I love lucid dreaming, but I’ve read lots of stories about mirrors and how they can influence your LD. What would freak me out the most is seeing a scary, deformed face in the mirror, which is exactly what happened in my first LD last night. It was very creepy!
I’ve also read that the hands RC, when you look at them and they look very distorted, can make no effect after some time, as in they look normal. I don’t know if this is possible, but if it is, wouldn’t it be possible for the mirror RC to disappear too? I can do fine by just pinching myself and seeing if it hurts or not, or performing other, less scary RC.
Everything you said is possible, certainly. That’s why one should always have several RCs done in succession until you find yourself dreaming or know for a fact that you’re not. For example, you could try to breathe through a pinched nose, then check your hands, then check a clock or text a few times.
Dream mirrors don’t only show scary things. You can use them as tools if you’re trying to change yourself at all, such as if you’re sprouting wings for dream flight or even becoming something else entirely. It allows you to see everything about yourself without twisting your head at odd angles.
Thorn has some good points. When it comes to mirrors, I am quite experienced with them. I honestly don’t know why everyone seems to have these issues with mirrors. For me, there has never been anything terrifying in the reflection. I don’t always look like me, but it’s not anything to be scared of. Like Thorn said, you can use the mirror to transform yourself, and I do this often in my LDs.
The hand RC is one of my most common RCs, along with pinching my nose and seeing if I can breath. I check text IRL, but I never seem to do it in my LDs. I have been doing the hand RC for awhile, and it seems that there is nothing odd with my hands anymore, although originally they didn’t look normal when I started LDing. I also wouldn’t worry about this, because whenever I look at my hands in my dreams I often will become lucid, regardless of whether they look odd or not.
Overall, there is nothing to fear with mirrors. Also, listen to what Thorn said and utilize multiple RC. Finally, remember that everything to do with LDing is in your head, literally.
You can use them as tools if you’re trying to change yourself at all, such as if you’re sprouting wings for dream flight or even becoming something else entirely. It allows you to see everything about yourself without twisting your head at odd angles.