The quest to get a good nights sleep and finding the horrific beauty of Lucid Dreaming along the way.
To sleep, per chance to dream...ay there's the rub! Hamlet's sardonic soliloquy bares an element of intuitive truth that we, some 400 years later, are just starting to really understand.
To sleep is one thing...but to dream...ah, that's a whole other kettle of fish! Now that's truly where the real magic resides. Where will-o'-the-wisp are real and flights of fancy lean towards unconscious longings of sugar-plum fairies dancing within our heads. It is there, upon that emotionally stained battlefield where Demons are slayed and Tigers are tamed in which we struggle to make sense of an otherwise non-sensical narrative....it is there....within that sacred land of dreams, where our quest begins.
Nightly like clockwork, we plunge head first into this foray of possibilities hoping at the very least not to be devoured by some unsightly beast or terrorized by a member of the walking dead. For most of us, when the Sandman comes to call, just getting a good nights rest would foot the bill, but sadly that's just not the case.
50-70 million US Adults have a sleep disorder. Sleep Disorders represent some of the most challenging medical conditions and effect 1 in 3 people at some stage of their lives. The key sleep disorder groups are: Insomnia, Sleep Deprivation, Snoring, Sleep Apnea, Melatonin Imbalance, Narcolepsy, Circadian Rhythm Disorders, and Severe Night Terrors. https://www.sleepassociation.org/sleep-disorders/
This somewhere land no-where land "Dreamscape" for many, seems to be littered with the remembrance of childhood friends, schoolmates, dead relatives, bizarre animals, shadow-like figures, sporadic fears, absurd anxieties, sexual dalliances, and a wealth of chaotic insight pieced together within a Jungian psychedelic jigsaw puzzle-styled framework. Trying to make sense of it, even for the most scholarly minds, has been somewhat of a challenge for centuries, but can be attempted for a somewhat exorbitant hourly rate.( Just ask any friend of yours who has had an on-again-off-again long-term professional relationship with any Psychotherapist or Psychiatrist). Deciphering the riddle of this dreamscape psyche professionally can be quite pricey$$$.
For me, as Captain Nemo said in the blockbuster hit League of Extraordinary Gentleman-"I walk a different path." For years I struggled to achieve what many take for granted every single night.....that is getting a good nights "well-rested" sleep. I'd toss and turn, wakeup infrequently throughout the night and my dreams where all over the place! (past, present, future, Heavenly, Hellish, and everywhere else in between).....let's just say even 1970's psychedelic pioneer Timothy Leary would consider them quite "wild & trippy". I dreaded going to sleep.
Some nights were paralyzingly bad, some others "so-so" good, but overall my capacity to control them, more specifically my emotional reaction within them, was simply way WAY out of my control. The "dreamscape" was unconscious territory that I had come to accept as an area within my life in which I was a reactionary participant with little to no say so, regarding how I'd like the dream narrative to unfold.
That was until I came across an interesting article about an African herb that had been used by Shaman's for centuries during healing ceremonies. The herb was purported to possess a plethora of healing and medicinal properties as well as possess a unique ability to aid the user in having greater control within the dream state (i.e. Lucid Dreaming). Now I have to admit, as exciting as it was to read about those amazing benefits, what really shocked me was learning that the herb was said to possess the ability to enhance the users connection with recently deceased loved ones as well as ancestors.
Being somewhat of a skeptic by nature, I have never been one to really buy into any claims of "supernatural or paranormal" activity of any sought that you'd routinely hear about within the media. But as I started my journey or relationship if you will, with this fascinating African herb, all of that began to change!
The herb?....(drum role please): Synaptolepis kirkii (Uvuma omhlope)!!!
Synaptolepis kirkii (Uvuma omhlope) is a bluish shrub with white ceramic roots. Both the Zulu and Xhosa traditionally use ethnobotanicals such as Synaptolepis kirkii to induce spiritual visions, heal past traumas, gain greater insight, repair damaged nerve cell tissue, relieve anxiety, remove toxins from the body, and improve the quality of sleep. The origins of this shrub contain a potent neurotrophin known as kirkinine. Neurotrophins are a family of proteins that cause the role and the growth of neurons. This powerful neuron rewiring herb will help not only to dream lucidly but also aid the user in falling asleep peacefully if consumed in the day. For many users Synaptolepis kirkii (Uvuma omhlope) can take a week or two until the dream-like effects are noticed.
It has been approximately 5 and a half months since I started to incorporate "Kirkii" into my regular bedtime routine, cycling it on/off every 4-5 days, and I have noticed quite a few impactive changes within my quality of sleep as well as overall throughout my day.
