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The Corroboree

Using plants to catalyse dreams


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Taking small quantities of plants and preparations thereof prior to sleep seems to be a very effective method for catalysing the dream state. Some of the most detailed visionary states that I can recall are from this method. Last night I felt compelled to chew a handful of the big juicy leaves from a coleus I have growing next to where I sleep. I have been nibbling a leaf here and there for a few weeks, and it seems that subconsciously my brain has developed I liking for it as this time I felt a definite desire for its bitter taste. So I ate the leaves and drank some weak caapi infusion, and was soon fast asleep. What followed was one of the most amazing dreams I have ever had. Incredibly detailed places like I have never visited, strange undulating hills and towers of stone. There was a Spanish train ticket conductor who turned out to be an imposter that pik pocketed the diplomat sitting next to me on our way to a conference. At the conference we were abducted by alien like creatures that took us to a plane where we were strapped into hairs. They were all awaiting 'her' to find out what should become of us. Suddenly an airlock door snapped open and there she was, a cross between jabba the hut and that singing blue lady from the fifth element. She saw right through us, init our deepest fears and desires. At that point I felt the straps starting to hurt and I woke up. In the slow return to consciousness that followed I experienced the full range of post-tryptaminesque intoxiation emotions; the interconnectedness of all beings, the realisation that we know deep inside our that our being extends beyond the corporeal plane, and wonder at the stars that shone through the window.

Ok so maybe this was just an excuse to share that trippy dream but I definitely think it had something to do with the coleus and caapi, especially that I felt compelled to eat them not unlike the brain that knows cannabis desires that next hit. I have heard that aust. aboriginal spirituality relies heavily on visionary states experienced while dreaming. I wonder if they were onto something like this, colouring or catalysing dreams with weakly active plants. It also reminds me of how Amazonian shamans are said to use the ayahausca preparation to get to know the character of other plants. Perhaps endogenous betacarbolines and tryptamines are the ur visionary vine.

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Nice one! I think you could be onto something here Dan.

I havent tried coleus but i remember a experiencing a particularly obscure dreamscape after chewing a bunch of sally d leaves before bed (salvia divinorum is legal in new zealand where i live)

When i had that salvia experience, i didnt feel much affect while i was awake, but i recall thinking very intensely throughout the night and by the time morning arrived i had reached several quite important conclusions about myself and my life with very little recollection of how i reached those conclusions.

Perhaps such a practice could be used to make the absolute best use of all that time we spend alseep.

I have had several dreams lately which have been undeniably psychedelic in nature. Its fascinating and invigorating to be aware of the exquisite power our sleeping mind has to deliver us such complex and beautiful imagery and ideas. (I am not convinced by any means that it is all created by our minds)

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That is interesting regarding salvia Ceres, as it had a similar effect on me when I first tried it (in the US where also legal) - a mild intoxication while awake, followed a deep visionary state while asleep. The dream state is an incredible thing, as you say it reveals to us the latent creativity of our minds and perhaps even evidence of the nonlocality or interconnectedness of consciousness. One could argue that much of the content of the dream I described is a manifestation of residual memories from my waking consciousness (I.e. from watching the fifth element), but I remember almost being lucid in the dream and thinking how curious it was that I could interact with these beings as if they were real people with complex emotions. Also I remember gazing out over the rocky outcrops and being able to make out the details in the rock strata, the beauty of the scene filling me with happiness. It feels like their is the possibility of travel to another reality in the dream state, even more so than with psychedelics alone.

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^

Oh yeah. On the one occasion where i became fully lucid it was the most incredibly exciting feeling to realise that i was in a state where the possibilities were limitless!!

I posted this in the youtube vids thread a while back, but it is probably more relevant here, some fascinating ideas presented in a very approachable way, well worth a watch when you have the time.

He talks about utilising the lucid dreaming state to travel beyond dream-scapes into the pool of collective conciousness to recieve teachings from other beings.

 

Edited by Ceres
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Very very interesting. I love reading about entheogen induced dreams! I very very rarely remember my dreams (or I don't have them much, how would I know?) but I bought a Calea tincture for a good friend of mine. She had an incredibly lucid detailed dream that she remembered in every detail. I've tried a dreaming herb mix, but not had much luck

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You will still be dreaming Vegetarium, its just that your mind isnt in the habit of considering your dreams as important information to your waking mind. There are ways to change that, although it takes a bit of effort, ie. setting alarms at odd points in the night to catch yourself dreaming, and if that begins to work, recording what you remember in a dream journal. This helps set a new pattern and things change exponentially from there.

