A reality check (RC), also known as a state check, is a way to check your current state of reality (whether you are awake or dreaming). For example, look at your hand and count the number of fingers on it. In waking life, human beings usually have five fingers. However, in dreams, you might have any number of fingers (including but not limited to five). So if you ever count an incorrect number of fingers on your hand, you can conclude that you are dreaming!
One of the most popular and effective way to do RCs is randomly throughout the daytime. Develop a habit to check reality 3-15 times per day. If you remember to do on your own accord without external assistance, there's a good chance that you'll continue to trigger yourself to do RCs randomly in your dreams. Forming a habit to do RCs randomly on your own with regularity is what causes you to do them in your dreams. It may take some time and practice to develop this new habit, but the process of doing so will result in spontaneous RCs in your dreams! And thus, you can use these to become lucid.
Note: While doing 15+ reality checks a day shows a good level of commitment to the practice, make sure you're not overdoing it. If you do so many RCs that you aren't paying attention to them anymore, they lose effectiveness. The quality of your RCs is more important than quantity. 3-15 mindful RCs are more likely to result in a lucid dream than 100 thoughtless ones in a day.
Another popular way to do RCs is with in-dream reminders. By training yourself to do an RC every time you encounter a specific stimulus, you can train yourself to do RCs regularly in your dreams. For this to be most effective, you should choose a stimulus that will appear in your dreams. For example, if you dream about your cat frequently, you can train yourself to become lucid by doing an RC every time you see your cat in waking life. Thus, you will do the RC when you encounter the cat in your dreams! If the cat is a regular occurrence in your dreams, that's your magic ticket to easy reality checks and subsequent lucid dreams!
Because the frequency of the reminder in your dreams is such a powerful factor for RC effectiveness, this means that phone apps or timers tend to be less effective. Although automated reminders can sometimes work, the chances of them actually appearing in your dreams is significantly lower than the reminders that already appear in your dreams naturally. By targeting the things you already dream about and training yourself to recognize them as reminders, you can get more frequent RCs in your dreams.
This is where dream journaling and other forms of dream recall come in handy! Think back (or read your journals) from the past week or two and look for common themes, objects, or other trends that could be used as a reminder to RC. The best RC reminders are the most frequent things that you also encounter in waking life. It can be your cat, a family member, a certain location, or simply the act of walking through a doorway or going outside. Anything you do or see in your dreams and waking life can be a good way to remind yourself to do an RC.
There's an endless number of options for reality checks out there, some being better than others. Here's a list of the most popular and effective ones (in no particular order).
Counting Fingers: One of the most famous reality checks is the counting fingers one! With this reality check, simply look at your hands and count the number of fingers you have. You don't have to agonize over the counting part, just look at your hand long enough to know how many fingers there are. If you have an incorrect number of fingers, you're dreaming!
Nose Pinch: The nose pinch RC is often touted as the most effective and is very popular alongside finger counting. Simply pinch your nose (both nostrils), then try to breathe through your nose. In waking life, this will obstruct your breathing. Unobstructed breathing means that you are dreaming.
Checking Time: Dreams have a tendency to change and morph every time you shift your attention. So, check the time on your watch or phone (wherever you normally use to check the time). Note the time and look away. Then, look back. If the time has changed in an impossible way (such as going from 10:17 AM to 4:13 PM), you're dreaming!
Checking Text: This RC works the same way as checking the time. Any text you read such as on your phone or on paper might change. If you read something, look away, and then read it again and notice it change, you are in a dream!
Finger Through Palm: The finger through palm RC is incredibly popular and effective. To do it, try to push a finger from one of your hands through the palm on your other hand. In waking life, your hand is solid. If your finger clips through your hand like a video game model, you are dreaming!
Light Switch: This reality check was featured in the 2001 film Waking Life. To do it, simply turn a light switch off or on. If nothing happens, you are dreaming!
Reality checks may fail because A) dreams are a reflection of the dreamer's current awareness and B) anything in a dream can mimic waking life. When counting fingers, you might see five fingers on your hand, just like waking life. Trees could be blue or black, but they can also be green. There is no RC that is 100% guaranteed to cause a dream-like result, but you can get practically 100% guaranteed lucidity rates from the process of doing the RC regardless of the result. How? Using critical awareness. When you use critical awareness rather than the result of the RC, you'll become lucid every time, even when your RCs fail to yield dreamlike results.
RCs are technically not an induction technique for lucid dreaming because the result of RC is not what makes you lucid. You become lucid when doing RCs in a roundabout way because the RC teaches you to be aware and think critically about your current state. Critical awareness is the heart of what makes RCs successful, not the result of the RC itself.
So make sure to be mindful of the process using . Every time you do a reality check, take a moment to be reflect mindfully, be present in the moment, and think critically about what you're doing and what it means. Ask yourself Am I dreaming now? with true contemplation and curiosity. Are your thoughts, feelings, and actions influencing the reality around you? What is the nature of your current reality and what is causing it to form on a fundamental level?
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