Reality Checks For Lucid Dreaming: Transformative Tips For Advanced Dreamers

Lucid dreaming is the remarkable ability to know that you are dreaming while you are in a dream. It opens up a world of possibilities – you can take control of the dream narrative, explore the depths of your subconscious mind, face your fears, fulfill your fantasies, and be free to do anything you desire. Mastering lucid dreaming, however, takes commitment and dedication. One of the most effective techniques for achieving dream lucidity is performing reality checks throughout your waking day.

What is a Reality Check?

A reality check is a simple action or test you can perform to determine whether you are awake or dreaming. It takes advantage of the discernible differences between the real physical world and the ethereal dream world. In waking life, the laws of physics reign supreme, and our senses provide generally reliable information about our environment. In dreams, all bets are off – the laws of physics do not necessarily apply, scenes and settings can change spontaneously, and our senses are prone to report bizarre occurrences as being totally normal.

Reality checks leverage these differences. They investigate some aspect of your current reality that would normally be fixed or consistent when you are awake, but liable to be unstable, inconsistent, or downright impossible when dreaming. By making a habit of questioning your reality via these checks during the daytime, your critical awareness carries over into the dream world. When something wholly abnormal happens during a check, it triggers the realization that “I must be dreaming!”.

The two fundamental components of an effective reality check are:

• Asking Yourself “Am I Dreaming?” – This trains your mind to constantly evaluate your state of consciousness.
• Performing an Action with Unexpected Results – When this action defies reality and normal physics, it proves you are in a dream.

With repeated reality-checking, you ingrain a healthy skepticism about the nature of reality. This reflexive questioning then pays off when you inevitably do a reality check within a dream, and the bizarre outcome shocks you into lucidity.

When to Perform Reality Checks

Timing is important when it comes to reality checks. Certain moments during your daily activities present prime opportunities to perform them:

• When something peculiar, anomalous, or out-of-the-ordinary happens. Encountering any sort of deviation from everyday normality should trigger a reality check.
• When you notice something that is a recurring dream sign or theme for you. Connecting reality checks to your personal dream symbols makes them more likely to happen naturally in a dream.
• Every time you wake up from sleep. Do a couple of checks to confirm you aren’t still dreaming. This catches false awakenings, which are very common for lucid dreamers.
• At randomly timed intervals throughout the day. Set up reminders to do reality checks at certain times, like 10:30 am, 2:15 pm, 4:30 pm, etc using your phone alarm or watch.

The more frequently you perform reality checks during the waking day, the greater your chances of doing one spontaneously within a dream and attaining lucidity. As a general rule, aim for at least 10-20 reality checks per day for maximum effectiveness.

Table 1: Common Reality Checks

Reality Check	Description	Action	Tips
Finger Through Palm	Try to push a finger from one hand through the palm of the other. Your finger will pass through when dreaming due to fuzzy dream physics.	Push your right index finger against left palm while asking “Am I dreaming?”	Focus your intent and truly expect your finger to pass through. Do the check discretely whenever convenient.
Nose Pinch Breathing	Pinch your nose shut and try to breathe in through it. You’ll be able to breathe in dreams where body physiology is often ignored.	Check palm lines, finger lengths, and skin texture. Do both left and right hands. Question if you’re dreaming.	Make sure you fully occlude your nose. Check your pinch seal if any air gets through. Do this one more privately.
Hand Inspection	Closely inspect the details of your hands. They will likely appear deformed or strange in dreams.	Note the exact time, look away >5 seconds, and recheck for time changes. Ask “Dreaming?”	Focus closely on multiple hand aspects. Any odd detail could indicate dreaming. Do this reality check frequently.
Time Check	Look at a clock/watch, look away, then check again. The time will likely change erratically in a dream.	Note the exact time, look away >5 seconds, recheck for time changes. Ask “Dreaming?”	Digital clocks work best as they change more obviously in dreams. But any timepiece can work. Confirm you looked away long enough.

Reality Check Examples

Many ingenious reality checks have been devised, but some tend to work better than others. Give these top reality checks a try using the specific steps provided:

Finger Through Palm

This check capitalizes on the dream world’s fuzzy approach to solid objects and physics.

• Hold your hand out in front of your palm up.
• With your other hand, straighten one finger and try to push it through your palm from above.
• As you push your finger toward your palm, genuinely ask yourself “Am I dreaming?”.
• In waking life, your finger will stop at your palm and you will feel the pressure against your skin.
• In a dream, your finger will pass straight through your palm with no resistance. This proves you are dreaming.

This check provides unambiguous results every time in real life versus a dream. It’s easy to do subtly whenever you want. I find it the most reliable reality check of all for achieving lucidity.

Hand Inspection

Looking closely at your hands is a classic reality check that requires no props and leverages the dream world’s tenuous grasp of human anatomy.

• Hold your hands in front of you and study them closely.
• Pay attention to the details – the lifelines, knuckles, cuticles, fingernails.
• As you inspect your hands, seriously ask yourself “Am I dreaming?”
• In real life, your hands will remain constant. In a dream, you will likely spot odd deformities like extra fingers, oddly shaped fingers, or too many knuckles.
• When you detect any abnormalities with your hands, you’ll know you are dreaming.

This check can be done anywhere and anytime. It provides unambiguous results, but be wary of false negatives where your dream hands appear normal. Do a backup reality check to confirm.

Breathing With Nose Plugged

Dreams often provide convincingly realistic sensory information even though your real senses like smell and taste are switched off. This check capitalizes on that blind spot.

