How To Take The Red Pill: The 4 Easiest Movement-Free Reality Checks For Lucid Dreams
In a lot of lucid dreams and O.B.E.s it's really hard to tell what's going on and whether you're in an O.B.E or not. Here in Lucidology 101 part 8 you're about to find out the 4 easiest ways to take the red pill so you know if you've shifted into an O.B.E or not.
O.B.E.s Can Be Much More Hyper-detailed Than Waking Awareness
Lucid dreams and O.B.E.s can be extremely realistic. In fact, a lot of times it's very hard to tell if you're actually awake or if you're dreaming.
In fact, sometimes they are actually more realistic than waking awareness. Sometimes after an O.B.E you'll find that your physical sight is actually hazy and dream-like compared to the hyper detailed realism of the O.B.E.
High Dynamic Range Visuals In O.B.E.s
For example, a lot of times your vision will have what photographers called "High Dynamic Range" or HDR. HDR means that there's a higher range between the bright areas and the dark areas. HDR is anything but dream-like and you may not think at first that you're actually in an O.B.E because your sight has so much detail. Your sight may also seem like it has a lot more pixels than you have when physically aware. In fact, these O.B.E.s should be called "high bandwidth experiences" because of all the extra sensory information you take in
First Awake/asleep Cycle Is Usually Kind Of Sloppy
This effect is compounded when you use the timer method we covered in Lucidology 101 part 7. Remember that the hypnotic fractionation effect causes you to hover on the awake asleep threshold when you enter and exit trance over and over. The first couple times you wake up and fall asleep, it's relatively easy to tell if you're nonphysical or physical because it's kind of a sloppy cycle and you swing wildly around between being awake and asleep.
The Next Awake/asleep Cycle Is Tighter
However as the hypnotic fractionation effect kicks in, the cycles start to get tighter and tighter.
Eventually You’re Alternating Very Tightly
The O.B.E.s start to become more and more realistic. Eventually it can be very difficult to tell if you're waking up into your physical bedroom or if you're in an O.B.E.
False Awakening Loops
This is called a false-awakening loop in which you think you wake up but end up in an O.B.E. You wake up again and end up in another O.B.E. It may take a couple tries before you really do wake up in your physical bedroom again.
False Awakening Loops From Spiraling Off-center
This is because you've started spirally off center toward a nonphysical focus. What you need is a way to know that you're in an O.B.E and wake up for real.
How To Deal With The False-awakening Loop?
Basically you need a way to take the red pill. This is called a reality check. And not just any reality check will do, you need a movement-free reality check so that you can do it without disturbing your trance.
You Need Multiple Reality Checks
In fact you need a set of reality checks because there is no single silver bullet reality check which is 100% reliable.
The 4 Easiest Movement-free Reality Checks
Here are the 4 most effective, most reliable and easiest reality tests that you can start using immediately. I have tested each of these many times to see how well they work and what pitfalls to watch for. These are:
1.) The blindfold test
2.) Transparent eyelids
3.) Overlaid sight
4.) The spoon bending test
The Blindfold Reality Check: The Simplest Reality Check
First is the blindfold reality check. This is easiest reality check of all.
All you do is put on a blindfold and relax into sleep. If at any time you find that you can see the room through the blindfold then you know you're in a subconscious dream environment and you're looking at the dream version of your room.
The advantages are that it's simple and requires no practice
Secondly, once it works, there's no doubt in your mind that it really did work.
Also, it's an ongoing reality check. It's not something that comes and goes in an instant.
Secret System For Free O.B.E.s That Require No Work
So here's way you can use the blindfold test for free O.B.E.s that require exactly zero work.
The fact is you probably are already having many spontaneous morning O.B.E.s but don't realize they're O.B.E.s because you don't have a system to catch these when they happen. All you need to do is get in the habit of sleeping with a blindfold on. Whenever you wake up and are able to see, you'll have just gotten a free O.B.E without doing any extra work!
Blindfold Reality Check: Disadvantages
As good as the blindfold test is, it does have its disadvantages
For instance you may find the blindfold is distracting and that it's hard to relax with it on. If you try this method I do recommend getting a padded blindfold in the $20 to $30 range because I find the cheap ones are too uncomfortable to be of any real use.
The second disadvantage is exit blindness. Exit blindness happens a lot especially for new OBEers. When this happens you enter the dream and find that you are blind and so you can't see with or without the blindfold.
Dream blindness happens a lot and there are solutions to it that we'll cover later. However, all of these solutions require that you be lucid in the dream so it won't help if you're trying to use sight as a reality check.
Transparent Eyelids
One solution is to use the transparent eyelids effect. Transparent eyelids means that you see through your closed eyes into the nonphysical version of your bedroom.
This has the advantage of not wearing a distracting blindfold.
The disadvantage with the transparent eyelids effect is it's difficult to feel whether your eyelids are really open or closed.
So the way the transparent eyelids check often works is that it's after the fact. You first become lucid, then you notice you can see, and then you open your physical eyes and wake your physical body up.
Another scenario is that you open your eyes twice without closing them in between. You open them in the O.B.E and then open them again when you wake up physically.
In either case you may not know if you were nonphysically focused until it’s too late and you’re already physical again. So it’s very useful to have a check that works immediately as soon as you have a nonphysical focus.
Overlaid Sight Reality Check
The third reality check to watch for is overlaid sight which happens as soon as you're nonphysical. When you're nearing a nonphysical focus you'll start to split your awareness between your waking surroundings and the dream version of your bedroom. Often you'll see your nonphysical surroundings from a slightly different angle than your physical surroundings. This makes it look like you have two sets of sight overlaid on top of each other, like two movie projections.
Overlaid sight doesn't last very long, usually you'll see your vision flicker back and forth and then stabilize. It's also rare to achieve overlaid sight because most of the time when you do O.B.E.s your eyes will be closed. Because of this you need a longer lasting check which brings us to the 4th movement free reality check called the "spoon bending" check.
Spoon Bending Reality Check
This brings us to the 4th movement free reality check which helps fix this. This reality check is the spoon bending check.
To do it, just fall asleep with a spoon in your hand.
When you think you might be in an O.B.E, squeeze the spoon and see if it bends.
As long as you don't move any other part of your body, you can move your fingers slowly and slightly and not disturb your trance. So even though you are moving a little bit this still counts as a movement-free reality check
Kat Black And Waking Awareness Spoon Bending
Kat Black of fork-you.com seems to be able to soften metal in ways that should be impossible.
For example, bending the bowl of a spoon should require more force than a human can physically generate, but she can apparently do it.
On her site she has a tutorial and videos on how she bends metal, I suggest you go check it out. Even if you can't bend metal physically like she can, it's still good to see what it's like for when you do it in an O.B.E.
What Spoon Bending In An O.B.E. Is Like
Here's what it will be like when you bend a spoon in an O.B.E. The metal will be extremely easy to bend. It's about like bending a wire twist tie.
When you wake up, the spoon will be back to normal
In this section we mentioned exit blindness and how very often in O.B.E.s when you first enter a nonphysical awareness you'll find that you can't see. In the next section we'll cover the most effective and simple ways for fixing exit blindness so you can make the most of each O.B.E.
About The Author
Want to see how to lucid dream tonight? Nick is the author of "Lucidology 101: How To Trick Your Body Into Falling Asleep To Have Lots of Amazing Lucid Dreams". Click the link to download it free and watch free videos on how to use lucid dream reality checks to have lots of out of body experiences starting tonight.