Lucid Dreams...

Lucid dreaming is our body's natural way to trip out. Lucid dreams can cause horrific projections that ends with the dreamer being trapped inside his or her body (sleep paralysis) as their mind and body fight to wake up, or they can cause a feeling of euphoria as a person takes off the ground and flies into the air, feeling as if they've suddenly inherited the ability to fly around like Superman. As a frequent vivid, lucid dreamer, I've learned to identify when I am in a lucid dream, and I've been able to control my own actions and turn the more unsettling lucid dreams into dreams that I enjoy. Before bed every night, I think about what would be interesting to do in a lucid dream that might happen that night. I've flown, tried to summon my patronus (which failed because I woke myself up mid-wand swing), driven a car, ran, visited friends who live far away and done all sorts of other really great things while asleep. 

When I saw Algonquin's "Lucid Dream Tea" at the Willy St Coop in Madison, I just had to buy myself a box. The tea is made from Sweet Gale, which is said to "enable one to have memorable dreams". Interesting enough for me to give it a try!

Last night before bed I had my first cup. About a half-hour after I turned off the lights, I started seeing an intense aura (if you've had a migraine before, it was similar to the visual aura that sometimes accompanies a migraine, but less impairing) and had to turn on the lights. It passed 5 minutes later, and I turned out the light and slowly drifted off to sleep. 

What followed? Six dreams that all transitioned perfectly from one to the other. None lucid, but all vivid. I remember thinking that the transitions were excellent, but could only tell you a few details from each dream. Nothing too exciting yet, but I definitely noticed some increased vividness in some of the dreams. Now, I'm off to bed to see what night 2 of Lucid Dream Tea has in store for me. I'll let you know if its worth the $8 it costs!