, if i wake up at lets say 8am by the noise in my house, open my eyes, and go right back to bed i will become lucid at LEAST 50% of the time.

WBTB works great. no need to read lucid material, or waking up at 4am. I just sleep for 8 hours, wake up, and go back to bed. (And yes, I do sleep for a long time. Usually 10 hours)

This is a DEILD not WBTB. WBTB normally mean waking up and getting out of bed and being awake for 30-60 minutes, reading some lucid material and incorporate an element of MILD as I under stand it. DEILD is simply exiting the dream as you are and going straight back to sleep instantly.

Anyway, in answer to your question, no I don't reality check.

Originally Posted by LucidMike14

Ive had about 12 LDs since training (6/6/07). Every one of my LDs has been triggered by waking up (un-intentional) in the early morning, and going back to bed. that or naps. i never have triggered an LD from doing RCs. Now, I don't even do them in waking life anymore. Surprisingly, if i wake up at lets say 8am by the noise in my house, open my eyes, and go right back to bed i will become lucid at LEAST 50% of the time.

WBTB works great. no need to read lucid material, or waking up at 4am. I just sleep for 8 hours, wake up, and go back to bed. (And yes, I do sleep for a long time. Usually 10 hours)

i have entered my only lucid through a reality check, i thought to myself am i dreaming? then did a rc and was lucid

About half of my LDs are through Reality Checks.

The best for me is just checking whenever I wake up - I catch a lot of False Awakenings that way.

I have the same luck as PJ: reality checks upon awakening lead me to catch many lucid dreams through false awakenings. Even if it feels unnecessary to reality check during normal life, I at least encourage you to check every time you wake up. For some, it will make a large difference.

I'm trying to get back in the habit of doing them regularly, myself. I've missed far too many obvious dreamsigns to continue my waking life in ignorance of this.

WBTB gives me great success, as with you. I get enough lucidity to do a reality check well after I'm certain I'm dreaming. Still, it's be nice to wake up a few REM periods before my alarm sounds, with a fresh, exciting DILD in my head, caused as a direct product of reality checking.

I never thought of doing reality checks on waking. It annoys me that i miss so many false awakenings, so i might start doing this and see if it makes a difference.

Originally Posted by pj

About half of my LDs are through Reality Checks.

The best for me is just checking whenever I wake up - I catch a lot of False Awakenings that way.

yea the only RC method that seems to me that could be effective would be that one. it's just when i wake up i probably won't remember to do one haha

Originally Posted by LucidMike14

yea the only RC method that seems to me that could be effective would be that one. it's just when i wake up i probably won't remember to do one haha

Hence the practice of doing RCs during the day.. so you train your brain to remember to do them when it's most important!

No, hahaha