My Latest Reality Check Trigger: The Time!

We all know that the simplest method of lucid dreaming is to recognize that you are dreaming WHILE in the dream.  To do this, you must get in the habit of questioning reality during the day and/or doing numerous reality checks while awake.  The goal is to catch yourself doing the same in a dream to become lucidly aware.

Not unlike most aspiring lucid dreamers, I always have a hard time remembering to stop and ask myself if I'm dreaming during my day.  

I've tried to remember to reality check when:

• I walk through a door or doorway.
• I sit up and stand
• I see a police officer or police car

With the first two situations, I just couldn't make myself remember to do it!   For a while I had the hang of reality checking whenever I touched a door knob, but a lot of the time that doesn't happen in my dreams.  

I did the best with wondering my reality state with the police cars and security officers.  I did this for several weeks.   The problem with this is that I never see the police in my dreams.  Some people report that once they identify a dream sign (a recurring item or theme present in dreams and reality), it fails to be a dream sign anymore, as if the brain doesn't want you to catch on that you're dreaming. 

Another reason I think those methods don't work for me is because when I get home I'm not really around any of the possible triggers--I'm not opening doors or seeing squad cars.  So I go for hours without reinforcing the habit of reality checking myself.

Anyway, this weekend I started something new that seems to be a promising method!  I'm a little excited.

Starting Saturday, I decided to reality check once every hour.  So in the back of my mind I'd be anticipating the turn of the next hour so that I could reality check before more than a couple minutes past the hour passed. 

I can do this anywhere.  At home and at work.  And it wasn't hard to remember to do it.

Today is the 5th day I've been doing this and I think this technique is morphing into reality checking whenever I look to a clock or even think about the time.  I've been reality checking more than once an hour because when I check the time to see how close I am to the next hour, I go ahead and reality check then, also.  

As a result, I had a lucid dream yesterday night and another last night (3 and 4 nights after starting this method).  Both were very short and I don't really know or remember exactly what triggered the lucidity.   However, I think two lucids in a row is good.

I think this is a great way to remember to reality check because (like your hands), time is always there and we are always conscious of time in one form or another.  We're always thinking about what time we have to wake up, go to sleep, head for work, go home, etc....

If you can squeeze reality checking into your planner at the turn of every hour and be consistent it will become habit.