I often shock my friends when explaining dreams because of the sheer amount of detail and obsure content, but i'm a firm believer that it all has meaning, and that you can learn alot from dreams once you know how to decode them into digestable information.

Someone told me this idea, which helps me to decode mine

- Everything in the dream is you

I had this dream a wee while back where i was in the most amazing expansive garden, which was spread across many acres, all enclosed in a giant glasshouse, full of countless incredible giant plant species which i had never seen before. All the plants began producing this nectar-like substance which myself and some other people started drinking - this stuff tasted amazing, and it got you high, really high, like nothing i have ever felt - ever

Soon we realised that we had competition for this honey dew though, as swarms of wasps would periodically invade the garden to harvest some of the nectar. When we heard the wasps approaching, we would have to run into these nearby little glasshouses and lock ourselves in to wait until the wasps had drunk their fill and left again.

But a problem was becoming evident, this nectar was addictive, the more of it i drank, the more i wanted and the harder it was to walk away from the particular plant i was feeding from to explore the garden. (These were really obscure plants, i wish i could draw them, they actually looked quite alot like some of the plants from the codex seraphianus. Except the colours were unreal and combined with the diversity of forms and the intricate details it all came together to form the most beautiful vivid 3d psychedelic art i have ever seen.)

Anyways eventually i realised that myself and the other humans had fallen into a very ellegant trap, these plants were not offering the nectar simply out of good will, they were carnivorous and we were the prey of choice.

What seemed like hours ensued of running through the garden, evading various plants as they attempted to consume me with their ingenious tricks and tactics.

The most memorable was when i sat down exhausted under this huge tree, which had a turquoise trunk and vivid cobalt blue foliage, i breathed a sigh of relief thinking i had found the one plant in the garden that didnt want to eat me, when the branches twisted up, then out and spiralled down like a cage around me, kind of like this fountain

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While trapped inside this tree, a voice told me how to fix the situation, this garden had once been lovingly tended, cared for, watered and fed by a human who had died a long long time ago. Starving for nutrients, the plants had no choice but to turn against humans in their fight for survival.

So i knew what to do, the tree released me and i turned on the sprinkler system renewed the relationship of care between humans and plants.. And they no longer wanted to eat us!

- i think that this dream was a powerful reminder of the importance of active conservation of plant species, when they offer us such incredible gifts, its only right that we give back respect, care and nourishment, as well as securing their on-going survival and proliferation.

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Edited by Ceres
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Wow epic dream! I find dreams that are not focused on people or personalities (like this one which was focused on plants) to be the most interesting, as it seems to hint at source deeper within the psyche. I have had a few vivid dreams focused on animals, such as an anaconda like creature and a giant preying mantis. Mostly however they are focused on people I know from my past. I bet a psychologist would have a field day analysing them!

Also from watching that great talk on dreaming, what he was describing as lucid dreaming doesn't seem to fit my experience as it definitely felt like I had to adhere to the rules of that world, and couldn't change it at my will. I can't remember what the other category he described was though...

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Vegetarium, I have only had the one lucid dream which was quite recent, but am hopeful for more.

The benefits of remembering dreams have usually only come through by pulling them to pieces and considering them a richly encoded symbollic representation of my psychological state. Doing-so takes a fair amount of work, often a good hour or so of careful analysis before i am able to comprehend what my psyche is telling me, but certain dreams have been profound catalysts for growth and certain dreams have exemplified the neccessary steps required to restructure my behaviour to create the most beneficial circumstances for my on-going hapiness.

Other dreams just scare the fuck out of me and I really dont want to know what they are saying.

And then some like the one above provide fantastical plots which many people have told me i should be forumulating into fantasy novels or movie plots <___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_smile.png maybe one day all the pieces will fit together.

Dan, (sorry i cant find the sqiggly 'd' symbol, so a normal D must suffice)

I am not very well informed on the subject although i am pretty sure this is very common in the early experiences of lucid dreaming and these rules of the dreamworld will become increasingly more flexible and responsive to your intention as your sleeping mind becomes more aware of it's role in creating the dream environment. Practice makes perfect so they say.

