Today we'll explore a new lucid dreaming "dream hack". The DARC technique, or Digital Assistant Reality Check/Control, utilizes your smartphone as a means to reality check and to aid in lucid dream control.
It's a simple concept and an easy addition to your arsenal of lucid dreaming techniques.
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Prefer to read? Here's the video transcript:
Digital Assistant Reality Check / Digital Assistant Reality Control
In our modern world, technology has become abundant, but there is perhaps no technology more common than the humble smartphone. Almost everyone has one and they rarely leave our side.
Whatever your thoughts on the rise of smartphone technology, one thing is certain, our close relationship towards them makes them the ideal candidate as a lucid dreaming aid.
Indeed, there are already a huge number apps designed for just this purpose. However, even a vanilla app-free smartphone can be a useful aid in lucid dream training.
The DARC technique aims to act as an aid for two common lucid dreaming issues and is, therefore, a double-pronged approach. As such even the acronym DARC has two meanings.
For the first approach, DARC stands for Digital Assistant Reality Check. Digital assistants have become commonplace on every brand of smartphone and are growing in popularity as a household appliance. Be it Google Assistant, Siri, or Alexa, almost all of us has our own private digital assistant.
The benefit of these assistants is their rapid ability to answer questions through seamless voice commands.
Of course, the question that all reality checks aim to answer is "Am I Dreaming?"
To use the DARC technique as a reality check is incredibly simple. Whether using your phone or home assistant, whenever you wish to question your reality, simply ask your digital assistant.
Unfortunately, asking the question outright is not all that useful, as the programmers for these assistants thought it amusing to add some comedy replies to the question "Am I dreaming?", Indeed, google assistant even goes so far as to occasionally answer with "I can assure you are not" - which is incredibly unhelpful.
So, instead ask your assistant a very standard question for which there is only one correct answer. For example "What is two plus two?".
Experiment with your assistant to find a question that appeals to you and that will always return the same response.
Then whenever you wish to check if you are dreaming, simply ask the question and if the response is anything other than the standard reply, you can take that as a sign that you are dreaming.
Using your assistant to reality check in this manner is both convenient and subtle. It also takes full advantage of the instability of technology during dreams. So, remember, if your assistant does anything other than give you the standard answer - assume you are dreaming.
The second use for DARC is to aid in dream control, and this is reflected in the alternative interpretation of the acronym:
Dream Assistant Reality Control.
Once one has become comfortable with using one's assistant as a means to reality check, you can also take advantage of the expectation for the assistant to follow orders and carry out tasks.
Essentially, this is an adaption of the reframing technique - where one gives the mind an expectational excuse for dream control commands to be effective.
DARC is best used for simple dream control - such as easily adding a soundtrack to the dream. Simply use your digital assistant as you would in your waking life, and ask it to play whichever track you'd like.
However, as you become more familiar with the DARC technique, you can experiment with elaborate dream control commands - and request anything you wish from your dream assistant.
Indeed, for those looking for insights from the subconscious mind, why not ask your dream digital assistant to answer any personal questions, such as "what should I do with my life?", "how do I feel about such and such" and so forth. Even though the response may appear to come from a phone or home assistant, in reality, it is being generated by the mysterious force behind the dreamscape.
A digital assistant offers us a constant accessible companion, both in waking life and dreams, which is easily accessible through voice, yet is vastly more powerful in the dream world.
So, the next time you're dreaming call upon your digital dream assistant, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the results.