Hello, all...

If I posted last year, I didn't see it.

So, I am posting again, just in case.

I have been interested in dreams and interpretation for a good while...and have become fairly proficient at it. I am fond of looking for archetypal symbols, at the very least, and I am intrigued by the lucid dreaming thing.

My mom has somehow mastered the art of LD, without being too into "New Age" or other similar stuff, and without studying or reading intensely.

I feel there is a line I end up not crossing as far as LD goes....and I think it's because LD seems quite related to shamanism, a topic about which I am very fascinated, but feel inadequate about practicing simply because I was told that this stuff is not to be messed about with...i.e: used as recreation. Am I mixing my theories unnecessarily or am I on the right track? If anyone here who is into shamanism can give me some reassurance (let alone tips), that would help me settle back into thinking about LD'ng again.

One thing I am studying along with my boyfriend is the effect of certain foods on the dreamstate...the repeated, conscious use of say, tryptophan & carbs to induce LDs (Quentin says this works on him quite a bit). What *I* am curious about most, though, is how the use of things like peyote (aka mescaline), psilocybe, etc can affect the Dreamtime. I am curious (even though such psychedelic substances are regulated tightly) simply because I want to put such substances to use in a way that is conscious and not used to extremes like they were in the 60s and 70s. In essence, I would like to experience their effects in a more or less shamanistic way. Perhaps learning about this can release whatever waking inhibitions I have (conscious or unconscious)--and I mean inhibitions regarding EVERYthing in my life...

You can tell my curiosities are a bit, say..off-the-wall...but I can't help but reach for the proverbial pomegranate once it is offered.

Anyway...I suppose I ought to wind down for the night and think about heading for bed.

BB,
Kat ^.^