I sometimes drop in at this lucid dreaming forum: www.dreamviews.com and they provide a massive amount of information regarding every aspect of lucid dreaming, theres definately alot of material on dream control. Peeps there can do all sorts of wacky stuff, teleportation, willing people to appear, time travel, you name it, these onerionaughts are doing it!

That other catergory, i'm having a mind blank too, is the place i want to learn to travel to. Exploring your own mind is one thing, exploring the universal mind, now thats a whole nother territory.

Cool thread man, i think i'd better get another coleus plant and bring a salvia cutting down to sit next to my bed.

I even recall placing salvia leaves under my pillow a long time ago when i was still too apprehensive to chew, and that had a noticeable effect -probably just a placebo, but i remember the dream being more trip-like than dream like.

Fascinating stuff.

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  • 4 years later...

Very interesting, do you know roughly how large the leaf was and what were the colours of the leaf?

Edited by Irpini
Created a topic of my own based on my findings
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I came across some visionary states whilst sleeping when working with this practice: https://www.amazon.com/Short-Path-Meditation-Techniques-Enlightenment/dp/0985603518 but also I was fasting and camping outdoors. When I awoke I had mild psychedelia like visuals as if my pineal gland was pumping out new and various chemicals or hormones. It was really an amazing experience to experience such a transcedental

state whilst lucid and aware.

Also I hear Vitamin B6 works with dream states as well.

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On 14/03/2018 at 9:20 PM, Irpini said:

Very interesting, do you know roughly how large the leaf was and what were the colours of the leaf?

 

It was a while ago now, but the leaf was probably a bigger one, so about the size of a hand.  It was the common green with purple flecks coleus.  I'm not sure it was the coleus that induced the dream, as caapi itself would be enough to induce a non-ordinary brain state, and vivid dreams are not uncommon for me.  But reading my description again, this was probably one of the more far out dreams I have had!

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Mckenna talks about the use of Datura in some cultures; The flowers are crushed into a paste and rubbed on ones "third eye" between the eye lids. This would lead to intense vivid dreams. Or even sharing a room with the plant as you sleep.

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On 18/03/2018 at 2:34 PM, TheMooseZeus said:

Mckenna talks about the use of Datura in some cultures; The flowers are crushed into a paste and rubbed on ones "third eye" between the eye lids. This would lead to intense vivid dreams. Or even sharing a room with the plant as you sleep.

 

I recall hearing that a datura/brugmansia flower placed under ones' pillow has a similar effect. Not keen personally, given my tendency to roll around while I'm asleep :P

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Has anyone had any experience with Calea zacatechichi?

I've started dreaming again (or remembering them,) due to abstinence from a certain plant which I have abused for way too long to have any meaningful relationship with; exploring these realms and techniques now actually seems viable to me, which is exciting!

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  • 2 months later...
On 3/24/2018 at 1:27 PM, Tøn said:

Has anyone had any experience with Calea zacatechichi?

I've started dreaming again (or remembering them,) due to abstinence from a certain plant which I have abused for way too long to have any meaningful relationship with; exploring these realms and techniques now actually seems viable to me, which is exciting!

Ive done some stuff with Calea Z recently.  Smoking, drinking and vaping before bed. Also growing some seedlings which seem to be very friendly when you put some time and love in.  ( and music )

Havent had any lucid dreams unfortunately but have woken once with a sense that some work has been done. Certainly have had better dream recall.  I usually have some Mj before bed and i found the two dont synergize and find it a much kinder replacement.   On waking my Internal sensations feel different, quieter. Also focussed and energized the next day but that could also be contributed to by the lack of my usual sleep aid.  Very relaxing feeling to go with before bed and i began really enjoying the bitter taste.  Very mild effect but in one meditation prior to bed i saw a stone temple and 2 Aztec looking masks which i try to recall when i experience the smell and taste of CZ. Atm i feel quite close to Calea Z.

Peace H

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I've had mixed results with Calea Z, smoking/ drinking and in capsules.

 

10 grams a day over at least a week has given some interesting experiences...

I usually do this in the lead up to festivals and the like to take advantage of crashing and sleeping with other things going on...

 

Leaves should be used/ harvested after flowering and there are extracts available too

 

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