Primary question: When doing the in bed visualization when first going back to bed and fully awake, which of the 3 do you think would be most effective:
Simply visualize doing the RC and let the visualization provide the input naturally.
Imagine how a dream might portray the RC (like 85:05 clock) and then do #1 above.
Actively visualize the RC indicating you are dreaming.
Follow up questions if so inclined:
Is there any harm in visualizing RCs along your ~20 steps (clock on phone, light switches, computer on/weird) before getting to digital clock?
Does this digital device with clock seem overly busy, or rather is it better in that it provides more opportunities to catch something off?
Thank you both for your responses. I was thinking, in regards to my 1st follow up question above, that I should experiment with it yes, but if I am very drowsy and my awareness feels too weak for one of the "hooks" to catch (see my comment for the time at which Daniel mentioned fishing hooks in today's May the Fourth livestream in regards to the Dreamwalker technique) then I may want use multiple focal points during the dreamwalker path and be more active in the visualization. I may also prop one arm up if I am extremely drowsy. On the other end of the awaress/sleep balancing act, if I seem wide awake with plenty of awareness, I may want to lean towards the more simple, perhaps visualizing my path with less detail but doing a solid RC when I reach the room so I encourage drifting closer to sleep.
Hi G Um,
This is a great question and a few people have asked this. There's no clear answer to this as of yet, as we're still gathering data on what works best for everyone. Experiment with different variations and see what works best for you, then report back.
I would suggest starting with this:
Try to imagine the clock set at a single unchanging and stable time during the visualization. Perhaps pick a time that is random or impossible, for example, 88:88.
Why?
Because when you transition into the dream it shouldn't appear this way and should glitch and behave in the odd way typical to dreams. So, you want to notice the difference when that occurs. You want the behaviour of the dream to be clearly distinguished from the visualization.
Otherwise, you may risk mistaking the dream for a continuation of the visualization.
For your second question, yes that device does indeed seem very busy, it gives me a headache just looking at it!
I think it could go one of two ways. It's almost certain your brain will not produce a stable replica, however, because of the complicated display you may not easily notice if something is off. I always prefer a simple digital display as they tend to have the most dramatic results and are easy to interpret with a slightly foggy dreaming mind. Also, the coloured display gives a nice glow that acts as a night light (and can create an interesting mood in the dream).
Something showing the seconds tends to work a little better, as it adds an extra but simple layer of complexity for the brain to generate.
Something like this:
Interesting question. I'm sure there will be better answers, but just to throw in my thoughts:
Personally, I have a hard time tapping into unconscious imagination when I'm awake, so when I try to visualize doing a reality check, unless I'm very close to sleep already, I usually find I get no input at all and have to consciously make up a result. But in my case, this kind of serves as a reality check in itself: If I do suddenly find I'm getting unexpected unconscious input during the visualization, that's a sure sign that something is up. Either I'm just about to enter sleep, or I'm already dreaming (the latter is easy to tell because the visuals will of course be more lifelike and vivid than I could possibly visualize when awake)
I don't think I see any harm in imagining other RCs. In fact, if I recall the explanation of the technique correctly, the whole point is to keep an eye on your visualization, constantly monitoring it for any signs that you've entered a dream.
As for the clock you posted, my experience (which is just my own; others here might be different) has been that digital clock RCs seem to work best if I keep it really simple and focus on just a couple of digits at a time. I sometimes find my short-term memory weak or wonky in dreams, and it seems that loading it with too much work tends to confuse me and make it difficult to interpret the result of the reality check. But this is one of those areas in which it's probably best to experiment to see what works for you.