• Pinch your nose tightly shut by squeezing it between your fingers.
• Attempt to inhale through your plugged nose.
• As you try to breathe in, genuinely question whether you are dreaming or not.
• In real life, you will be unable to inhale with your nose pinched.
• In a dream, you’ll find yourself able to breathe normally, proving you are dreaming.

This reality check requires no special props or preparation. It provides unambiguous results every time. The downside is it looks a bit odd when done publicly!

Mirror Check

Mirrors and reflections rarely behave naturally in the dream world. Our dreaming brains have trouble processing accurate reflections.

• Locate a reflective surface like a mirror, phone screen, glass window, chrome surface, or body of water.
• Closely observe your reflection within it.
• As you look at the reflection, seriously question whether or not you are currently dreaming.
• In real life, your reflection should accurately represent your physical appearance.
• In a dream, your reflection is likely to look bizarrely distorted, blurred, faded, or not resemble you at all.

When your reflection behaves oddly, you’ll know you are dreaming. The limitation of this reality check is it requires a suitable reflective surface. The distorted imagery can also be unsettling. So balance it out with a more subtle check.

Light Switch

Electrical devices and switches rarely operate normally within the dreamscape.

• Locate a nearby light switch in your environment.
• Flip the switch and check whether it turns the light on or off.
• As you flip the switch, genuinely ask yourself whether this is a dream or reality.
• In real life, the switch will reliably control the lights.
• In a dream, the switch is likely to have no effect on the lights. They may turn on then off again, glow dimly, change colors, or behave erratically.

When the switch fails to operate the lights predictably, you’ll know that you are dreaming. The limitation here is requiring a light switch nearby. Also, dream switches occasionally do work normally, so use a backup check.

Jump Attempt

Physics and gravity tend to work differently in dreams. Exploit this to prove you are dreaming.

• Stand in an open space and jump vertically as high as you can.
• As you jump, expect yourself to float or fly upwards.
• Ask yourself if this is a dream.
• In real life, you will land back on the ground as expected due to gravity.
• In a dream, you may well find yourself hovering or flying upwards, proving it is a dream.

This reality check can be fun and empowering when you actually start floating, but does look rather odd in public settings! Rely on it mainly when alone.

Time Check

Clocks and watches rarely operate accurately in the dreamscape, so use this to your advantage.

• Locate a watch, clock, or other visible timepiece in your environment.
• Make note of the time displayed, looking directly at the time.
• Look away for a few moments, then re-check the time once more.
• As you look, seriously question in your mind if this is a dream or reality.
• In real life, the time should remain accurate and constant.
• In a dream, you’ll likely find the time changes erratically when you look away and re-check, proving you are dreaming.

Digital time displays work best for this check, as they change more obviously in dreams compared to analog clock hands. But any timepiece can work. Reliability is limited if you don’t have a clock visible.

Table 2: Reality Check Reminders

Reminder Type	Examples	Pros	Cons
Apps/Alarms	Limited locations. Can fade into the background.	Very convenient if you always have your phone. Can be customized.	Can be disruptive. Easy to ignore with habituation.
Physical Cues	Post-it notes, wristbands, posters, wallpapers	Constant visual triggers. Simple to set up.	Natural memory associations. No preparation is needed.
Mental Cues	Link reality checks to routine daily actions	Natural memory associations. No preparation needed.	Easy to forget mental triggers.
Dream Journal	Log recurring dream signs/locations	Leverages personal dream data. Improves recall.	Need high dream recall already. Time consuming.

Reality Check Best Practices

To maximize your success with reality-checking, keep these tips in mind:

• Vary the reality checks you use: cycle through different ones instead of relying on just a single check repetitively. Some checks won’t make it into certain dreams, so having alternatives prevents you from missing a lucidity trigger.
• Do multiple checks at once for redundancy: If the first check doesn’t make you lucid for whatever reason, the second one then has you covered. Two solid checks back-to-back vastly improve your chances over a single reality check.
• Give your full attention to each check: Avoid rushing through it or your habitual waking perception may dominate. Imagine what it would be like if this were a dream and genuinely question your state each time.
• Maintain awareness after the check: Don’t just snap back to your usual activity right away. Observe the environment and your state of mind. Consider doing an extended reality check series.
• Keep a dream journal: Recording your dreams improves recall and noticing dream signs that can serve as triggers for reality checks.

With frequent, varied, and thoughtful reality-checking multiple times per day, you will gradually become lucid more often in your dreams. True proficiency takes time and dedication. But stay the course, make reality checks an ingrained habit, and you will master the art of lucid dreaming.

Table 3: Troubleshooting Reality Checks

Problem	Possible Causes	Solutions
Forgetting to do checks	No reminders set. Weak intention.	Use apps, alarms, notes as reminders. Imagine doing a successful check.
Checks not making you lucid	Rushed, distracted checking. Poor dream recall.	Focus fully on each check. Keep a detailed dream journal.
Checks produce false results	Self-doubt. Expectation effect.	Do multiple checks. Visualize bizarre dream results vividly.
Checks make you unstable	Excessive excitement. Drastic scene changes.	Stay calm. Rub hands together. Engage senses gently.
Still not getting lucid	Inconsistency. Unhealthy lifestyle.	Persist with checks daily. Meditate. Get adequate sleep and nutrition.

Final Thoughts

Reality-checking is the most proven technique for achieving lucid dreams on a consistent basis. By constantly questioning the nature of reality via reality checks during your waking hours, you prime your mind to continue doing so while dreaming. This leads to spontaneous lucid awakenings when dreamworld impossibilities are finally recognized. With smart timing, variety, and focused practice, reality checks open up a profound world of conscious dream control that is life-changing. Lucid dreaming offers endless possibilities – you need only realize you are dreaming. So start those reality checks today!