Meaning of a Dream

In the movie Inception, a spinning top was used as a reality check. Does that apply in real life lucid dreams?

Rebecca says: When Dom Cobb spins his spinning top in Inception, he does it to determine whether he's awake or dreaming. In reality, the top eventually runs out of energy and falls over. In a dream, it has the potential to spin on forever. But there are a few flaws to this concept as a reality check:

It's very time consuming to watch a spinning top and wait for it to fall over. During waking reality checks this will become mundane (as it's recommended you do at least a dozen a day). And during your lucid dream, watching a spinning top that never falls wastes precious lucid dream time! There are much faster reality checks to do, such as pushing your hand through a solid object or looking at a clock. It's unlikely you'll have your spinning top handy when you become lucid. Even if you carry this item around with you all day long (which in itself is burdensome) it will take time for your subconscious self to "attach" the spinning top to your dream body too. It's possible of course, but a lot of trouble. The only solution is to go in search of a spinning top in your lucid dream, which is undesirable when you are yet to establish your lucidity with a reality check. It's catch 22. A spinning top isn't a foolproof reality check. While the top may spin on indefinitely in the dream world, it may also fall over, thereby failing as a reality check. Remember, you only ever see the spinning top fall over in reality, and this expectation may play on into the dream. Since there is no interaction between your dream self and the spinning top, I'd say it would be hard to force it to keep spinning. In contrast, it's easier to force your fingers through a door in a dream.

So that's why I don't recommend using a spinning top as a reality check. It's a cute idea to use in the movies, illustrating the underlying notion of what's real and what isn't. However for practical purposes it falls short and I would recommend these top 10 reality checks instead.