Lucidblogger

Do you have trouble remembering to do reality checks through out the day?

I do. So some day ago I decided to do something about it and bought a watch to remind me of doing reality checks. I had three requirements when deciding which watch to buy.

Digital numbers

Using a digital watch for reality checks is an easy way to check if you´re dreaming.

When you are dreaming, your dream world is constantly changing. Lucid dreamers use this to their advantage. If you look at a digital clock in a dream, look away, then look at the time again, the numbers will have changed. If the time said 11:25 the first time, it might say 17:46 the second time. It might even display something as random as 3Z:L# or hieoroglyphics.

I haven´t tried using an analog watch for reality checks, but I see no reason it shouldn´t work too. The only difference would be that instead of numbers changing the pointers would change place, or that a pointer is missing when you look back. If you´ve tried this with an analog watch, let me know.

Hourly Timesignal

The watch beeps every hour. This was an important requirement for me, because it makes sure I remember to ask the critical question “Am I dreaming?” at least once an hour. The signal is not too loud, so I can have it on during the night too. I won´t wake up, and there´s a chance the signal will get through into my dream and make my dream watch beep.

When you do reality checks, consistency is important. Doing 20 reality checks one day and zero reality checks the day after will not return good results in the long run. The key is to make it a habit. Eventually the habit will carry over into your dreams, which will hopefully make you lucid.

Lighting

This feature wasn´t as important as the previous two, but it´s handy to be able to check the time if you wake up in the middle of the night and it´s pitch black in the room.

I´m now a proud owner of a Casio F-91W. This was the cheapest of the ones that fit my requirements and also has a cool retro look that I like. I even think I had this exact model as a kid. It cost me 200 SEK in the store, which is around $25. But you can get one for $11.48 on Amazon.

I bought the watch two days ago and I´m checking my reality far often now than before. Maybe because everytime I look at my watch it reminds me of lucid dreaming. It will be interesting to see how many days it will take before my dream-me starts to wear the watch.

Do you have any tips on how to remember to test your reality?

UPDATE:
Last night I had the watch on my wrist in my dream. It took about a week for it to appear in my dreams, not bad! Now I just need to remember to perform a reality check next time I see my watch in a dream. Then it´s lucid time!

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