Quote Originally Posted by Alyzarin View Post
I see, I see.... Alright, let me ask you something else. You took a higher dose than normal and you noted lots of visuals, but still with typical vividness and stability. Do you think that maybe the reason your dreams started off a bit more vivid from the menthol but are now becoming typical even with the increased effects is because your mind is becoming more used to the enhanced state of dreaming? I ask because I can compare this to hallucinogens, as I believe they work through the same mechanisms.... For example, say you take LSD for the first time. You're hallucinating, and you're blown away! You've never seen anything like this before, it's crazy. A few days later, you decide to trip again. It's still badass! Not as intense as before, but definitely a wild ride. A few days later, you go for it again.... Now, you can keep this up for a while, but a few days reaaally isn't enough time to let your tolerance go down for something like LSD. Eventually you're going to reach a point where you're still hallucinating just as hard or harder than your first time, but it doesn't have that same sense of overwhelming intensity, just more of a... "alright, that's cool, but what else have you got?"

Essentially what I'm getting at is, do you think that an increase in vividness from the first few doses of menthol may actually be a byproduct of your brain responding to a more "enhanced" dream, but afterwards you get used to it and continue on as normal? Now, don't get me wrong.... There's certainly nothing wrong with euphoric, visually complex, or romantic or sexually-charged non-lucids... but I'm wondering if the true benefit of menthol comes not just from using it alone, but from combining it with a stronger cognition enhancer. Basically, taking a dream enhancer AND an established powerful lucid aid.
It's hard to say. It's quite feasible that I have built up a tolerance, etc. I will have to do a 'clean' WBTB or two to see if I get a rebound effect from the lack of the menthol. I suppose with dreams as well it can be subjective. Some lucids seem 'real' whereas some are a lot weaker, whether menthol induced or not, even if you stick to the same routines. I think it is a question of recall. I don't know but I think you can get desensitised over time. I don't know much about LSD as I have never taken it, nor done really much research about it, although it is an interesting subject in itself. One amazing chemical compound.
I think these differences in sensitization are also present when I drank apple juice. I found that helped initially by increasing my awareness and recall levels, yet on some days (same routine/same amount) I found I struggled.
There may also be a gender thing going on as well with differing effects (regarding sex and libido levels) in men and women? Generally with me it tends to act like a stimulant, probably due to the other ingredients in the cough drops as I get sleeplessness. If I try a purer form would no doubt answer that question. I might try BEFORE I go to bed, then compare any differences?
In the future it might benefit me more when attempting WILD buy keeping my alertness threshold slightly higher, then drop it at the crucial moment (when the dream is forming.) It (menthol) might help me with certain exercises to build up visualization skills due to the spontaneous imagery which seems to be created (in my case) without much effort. This may help reach DILD easier?
Regarding combinations. No doubt it would work depending on the person and the other compound. A sort of 'pick and mix' down the local chemist/herbstore/sweet shop perhaps?
I have got thoughts by using one with another, a bit like Lennon and MacCartney, or Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers, but I don't want to get ahead of myself if it ends up more Jedward and Ronald MacDonald where I end up running to the toilet every 5 min.