Herbs and pills for lucidity

I went to Glastonbury the hippie centre of the UK on Sunday and bought a whole bunch of herbs and supplements. The supplements were; L-Theanine, L-Tryptophan and 5HTP/Serentonin. The herbs were passionflower, hops, valerian, vervain, mugwort and a whole bunch of others. I took one of each pill and brewed a tea out of all the herbs and nothing happened although my dreams were very vivid. Does anybody know the right combo for lucidity?

Really vivid dreams is a great first step but there is no magic formula/potion/elixir that will guarantee lucidity, that is unfortunately not how it works. Lucid dreaming comes from the inside, not the out. I was exactly in your place a fair few years ago, really motivated and excited and yearning to become lucid, but sometimes things dont work out as fast or as easy as we would like. It sounds like your dream vividness and recall is amazing, with constant MILD, telling yourself every day that you will become lucid that night, along with trying things like WBTB (thats how I got my first lucid dream, telling myself all day id become lucid, doing wbtb, telling myself id be lucid that night while reading some more ld stuff, and that night I had my first 10-15 seconds of lucidity before I got too excited and woke up :razz:).

You’re on the right track, but don’t rely or hope for external things like herbs and supplements to do the job for you. They can certainly be a big help but ultimately its up to you. I wish you the very best of luck!

I would caution mixing a great deal of plants / herbs together, taking aside your combination above think of it more generally for two purposes.
One item on its own may have no effect however mixed with another item it may produce some very unwanted side effects.
or, one item on its own may produce negative side effects and therefore you wont know which herb or item is causing the problems with your mix.

Start off slower, aim at a lot of research into the chemistry of the herbs / plants and why they are stated to work. There are a lot of examples on the internet that you can read showing how each one can help. Test them out and note your own experiences then move onto a different item or combine it with one other that will have a synergistic effect and test that out in the same way.

For example, many report that hops and valerian help them fall asleep, while others report massive headaches and nightmares from passionflower and others like skullcap. Mugwort has been used for along time to increase dream recall and some report on its lucidity effects.

Herbs that you buy in the store are not going to be the same idea as a pill you get at a drug store. Often the environment in which they have been grown will change how strong they are, but dont take that comment that they will be weak. Most of our medicine we use today has been developed from plants, something to keep in mind, but it may be harder to get the exact amount you are looking for each time.

Use items but all means, but focus on the process as well, ie read about the effects of Mugwort, then focus strongly on the item and your intention on the positive a/effects it will have on your system and mind and dreams , you may find that this will bring forth a great deal of lucidity and recall rather than had you just popped a pill or drank the tea and not thought upon it.

Work on the recall, then add the lucidity, otherwise you might just be going lucid and not being able to remember it.

I am actual going to add some items back into my mix and focus on researching them as well, if you are interested in sharing results I would be keen to see your success.

Although new here, I’m not new at using supplemental help with gaining lucidity. I agree with the most previous post, in caution should be used when trialing any supplements.

First, do your research. There are numerous fine articles/books available both in stores and for download which discuss gaining lucidity through use of supplements.

Second, don’t rely on supplements. Starting with the basics, like reality checks, journaling, etc will start to develop that awareness you will have in dreams.

Third, start slowly. Many of the basic herbs/supplements can and do assist in lucidity. I must admit that mugwort alone has helped me, but that seemed to last only a few times. One’s own chemistry may get used to one supplement, and after a period of time away may again allow it to be of use, or may never again - at least that has been my experience.

Fourth, research again. And don’t start with lots, again. And don’t rely on supplements again.

Sorry if you have lots of experience here and I’m telling you nothing new. I have lots of experience elsewhere and AM new here, although have skulked around for a bit before joining. :content:

Just some personal experience to add. In terms of supplements, the only one I ever had success with was a galantamine/choline blend. I haven’t used it in some time but, a couple years ago, I got to the point where I gained up to 95% success rate with it over the course of several months. Thing is, you can’t use it every day…only twice a week at the most, or it loses effectiveness.

Galantamine is a substance found in red spider lily, snowdrop and daffodil. It seems to cultivate a very subtle, unique type of wakefulness which is perfect for lending towards lucidity. It’s subtle enough that it doesn’t keep one awake and effective enough to “turn up the rheostat” a skosh in dreaming, raising the chance for lucidity significantly.

Yes, galantamine/choline is a great supplement combo that usually works very well. Again, I’d suggest caution, and certainly don’t start with this. Gain some experience with “natural” lucidity (whatever that may be), then for some extra “kick” try this. And read about it elsewhere first.

One fantastic book about supplements is the classic Thomas Yuschak book, “Advanced Lucid Dreaming: The Power of Supplements - How to Induce High Level Lucid Dreams & Out of Body Experiences”. He did a LOT of research and experienced great lucidity using different supplements. And again, please use caution and do a lot of research yourself before using any supplements. And a final caution - if you are taking any other prescribed medications or using any other herbal supplements, make sure they do not interfere with each other. St. John’s Wort and 5-HTP should NEVER be taken together.

(Do you get that I suggest, “caution”? :tongue: )