Both Pros & Cons with its steady use:
(Pro) 1- The quality of my sleep has dramatically improved (6-7hrs.).
(Pro) 2- I awake feeling completely refreshed and well rested.
(Pro) 3- The usual emotion or feeling of fear and/or anxiety rarely if ever is experienced no matter what the dream is about. Monsters, Zombies, or even wild threatening dangerous animals,...nothing within the dreamscape seemed to engender a psychological fear response within me. In a few dreams I was quite surprised when even dangerous knife-wielding dream characters tried to intimidate me and nothing happened....nothing! No fear response was experienced during the dream and the dream characters (95% of the time) simply walked away or disappeared.
(Pro /Con) 4- Properly categorizing this one is a bit tricky but I guess it depends on your point of view. Many, many, MANY of my deceased relatives, loved ones, childhood friends that have passed away years ago have randomly started to appear in many of my dreams. THIS HAS NEVER EVER HAPPENED WITH SUCH FREQUENCY BEFORE. All of the random dreams they appeared within were quite lovely and truly a warm wonderful experience. At times, I've caught myself upon waking (realizing that the experience was just a dream), wishing that the dream would continue and not come to an end.
(Pro) 5- The length of time spent within the dreams increased substantially. Some of the dreams played out like interesting storylines that seemed to last quite a long time 30-60mins. (Somewhat "loosely" like the movie Inception...no kidding). Within a few of the dreams, once I realized I was indeed dreaming (became Lucid), I was quite surprised that I WASN'T waking up and that the dream was continuing to proceed. A couple of times I actually thought I had woken up only to realize a few moments later, that I apparently "rolled" into another dream. Some times this was fun, other times it was not. Because a few times I wasn't quite sure if was I awake or still stuck within the dream.
(Con) 6- Quite a few of the dreams were "extremely vivid" and "tactile". I could literally feel when a dream character touched me or if I touched something. It didn't matter what it was, If I was opening a door, a window, picking something up, or pushing something away...I could physically feel the real contours of the item while I was within the dream state.
(Pro /Con) 7-The dreams are more complex and detail-oriented. And dream recall is greatly enhanced. Some people may find this a good thing, but I'm not really one of them....the reason being, I can recall "in crystal-clear detail" numerous dreams I've had over the past couple of months. For me, this abundance of formally subconscious /unconscious/dream-state information has now become available on my conscious radar. I'm beginning to think that there is a very good reason why nature via evolution proceeded to construct a protective psychological repressive mechanism.
(Major CON) 8- Although for the most part as I've stated before, experiencing fear and/or anxiety during 95% of the nightmarish or unpleasant dreams I previously had was significantly reduced. However, on occasion, an emotionally charged nightmare would slip through the cracks...and let me tell you...it was bad! The experience was sheer terror....unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Everything was "super intense", amplified, extremely vivid and seemed horrifically REAL! The nightmares (when they occurred) were soooooo bad that on two occasions I jumped out of the bed screaming and yelling (trying to fight off several attackers who were trying to break into my home within the dream), only to be awoken on my feet, by my wife!!.....I WOKE UP ON MY FEET PUNCHING AND KICKING THE AIR!!!
The lines between reality and dreaming were confusingly blurred and I literally could NOT tell if I was awake or still dreaming for a moment!
Major DISCLAIMER:
I'd advise anyone considering starting a supplementation cycle with this herb to proceed with caution. Remember..."I woke up on my feet"!! ...so that tells me that Synaptolepis somehow has the ability to override the bodies normal protective central nervous system sleep inhibition mechanism which prevents us from doing dangerous things like getting up and walking around WHILE we're sleep.
Also potential users should be aware that Synaptolepis kirkii is a plant whose impacts increase with the number of days of usage. Therefore, both, the Pros & Cons one encounters tend to unfold little by little, night by night, and may persist for months.
(Huge Pro) 9- When taken along with Blue Lotus Flower extract at bed time, the following day I felt energetic, motivated, extremely euphoric and quite motivated. I felt good all throughout the day, upbeat, focused, and positively driven to accomplish whatever goals I had set for the day.
(Pro) 10-I began noticing I didn't need as much sleep as before (5-6hrs. was more than enough).
(Pro) 11- A big thing I started to notice around the 3rd week of initially taking it was that, my memory and information recall (Short & Long term memory) significantly started to improve when I started taking /adding a few other supplements with my morning breakfast and lunch ...but that's a story for the next upcoming Part 2 of this blog post: To Sleep, Per Chance To Dream {Part-2}
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