Reality Checking..

[Battousai]

Good day all,


I'v been reading up on lucid dreaming through various websites and
i have still got a question if one of you dont mind clearing for me.

They mention that doing reality checks during your normal day will
make it a "habbit" and will still be a habbit in your dream, I find i have
very little control in a dream, sometimes i see it as a "movie" or as a third
person and making a reality check is never an option if you know what i mean?

Last week i was in a dream and was staring at a woman, she was frozen or it
was like the dream was paused and a voice (my voice) suddenly said Am i dreaming? im in a dream? a dream maybe?, and i woke up remembering it very
clearly, is that normal progress? is that ment to happen? how can i stay in the dream after finding out it is a dream?.. so many questions hehe,

Id appreciate any help anyone could offer me, Thanks for your time.

[Stookie]

Yes, that's a very good sign you're close to a lucid dream. Something that worked for me was looking at my hands and asking myself if I was dreaming, then looking around for anything that didn't seem right. After about 2 or 3 weeks of that, when I would look at my hands in my dream I would question it and become lucid.

It sounds like you're very close. When you question if you're dreaming, take a look at everything around you. This will help you when you're dreaming.

[cainam_nazier]

The most important part of doing the reality check is to ask yourself if you are dreaming.  The idea is to question your own reality.  The purpose of doing the reality check in a dream is to ask yourself the same question.  The fact that the question even crossed your mind while you were dreaming is a good thing, and yes I would consider that a normal progression to the process.

Part of the trick to staying in the dream after you have realized it is a dream is to try and stay calm.  At first you almost immediatly get excited because of the realization of where you are.  You also tend to experience a reality shift or expansion when your awareness kicks in.  This is a matter of getting use to it.  But staying calm will help with the transition.

[Battousai]

I see, thanks for the help so far.

You mention that i should check my hands and
things around me to see a twist in reality to
realize I'm in a dream, i find i have little or no control
to focus at my hands or anything around me because
i have no control of my dream at all, or does that come after realizing your dreaming and gain lucidity? this is really hard to explain
seemings dreams are so vivid and fairly hard to explain.. for me that is.

[cainam_nazier]

The checking the hands is a helper.  The real idea is to get the thought into your mind about questioning your reality.    If you can put yourself in a state of constantly questioning your reality that will carry over into your dream.  "Am I dreaming?"  Then you look at your hands to confirm your situation.  The problem I think you are experiencing, and that every one experiences, is that your brain is just automatically accepting the situations it finds itself in.  IE it accepts what ever reality is there.  So the thought never enters your brain or rarely enters it as to wether or not you are dreaming.

Sorry had to re-read your post.  So yes the actual checking of the hands would come after some hints of awareness.  To have any control at all you must first question whats going on. 

I know most people just say to do reality checks through out the day.  However I like to tell people to include an extra one every time some thing questionable happens.  Common examples.  When you misplace some thing you just had in your hand, an unexpected event like some one calling you that you didn't think would, some one you know acting out of character, anything that strikes you as bizzar even in the slightest.

If you accept every thing in the real world as part of reality without question then it will more difficult to get your awareness to carry over into your dreams.  Question everything.

[MisterJingo]

Cainam is spot on. The reality check is important, but more important is the asking if you are dreaming after you do it. This should take the form or seriously questioning if you are dreaming for a moment or two (check your watch, look away, then look at it again to see if it is consistent etc).
Reality checks I've used in the past consisted of brushing my fingers along door frames whenever I passed through one, and taking moments to check if I was asleep or not.
The reality check has to be made into an havit, but the questioning must be serious.

[The Present Moment]

I never had much luck with the reality check. What I do instead is to try to manipulate reality -- fly, pass through a wall, move objects, make people disappear, etc. Then when I'm dreaming, if I'm able to do those things, I recognize the fact that I'm not awake. Honestly though, no single technique really worked reliably for me.

[Kraven Obscuria]

I second what Stookie and everyone else said. Checking your hands or pulling your finger several times a day works. If you pull your finger in a LD or in the Astral, it will likely distort or stretch. Therefore if you do this enough times throughout the day, you will eventually start to break out of "movie mode" in your dream, and do the reality check automatically. 

As far as staying in the Dream/LD, I find focusing on the brow/third eye area while trying to hold the image of the dream environment as strongly as possible tends to "sharpen" up everything. Sometimes when I become Lucid in a dream the environment starts to fade or morph. I focus on the brow/dream imagery and quickly things sharpen up again.

[Syke]

A technique/reality check that i find works the best for me is drawing a symbol on the back of my hand. Just something to catch my eye.
I constantly notice it even in the corner of my eye and it reminds me why it's there. Much easier to check reality when there is something there specifically to remind you.

And i notice my hands many more times than i walk through a door.. or see a window (as they were other reality checks i used to do).

Saying all that, with the many lucid dreams i've had, they never start by me noticing a black blob on my hand.. heh. It all just conditioned my mind to be a little more receptive.

My personal experience shows me that two weeks of the symbol on the hand check is enough to start lucid dreaming.

good luck
-bren