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Lucid Dreaming/Reality Checks/Reading

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< Lucid Dreaming
The latest reviewed version was checked on 11 October 2017. There is 1 pending change awaiting review.
Lucid Dreaming
Introduction | Dream Recall | Induction Techniques | Using | Glossary | Appendices | Further Reading
Reality checks
Breathing | Finger Stretching | Hands | Identity | Jumping | Light switches | Memory | Mirrors | Nose | Powers | Reading | Time | Vision

Presentation

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With the reading reality check, you read some text, look away, and see if you can remember the text. Then, you check if it has changed when you turn back. Do this twice. You can also actively try to change the text (note that changing text in a Wikibook is not necessarily evidence you are dreaming though!).

For example, consider this paragraph. Try to remember its text. Then reload the page. If you realise that the text is now missing, you know that you are dreaming.

This reality check works because the mind has no external input to base the text upon.

Note you will usually have no problems reading text in a dream. It is remembering the text which is hard.

Examples of this reality check working

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  • I looked at some text that I found, then looked away. I couldn't remember what it said.
  • I looked at some text that I found, then looked away, then looked back. The text had completely changed or is scrambled up.
  • I looked at some text that I found, and it just said "lucid lucid lucid...". I was surprised but understood the message.
  • I dreamt I was reading a book. I closed my eyes to sneeze, and when I looked back, the text was the same, but it was in a completely different font.
  • There was a poster on a distant wall showing a spruce tree somewhere. I looked away and then back at it, where the scene changed to a small spruce tree in the middle of a city.
  • I opened a book and found the page empty, it had a weird haze over it. I thought to myself, "hey, that's weird" and the words "hey, that's weird" appeared on the page, I swore when I saw it happen and that popped up on the page as well. After about a paragraph of me questioning my sanity, a little voice said "you're dreaming, you idiot." I slapped myself on the forehead and continued on lucidly.

Examples of this reality check failing

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  • I looked at some text that I found, then looked away. I could perfectly remember what it said.
  • I looked at some text that I found, then looked away, then looked back. The text stayed exactly the same.
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