I'm surprised no one has written a thread on this subject, none that I can find anyway. So here goes ...
Salvia is a very powerful vision inducing herb. The subject of salvia should be well understood before
one even thinks about trying it. I would suggest the users guide at www.sagewisdom.org as the optimal
source of info related to usage and safety. This site as well as erowid have an abundance of user experiences
documented - so I refer the interested reader to those sites
It's legality varies, though it's still legal in most states in the US. The previous site has a summary on that
subject as well. It's not physically addictive. It's questionable as to whether there would be a propensity
toward psycological addiction - though I would personally doubt it. It's not that kind of high.
I think there is tremendous opportunity to use this herb for a variety of Lucid dream related endeavors -
from autosuggestion, to practice staying lucid in a temporary dream like state, to practice slipping from
full conscious awareness to a visionary state (much like in a WILD).
I use Salvia a few times per week. For me, one hit of a standardized 20X extract is plenty enough.
While I have only been practicing lucid dreaming since last June, I have managed to rack up over 60 LD's so
far. Combined with WBTB, I have LD's about 50% of the time when I try (i.e. - I have time to sleep 7-8 hours
and do a WBTB).
I believe my use of salvia has helped significantly. Why? ...
Simply put, the short trip induced by a hit or two of good salvia extract provides a forum in which to practice
lucidity in a visionary state.
Rather than be overwhelmed by the experience, focus on making observations in this state. Try your best to remain
lucid - and concentrate on remembering all aspects of the visions that ensue. Watch as the visions begin and then
ultimately twist around you and fade away. The better you get at negotiating this powerful visionary state, the better you
will get at negotiating your natural dream state.
As for the optimal time to do this relative to sleep, I don't have an opinion. Though I can easily think of a whole
bunch of strategies that might make sense.
Seriously though - if you choose to try this, do it safely. Salvia has had enough bad publicity lately. Don't ruin it
for everyone by screwing yourself up in some way and generating more negative publicity.