I've been doing reality checks for a while. Sometimes I can lucid dream and sometimes not, but it's inconsistent and seems like something else prompts it- not me.

If I can keep my presence of mind to do this in a dream, instead of dreaming an excuse not to, then I'll try. 

I've tried this one. There are times when I'll try this in a dream and stop breathing out of panic. Then there are also times when I plug my nose IRL and it almost feels like I'm breathing (my lungs go through the motion without taking in air etc. even though they are not, and it becomes hard for me to tell the difference.) In either case, I have to either pass out or wake up, in which case I could have been thrown into another dream. 

Then thank you!

I'm really sorry about that- I had wondered if I should put some content warnings on the story, but I couldn't figure out what categories would be included in such a warning. Existential horror?

After all of Mr. Humman's condescension toward Ms. Tessa, I couldn't help but think of this when I read the ending. 

“The girl he had dragged along to the pub with him had grown to loathe him dearly over the last hour, and it would probably have been a great satisfaction to her to know that in a minute and a half or so he would suddenly evaporate into a whiff of hydrogen, ozone and carbon monoxide. However, when the moment came she would be too busy evaporating herself to notice it.”

That ambiguity was my intention! Though I do like the concept of the (metaphorical) death of the author. 

It is normal! That's the point :)

There was no special connection to the truth in this koan. It was actually a little lame- just my brain pattern-matching. But pattern matching can do some odd things things. I won't reach enlightenment with this koan- I've already followed it as far as it will go. It was "where is your voice located." It's a very "if a tree falls in the forest" type of koan, but I learned just a little from following it in its expected loop. 

Ah- thank you. In retrospect what seems like "the obvious thing" to me is not always so.