Mucuna pruriens & L-DOPA
Mucuna pruriens (cowhage; velvet bean) is a tropical plant used by Ayurvedic healers and Native Americans for hundreds or thousands of years for various medicinal purposes. The seeds are also…
Sleep Paralysis (Demons & Hallucinations)
Sleep paralysis is a peculiar state of consciousness, during which the person suffering its effects finds him/herself wide awake in the middle of a dream/nightmare, fully paralyzed. During sleep paralysis,…
Traditional Chinese Hallucinogens
Chinese herbology and traditional Chinese medicine employ a wide variety of medicinal plants, some of which have hallucinogenic properties. In this article I review the Chinese hallucinogens, some of which…
Oneirology (Dream Science): Why We Dream & more
Oneirology, you might be surprised, is not just the name of an album by the Hip Hop trio CunninLynguists. So What is Oneirology? The oneirology to which I'll be referring…
Stages of Sleep (Light, Deep, & Dream Sleep)
Sleep is a sort of "system shutdown" all humans perform on a regular basis, to be able to keep functioning. From a scientific perspective, sleep is much more complicated than…
How to Stop Nightmares & Bad Dreams
For some unfortunate people, sleep is not something to look forward to because that is when they are confronted with unpleasant and upsetting dreams, which can be extremely vivid, and…
Psychoactive Smoking Blends
The use of incense is found throughout the world and is believed to have given rise to the practice of smoking. Psychoactive smoking blends play important roles in shamanic rituals,…
Vervain for Sleep (Verbena officinalis)
Vervain (Verbena officinalis) has no known psychoactive effects, however it is used in Medical Herbalism for various purposes, including as a Sleep Herb. While the majority of Verbena species are…
Passionflower for Sleep & Dreams
Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), also known as Wild Passion Vine, Apricot Vine, and Maypop, is a plant native to North America, where it was used first by Native American tribes. It…
Lucid Dreaming Therapy for Insomnia (LDTI)
Lucid dreaming enthusiasts have long been searching for a practical application of the phenomenon. Attempts to use lucid dreaming for the treatment of insomnia have been part of this quest.…