/yume/ - Dreams

Somewhat related…
my friend dream-checks with his frostbite scars. He doesn't have them in his dreams, or if he does, they're very prominent like he first got them or just wrongly shaped/spread.

I don't have tattoos or any sort of distinguishable markings, or any way to see them in my dreams (I never see mirrors)… I wish I did, it makes me really curious.

>>161

That's really interesting, it makes me want to get a tattoo on my hand or arm to check with (or on the leg, common body parts to see in a dream).

I don't think I've ever seen a mirror in my dreams either.

>>169
yeah, right? I feel the same way, haha. except i don't see any part of my body in my dreams… ever.
I don't see clocks, either; or lightswitches. so i can't even check by switching them on or off! most of the time i'm in public buildings or outside, too, so those don't work.

>>176

I have the same problem; whenever I'm dreaming it's outside in some city. Or out on the middle of a forest. I don't generally come across anything I can use to check myself.

The one time I did gain lucidity, it's because we were walking through a neighborhood and I caught the sign for what obviously was a post office with a random string of words.

>>161 How would your friend know if they are always like that? He wouldn't realize he was dreaming if they were normal?

>>178
Like Clouds stated, they're either A) 'fresh', B) they look off; if I had prominent scars that I saw everyday I'd be able to tell if they were off too. Especially from frostbite, I would imagine that aquiring those would be a trying experience.

this thread gives me a idea: i'll make a mark on my hand every night before going to sleep and try to check it as soon as i wake up, see if this way i can get aware on dreams.
hope it works.

>>184 Do tell us if this works, it sounds like it would and I've been looking for a good way to wake up inside dreams.

>>185
i'll try, but i'll need to make a habit out of it to work [i think] and my memory kinda sucks so… yea, i'll try

>>189

Interesting experiment indeed, I might have to join you on this. I suppose checking it when you write in your DD would be best, no?

And just a tip, try to make it semi-complicated. A line, dot, or circle can probably be reproduced easily enough (the circle may be warped), so something with a little… flair that's also easy to draw would be good.

>>191
hmmm, that makes sense.
i tried with just a dot, i'll change it to something more complicated.
i couldn't remember my dream this night, but at least i remembered to check the mark first thing when i woke up.

>>193
>>191
i used to put this on my hand. I think something like this is a pretty good candidate for that/a good example.
hell, ima try it out now i think.

supposedly biting your lip is a dream checker. if you bite your lip and your lip isnt between your teeth, you are dreaming. for whatever reason supposedly, your dream doesnt process it.
but i've never been able to try it.
it's worth throwing out there, perhaps it can help someone else.


tips to remembering things from someone who has tried many methods:
for something like this? put a big honkin' piece of paper on your pillow saying what you want to tell yourself before you go to bed
and for the morning paste it over your clock so you put it back when you wake up.

>>193

I think with tiny markings it would be easier with false awakenings.

>>194

Exactly, easy enough to doodle and complicated enough to get warped in dreams. Hell, a word might work too.

I bite my bottom lip a lot IRL, so I may have to try that last tid bit.

I have trouble keeping a dream diary, every morning I feel like its too much trouble to write it all down and I end up not doing it. Other times I feel like writing but what I have to put down feels insignificant and then I don't do it then either. Why am I keeping a dream journal anyway? I've heard it helps but what does it do?

>>196

>I have trouble keeping a dream diary, every morning I feel like its too much trouble to write it all down and I end up not doing it.

I know how you feel, I'm not a 'wake up' person so it was hard at first. You've just got to make it a habit.

Honestly though, your problem might be you just don't like writing, so keeping an online one on a blog site or some such makes it much easier.

>Other times I feel like writing but what I have to put down feels insignificant and then I don't do it then either.

I personally record everything, no matter how insignificant. When I didn't have my DD while traveling, I used an old myspace, so I'd wake up after my dream and record anything I remembered. Sometimes I'd wake up in the morning with nothing but small lines of nonsense lol.

>Why am I keeping a dream journal anyway? I've heard it helps but what does it do?

It's really a record of progress, and it helps you sort through your dreams.

It all comes down to motivation really, you have to actively remind yourself while you go to sleep that you'll remember your dreams (I repeat a small catchphrase) and it really does help, after a week or so your dreams seem longer and more vivid.

I drew this symbol on my hand last night, I woke up several times, each time remembering to check it. However once the drawing had turned into a sideways hand with the dot in the middle. I blinked a couple times and it was back to normal. Another time I believed for some reason that the drawing had faded off so I didn't bother to check it. Other than that I have no dreams I recall, so I guess first night no success.

>>194 the biting your lip thing is real xD whenever I bite my lips on my dreams it's as though Im chewing gum and I have the urge to wake up but its not instantaneous

>>199

You had mild success actually; you mentioned the drawing and your hand started to warp till you blinked. I think you were falling right back into sleep. Like a reverse false awakening.

>>201 I've encountered an issue that none of us foresaw….. I can't see my hand in the dark unless I turn on the light from my ipod, which I forget to take to bed with me last night, although I did remember to look. -_-;

Also in my original post I meant to post this with it but it didn't upload it, this is the symbol I have on my hand.

Going to try this one more time if it doesn't work, oh well.

>>202

I'm not sure how you feel about using a Sharpie.

Thicker, darker lines are easier to see again the skin at night. If you have some kind of electronic device that glows use it (IE desktop tower in stand-by mode = blinky power source.)

counter to the dark problem:
… are you ever in your dreams, in a place where you will not know what is on your hand if you look?
No matter the lighting situation I've always been able to see animate objects with clarity, or even, known it was dark/difficult to see but still was able to see it anyway (I dont really know how to explain this better than that).
The purpose of the image on your hand is not to legitimately check if it's there while awake but to notice a difference when you check it in your dreams.
Even looking at your hand, while not seeing the symbol but knowing what the symbol looks like, when you are awake, reinforces the habit of checking whether it's real or not… so as long as you can always see your hand in your dream, regardless of lighting, the purpose is fulfilled.

Does anyone actually not see their hands when they put them to their face or whatnot in their dreams?
now im very curious.

>>209 When I looked at my hand it was more of a situation where I was half asleep, half awake. So I suppose it was like my dreams were projecting themselves onto reality.

Also, my body for some reason has never changed in my dreams, teeth never fallen out, things have never been out of place. Then again I can't ever "feel" my body inside dreams except a few specific times. My dreams have never centered around me though, more often than not I'm not even myself in my dreams.

Whenever I look at my hand while awake I repeat this mantra while looking at it "If it looks like this I'm awake, if it looks different I'm dreaming." It serves as a good reality check too.