Reality checks: Difference between revisions

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'''Reality checks''' are the act of consciously checking your environment for signs that you are dreaming. The intention of this exercise is to do it enough that the action becomes automatic, thereby causing the oneironaut to reality check in a dream. A reality check often takes the form of a simple action that is likely to result in a different outcome depending on whether or not you are in a dream, by preforming this task at regular intervals or when [[Dream signs]] occur you can train your mind to better recognize the dream state. A reality check can result in a [[DILD]] when done successfully, as the oneironaut realizes they are dreaming and sustains that awareness through [[Stabilizing techniques]].

In order to determine whether or not one is dreaming, it is necessary to develop a habit of performing frequent reality checks. A reality check simply involves asking the question, such as "Am I dreaming?" or "Is this a dream?", alongside of a specific action which is capable of determining if one is awake or dreaming.

Because most people are not in the habit of asking ourselves "Am I dreaming?" while in the midst of a dream, it is necessary to train oneself into the habit of questioning reality to achieve a state of lucidity throughout them. By training oneself to habitually question reality during waking life, the habit will eventually carry over to dreaming life and ultimately one will find themselves posing the question while dreaming. When this happens, the odds of realizing one is within a dream and thus increase the odds of achieving lucidity.

In order to gain the best results possible, these reality checks should be performed habitually every time the situation changes and on a daily basis. For example, every time one walks through a door or enters a new environment a reality check should be performed, every time one talks to a new person or simply remembers that they they may well be dreaming a reality check should be performed. If this is done 10 - 30 times a day the habit will quickly spill over into one's own dreams.

==Practical Methods==

There are many simple reality checks that can be used to accurately determine whether or not one is currently dreaming and these are listed below:

*'''Pushing one's thumb into the palm of their hand''' - During a dream, if one is to push their thumb into the palm of their other hand and exert pressure, it will pass straight through the hand and come out onto the other side. This can be used to determine whether or not one is dreaming very reliably.

*'''Double taking / rereading text and clocks''' - During a dream, if one decides to read text or check the time on a clock, upon further examination it will be shown to be unreadable. This means that every time one looks away and looks back, the information will change repeatedly, appear as nonsensical or never keep still. This can be used to determine whether or not one is dreaming very reliably.

*'''Counting fingers''' - During a dream, if one is to look at their hand and attempt to count their fingers, they will quickly realize it is impossible. The amount of fingers may constantly change or simply remain somehow intrinsically uncountable. This can be used to determine whether or not one is dreaming very reliably.

*'''Pinching one's nose and breathing''' - During a dream, if one tightly pinches their nose shut and attempts to breath, they will find that they can breath through their nose as normal regardless. This can be used to determine whether or not one is dreaming very reliably.

*'''Reminders''' - An excellent way to remind oneself to perform reality checks is to put notes containing messages such as "are you dreaming?" or "perform a reality check" in places which one frequently looks at throughout the day. For example, putting a visible note by a frequently used computer screen, writing a message on one's hand or changing one's desktop wallpaper to the image found on the right will greatly improve general lucidity.

==See also==

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 '''Reality checks''' are the act of consciously checking your environment for signs that you are dreaming. The intention of this exercise is to do it enough that the action becomes automatic, thereby causing the oneironaut to reality check in a dream. A reality check often takes the form of a simple action that is likely to result in a different outcome depending on whether or not you are in a dream, by preforming this task at regular intervals or when [[Dream signs]] occur you can train your mind to better recognize the dream state. A reality check can result in a [[DILD]] when done successfully, as the oneironaut realizes they are dreaming and sustains that awareness through [[Stabilizing techniques]].
+In order to determine whether or not one is dreaming, it is necessary to develop a habit of performing frequent reality checks. A reality check simply involves asking the question, such as "Am I dreaming?" or "Is this a dream?", alongside of a specific action which is capable of determining if one is awake or dreaming.
+Because most people are not in the habit of asking ourselves "Am I dreaming?" while in the midst of a dream, it is necessary to train oneself into the habit of questioning reality to achieve a state of lucidity throughout them. By training oneself to habitually question reality during waking life, the habit will eventually carry over to dreaming life and ultimately one will find themselves posing the question while dreaming. When this happens, the odds of realizing one is within a dream and thus increase the odds of achieving lucidity.
+In order to gain the best results possible, these reality checks should be performed habitually every time the situation changes and on a daily basis. For example, every time one walks through a door or enters a new environment a reality check should be performed, every time one talks to a new person or simply remembers that they they may well be dreaming a reality check should be performed. If this is done 10 - 30 times a day the habit will quickly spill over into one's own dreams.
+==Practical Methods==
+[[File:Cg0ww.jpg|350px|thumb|right|changing one's desktop wallpaper like this image as a reminder to perform [[Lucid_Dreaming#Reality_checks|reality checks]] will greatly improve one's own sense of general lucidity.]]
+There are many simple reality checks that can be used to accurately determine whether or not one is currently dreaming and these are listed below:
+*'''Pushing one's thumb into the palm of their hand''' - During a dream, if one is to push their thumb into the palm of their other hand and exert pressure, it will pass straight through the hand and come out onto the other side. This can be used to determine whether or not one is dreaming very reliably.
+*'''Double taking / rereading text and clocks''' - During a dream, if one decides to read text or check the time on a clock, upon further examination it will be shown to be unreadable. This means that every time one looks away and looks back, the information will change repeatedly, appear as nonsensical or never keep still. This can be used to determine whether or not one is dreaming very reliably.
+*'''Counting fingers''' - During a dream, if one is to look at their hand and attempt to count their fingers, they will quickly realize it is impossible. The amount of fingers may constantly change or simply remain somehow intrinsically uncountable. This can be used to determine whether or not one is dreaming very reliably.
+*'''Pinching one's nose and breathing''' - During a dream, if one tightly pinches their nose shut and attempts to breath, they will find that they can breath through their nose as normal regardless. This can be used to determine whether or not one is dreaming very reliably.
+*'''Reminders''' - An excellent way to remind oneself to perform reality checks is to put notes containing messages such as "are you dreaming?" or "perform a reality check" in places which one frequently looks at throughout the day. For example, putting a visible note by a frequently used computer screen, writing a message on one's hand or changing one's desktop wallpaper to the image found on the right will greatly improve general lucidity.
 ==See also==