Thread: Henna's Workbook [Intro Class]

Absent again, sorry. I've been ill with some kind of summer cold, though they're normally not this persistent...

Whenever I'm sick, my dreams tend to be very abstract and disconnected. I'm more likely to have situations that would cause a need for RCs -- I also have a lot of false awakenings. The problem is, I'm usually so tired from waking up every half hour (via coughing or something similar) that I don't often get to do much with it.

I do remember that after my bout last year, I had some vivid lucid dreams almost as soon as I started feeling better. Crossing my fingers for that.

No worries.

Hope you feel better soon and have good dreams in the meantime and after.

So on the upside, I did recover from my cold. On the downside, my workplace has decided to be ridiculous in other ways. Got to love drama.

I'm betting my dream life will be reflecting this for some time...

Oh, no! That's not nice at all . Well, as you said at least this is a good opportunity to send some letters and fingers crossed about finding something better!

As far as lding and teas go, here are links to my favorite two threads where we did quite a few experiments a while ago. My personal favorite is about a third to half a can of latte actually, has been pretty effective but some tea might also do the trick. Methol from tea or capsules may also have a vividness enhancing effects.

http://www.dreamviews.com/research/1...e-trigger.html

http://www.dreamviews.com/research/1...-enhancer.html

Okay, so I did have a few dreams this week -- none lucid and most were recurring dreams that I've had a few times before, but overall very pleasant. A lot of it was exploration-type dreams in a forest, but a few of the dreams were also just really stress-relieving conversations with P. No venting about work, just chatting about things we both like.

I decided I'd try the caffeine experiment first -- I think I drink enough of it on a regular basis that it doesn't affect all that much, but I did notice that I slept more lightly than usual, and could wake up more easily. Ironically most of the teas I drink are herbal or green-tea based (lighter caffeine if memory serves) and usually put me into a very solid, comfortable sleep. Maybe it's the presence of a smaller amount that makes a difference?

I also mixed my own custom tea using spearmint, dill seed, and a pinch of fennel -- an anti-insomnia tea from an old book of mine -- along with a tiny pinch of poppy seed and a fresh bay leaf (poppy for deep sleep, bay for vivid/lucid dreaming), and sweetened with honey. The taste takes getting used to, but I can't deny results. The night I did this was the deepest and most satisfying sleep I've had in months -- and I had a very nice dream on top of that.

Good to hear about the stress relieving dreams with Procyon. Sometimes we need a little break from focusing on the issue at hand and dreams like these are an excellent gift to us in such situations.

Ironically most of the teas I drink are herbal or green-tea based (lighter caffeine if memory serves) and usually put me into a very solid, comfortable sleep. Maybe it's the presence of a smaller amount that makes a difference?

Yes, in general the more caffeine the lighter the sleep or the other way around. Teas, especialy green teas have less caffeine and they also have l-theanine which is a relaxing agent, so they tune down any excesses to contribute to a more relaxed state.

The spearmint dill tea sounds quite interesting. I recently saw they mixed something similar in a tv series I watch, so maybe it's time for me to give that a try too.

The tea recipe comes from a book called 'The Herb Book' by John Lust. It's actually an herbal identification guide and list of medicinal uses, and it also has information on natural dyes. The back has recipes for a few different kinds of medicinal teas, and this was one of six listed under 'insomnia'. It's actually a very old book, so I always cross-reference all of the information.

The entry for the tea reads:
Dill seed, Fennel seed, Spearmint. Mix in equal parts. Steep 1tsp in 1/2 cup water for two minutes. Sweeten with raw sugar or honey.

Since Dill seed is a little strong and I wanted a gentler action, I swapped it out for it's weaker form, dill weed. I went a little heavier on the spearmint for the menthol. I added a pinch of poppy, which is used for long-term mental and physical tiredness, and also to help induce the feeling of needing to sleep. (It makes sleep more restful, even light-sleep.) Bay laurel leaves can be used to deepen sleep, encourage vivid dreams, and alleviate stress. I tend to sweeten it with honey whenever possible because my body still seems to process it while I'm asleep.

Whenever I've used this tea blend, I find I get extremely restful sleep, and then in the morning if I do a WBTB, my chances are dramatically increased. (Probably because I had restful sleep in the cycle before.)

Which reminds me -- I had a lovely dream about wolves this morning! (I love wolves.) I think they thought I was one of the pack.

Thanks for the tea recipe and the book reference! That sounds like a very useful book. Might be time to expand my knowledge in the area.

Henna! I'm happy things made a turn for the better and that all the drama has subdued. I know how it feels to have to deal with so much stuff all at the same time - a bit like a meteor shower on your head. <Oh, I should check the Perseides shower tonight unless there's clouds >

Also, congrats on the new dream status. How did that happen - did Procyon tell you about it, or you had some sort of memory about the event?

Awww, that sounds like a dream wedding. I'm all for small types of such events too.

Hope you managed to catch a falling star or two - it was cloudy here.

It was mostly cloudy here, too -- but there was a break in the clouds for a few minutes, so I had a chance to see a handful.

Nothing really big to report -- but I dreamed I was at work this morning and actually recognized that it was a dream. Sort of a big personal achievement since I'm usually so caught up in the actual 'work' part to notice. Those reality checks are really starting to sink in everywhere now.

That's really great - I think this is one of the tough ones to catch. Good job!

Good to hear things are going relatively well.

I love the part with the ring! This world is truly a mysterious place.

Congrats with the beginning!) to be less sensitive about what the people think, it maybe one of the most useful habits!