Reality Check: May 25 - 31

“Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was myself. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.”

Zhuangzi

Henri Rousseau - The Sleeping Gypsy - 1897

I'm one of those people who remembers my dreams. For years, I've kept a dream journal. Over the past few years, I've explored lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is being aware you are dreaming while dreaming.

Today I'm going to describe a lucid dreaming exercise and then offer a correlation to mindfulness. Lucid dreaming starts with training the mind during the day. Periodically, I test whether I'm awake or asleep by repeating a simple exercise known as a reality check. One such exercise is to do a little hop. When I'm awake, I land on the ground but when I'm dreaming, I can fly. It can take weeks, months and even years of daily practice, but eventually I remember to do a reality check while dreaming. I'll sense something is different and wonder if I'm awake or asleep. That's when I do a little hop and am delighted to discover I'm flying. Although I remain asleep, I now know I'm actually dreaming. At this point, I can somewhat steer my dreams however I wish. It is rather fun.

So what does this have to do with mindfulness? I propose that reality checks are not just for dreamers but for meditators too. Frequently, I find myself on automatic pilot during the day. I drive from point A to point B and have no recollection of how I got there. I open a bag of popcorn and have no awareness of eating it. I scroll through social media or play games on my phone only to lose track of large chunks of time. I really don't want to sleepwalk through life although it is all too easy these days to numb myself as an escape mechanism.

So I'm deciding to make a habit of conducting reality checks throughout the day, not to figure out if I'm awake or asleep but to determine if I'm paying attention to the overlooked moments and people that punctuate each day. I invite you to do the same.

Practice

Reality check: stop and pause to notice the present moment right now. Do a 3-2-1 mindfulness exercise.

Notice:

• 3 things you see

• 2 things you hear

• 1 thing you feel

Wake up to life as it emerges here and now. Tell someone what you noticed. Maybe set an alarm for throughout the day or for each day this week. Repeat the exercise until conscious awareness becomes a habit. Enjoy life.