Flying as a Lucid Dream Reality Check: Popular, Powerful, but Flawed

You aren't sure you're dreaming. You almost know. But what if you're not?

So you decide to test it... by trying to fly.

You set your eyes on the sky and mentally will yourself to lift off. And somewhere between that thought and your feet leaving the ground, your realization becomes crystal clear. Yes! It is a dream after all!

Flying isn't just a mode of transportation in lucid dreams. It's also one of the most popular ways to check if you're dreaming.

But if you want to improve your lucid dreaming, it has nuances worth understanding.

When lucidity actually clicks

Flying is incredibly easy to do in dreams. You just will it to happen and you are soaring like a superhero. As a reality test, it can confirm what you suspected. The moment your feet leave the ground, every last shred of "wait, am I awake?" just evaporates. It's hard to put into words how liberating that certainty feels.

When flying doesn't work

Flying doesn't always work in dreams, or as a reality test.

You jump, you flap, nothing happens. That might be feedback that some part of you still believes you're awake, and your brain just... agrees. Physics is better at taking the day off once your mind has fully committed to knowing it's a dream.

Moreover, reality tests can be sabotaged by your own dreaming mind, and flying is no exclusion. Think of the classic rationalization we do to justify anomalies in the dream. This can include why the reality test "doesn't count" even when it worked well ("Oh right, I installed that jet pack microchip that lets humans fly last week.")

But flying as a reality test has some more specific hurdles...

When social stakes deter you

You might not commit to trying to fly as a reality test when lucidity is genuinely uncertain. Take this example: You're at your job's team meeting, and you think you might be dreaming... but you're not going to start flapping around, are you? Or staring intently at the ceiling willing yourself to float? And if you're actually awake? What will people think! Surely they'd think you're distracted from your work... So the reality check isn't performed with any seriousness. The point is: Flying, like most reality tests, can easily go sideways in ways you might not expect.

When it hijacks the lucid dream

Then there's the real trap that gets even the best lucid dreamers. You finally take off, you're soaring, and you've completely forgotten what you meant to do in the dream. The intention you set before bed? Gone. Replaced by the pure joy of being airborne.

Still an amazing feeling. Just not what you came to do.

Flying is very good at hijacking your plans... even when it goes right.

So. Is flying worth using as a reality check?

Of course! It belongs in your toolkit and can be effective. But it's absolutely worth working on ways to fail-proof it. You should also know that there are better techniques for getting lucid and staying intentional once you are, including better reality checks.

If you want to practice this kind of thing... with a small group of people dedicated to exploring the lucid dreamworld... my monthly Lucid Dream Practice Group might be exactly what you're looking for.