Dream Inducers

For what it might be worth, the gentleman who taught me how to dream, a shaman in the south Pacific, made a big point of telling me that those dreams which were induced by food or sleeping posture were the ones most to be viewed with suspicion. He had no problem with altering his consciousness in other areas, but when it came to lucid dreaming he relied entirely on what we would call self-hypnosis.

bradford said:

For what it might be worth, the gentleman who taught me how to dream, a shaman in the south Pacific, made a big point of telling me that those dreams which were induced by food or sleeping posture were the ones most to be viewed with suspicion. He had no problem with altering his consciousness in other areas, but when it came to lucid dreaming he relied entirely on what we would call self-hypnosis.

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You bring up a valid idea, one worth investigating after Milfoil's initial experiment comes to a close. Does food affect the dream or the recall? I, at this point am not trying for more or less lucid dreams, just a change in vividness and recall.

Interesting thread. I drink apple juice most nights before going to bed

bradford said:

For what it might be worth, the gentleman who taught me how to dream, a shaman in the south Pacific, made a big point of telling me that those dreams which were induced by food or sleeping posture were the ones most to be viewed with suspicion. He had no problem with altering his consciousness in other areas, but when it came to lucid dreaming he relied entirely on what we would call self-hypnosis.

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Its early days yet but I think I agree.

I wonder how this would fit in with well known 'dream herbs' which have been utilised for millenia?

The experiment certainly seems to be giving me personally, some interesting results which, in some cases, make no sense. So what you say Bradford, fits in with that.

Of course, it would be impossible to live without consuming anything so in some ways all dreams then become suspect but deliberate consumption of something directly before sleep is more the issue.

I am surprised about the sleeping posture though. The Tibetan yogas of dream and sleep place a lot of emphasis on postures for men and women.

Milfoil said:

I am surprised about the sleeping posture though.

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Hi
I think he was just talking about bad posture, and dreams jumping off from a need to move, such as to restore circulation. Kinesthetics and body imagery were big parts of his program, though. He talked about doing tricks like Castaneda's looking at your hands to assert control for a lucid dream, and he used some some movements, maybe to break some of the hold of sleep paralysis. His kinesthetics weren't all human, though. He had his favorite totem animals, in whose form he'd do most of his dreamwork.

Ah yes, that makes perfect sense. I remember recently waking up from an odd dream where I was struggling only to find that I was sleeping on one arm and with my back twisted, I WAS struggling - so the dream was literal, not to be taken as meaning anything else.

Hi Milfoil~

Great thread . I'll be a guinea pig for the Valerian, as I need to start taking it anyways. I haven't been sleeping well and need to re-assume a normal sleeping pattern (whatever passes for normal, at any rate). Lack of sleep has definitely led to a decrease in dreaming, vividness, recollection, etc. I am planning on stopping by the herb store later in the week. Once I start taking it I will post frequency/dose/effects etc.

It is great to see everyone exploring together - how awesome.

I am a very active dreamer, lucid as well, and have great dream recall. Sometimes though this has been more of a curse for me than not. I am so active in my sleep I don't feel rested afterwards. I learned to use vetiver essecntial oil to help me have a more restful and undisturbed sleep when I need it.

An herb that always increased the lucid dreaming for me was Gotu Kola. It was in a formula with Ginko and several other blood to brain herbs. I finally figured out which herb was causing the lucid dreaming to get more intense by trying each seperately. At the time I stopped taking it becasue the layers of dreams were getting so much I was near a panic and highly frustrated by the time I really finally woke up for real. That was many many years ago. I should try it agan and see how it works now.

I will add that the person who mentioned women's cycles effecting dreams is right on abut that. I often start having very intense and sometimes anxiety driven dreams the week before my period.

Maurie

Maurie K. said:

I will add that the person who mentioned women's cycles effecting dreams is right on abut that. I often start having very intense and sometimes anxiety driven dreams the week before my period.

Maurie

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I'll third that; the vividness/intensity definitely increases for me at least.



I'm starting with a dosage of valerian root tonight, but to be fair to the study I made a tea consisting of;

1 part Chamomile
1 part Hops
1 part St. Johns Wort
2 part Valerian root

Steeped for 5 minutes

If this does not seem to affect the process at all I will try just the Valerian alone.

I am sipping my 12oz of apple juice before I go to bed.