Is taking melatonin while trying to project a productive thing or counterproductive thing?
I take it every night to get a deeper sleep and havent noticed any effect on AP, whether negative or positive.
Some people claim it actually helps AP
What about ambien? Good or bad for AP? I have restless leg syndrome and doctor subscribed me ambien to get sleep else i jerk my legs all night when it hits me bad.
Melatonin is simply a chemical marker that signifies your point of when you generally go to sleep.
From what I've read of people experimenting with it... it won't increase your chances of projection... it'll only make you physically tired.
And that, in itself, is probably counterproductive to projecting.
Anyway... just an opinion. :)
I found that melatonin helps 'relax' my racing thoughts, and, if I'm not too tired to begin with, it helps. I took Ambien a couple of times. The problem with that was it knocked me out so completely within 20 minutes.
Angie
Hello Nomesb69,
I've done a lot of experimenting over the past 30 years with projecting and using substances. Generally I've gotten nothing but headaches or drowsiness from melatonin, didn't really help me that much with projecting. I know that others find it helpful, but that's just me. Ambien always knocks me out completely, but that's what it's supposed to do. That doesn't mean I didn't get up, cook dinner, talk on the phone -- I just didn't remember any of it. Those around me let me know it though! It never helped me project.
Melatonin doesn't stop anything....but Ambien is a drug, I don't think it will help at all....
maybe try a healthier solution? (http://helpguide.org/life/restless_leg_syndrome_rls.htm)
I've tried using it and I still have some. Never really had any positive results from it
I would think (from the listed side effects) that the effects would be the opposite of what you want with Ambien.
Quote from: justin35ll on January 24, 2011, 11:24:25
I've tried using it and I still have some. Never really had any positive results from it
I had the same problem, thats until I upped my dosage from 2mg to 5 to 10 mg. That was like turbo boost!
Quote from: Fresco on January 24, 2011, 13:48:00
I had the same problem, thats until I upped my dosage from 2mg to 5 to 10 mg. That was like turbo boost!
Re you saying this turbo boosted your projection ability or ability to fall asleep?
Quote from: Nomesb69 on January 24, 2011, 16:37:34
Re you saying this turbo boosted your projection ability or ability to fall asleep?
My ability to fall asleep, not my AP. And also mealtonin gives a much deeper, refreshing sleep.
Try 10mg, I guarantee you'll sleep like a baby
Quote from: Fresco on January 24, 2011, 20:29:41
My ability to fall asleep, not my AP. And also mealtonin gives a much deeper, refreshing sleep.
Try 10mg, I guarantee you'll sleep like a baby
Had to clarify that, lol. Not looking to sleep like a baby just get my projections going. I take half a tab of 5 mg and it is enough to get my RLS under control so I can sleep. I find if I take a whole 5mg tablet sometimes it keeps me awake stuck in loops.
Last year I had problems sleeping and took a whole course of various medications from herbal down to a three months being on Mitazapine. These tablets were prescribed due to their non addictive nature compared to sleeping tablets. They were good and allowed you to fall asleep more easily but ironically a known side effect was very vivid/lucid dreams, and I subsequently would sometimes have OBE's due to the habit of jumping from vivid/lucid dreams to OBEs. In the end I gave up as I found them too harsh.
ZMA is good and you can get that from most health shops (it's often used in weight training for better recovery during sleep). ZMA is just Zinc monomethionine aspartate and Magnesium Aspartate, however if you have bad sleeping disorders (like most non prescribed medication) I doubt it will assist too much.
In terms of projection encouragement on a side note I'm diabetic (type 1) and I have often wondered if my sugar spikes or even the man made insulin has encouraged or stimulated OBEs to happen more frequently/spontaneously than maybe in non diabetics. The reason being is instead of hindering low sugars or high sugars often play influence on my dream state and conscious awareness during sleep, encouraging me to have a slightly different perspective on my environment during my OBEs.
I used melatonin for a couple months. I noticed that my dreams were vivid esp'ly early morning. I did have some lucid dreams.
Quote from: Nomesb69 on January 23, 2011, 17:10:02
Is taking melatonin while trying to project a productive thing or counterproductive thing?
I wouldn't recommend it unless your doctor told you to a take a drug to relax or you have some kind of inability to relax naturally.
I wouldn't recommend you experiment with it unless you have a very strong will power to leave the experiment as soon as you know the results. Drugs are not bad, addiction is.
IMHO, the whole point of learning AP (besides fun) is to train yourself to remain conscious and in control after death....so that you choose your path of evolution consciously. Obviously you will find any physical substance useless there. So the best thing is to take the long cut and train your mind.
Quote from: Psan on January 27, 2011, 13:49:10
I wouldn't recommend it unless your doctor told you to a take a drug to relax or you have some kind of inability to relax naturally.
I wouldn't recommend you experiment with it unless you have a very strong will power to leave the experiment as soon as you know the results. Drugs are not bad, addiction is.
IMHO, the whole point of learning AP (besides fun) is to train yourself to remain conscious and in control after death....so that you choose your path of evolution consciously. Obviously you will find any physical substance useless there. So the best thing is to take the long cut and train your mind.
Good post 8-)
:NoY:
I agree. With a good diet and exercise, rest is very natural and you shouldn't need anything to help.
My OBE's started out with substance and then afterwards became natural. Ambien caused me to have the most "realistic" OBE experiences -- a complete difference from lucidity. It also gave me constant nightmares. I don't recommend ambien for trying to "boost" an OBE (even though it caused some of mine at an earlier age)
Never used melatonin, but I have used choline bitartrate and galantamine, supplements known for causing lucid dreams.
Is there any study done on WHY these chemicals seem to encourage conscious awareness in the non-physical?
Quote from: Xanth on January 30, 2011, 14:40:40
Is there any study done on WHY these chemicals seem to encourage conscious awareness in the non-physical?
I have a book I am reading right now (Advanced Lucid Dreaming) that talks about why they work, it's pretty scientific. I am experimenting with the supplements they suggest.
Instead of melatonin, the supplement 5htp might work better. I find it makes me lucid consistently.
Which supplements are they covering or which is the book, I may check on my own? My experience with melatonin is that it just helps me sleep and nothing more. If I take a high dose, I get to sleep too deep and don't ever remember my dreams. On the other hand, galantamine is insane. I have taken it early in the morning and slept for 2-3 hours. My dreams were so realistic, that I used to wake up a couple of times and could not decide which is the physical reality (this also ruined my attempts to turn the lucid dream into a OBE, because I simply forgot what I was trying to do and lost the idea of which is the physical and which the astral)
Quote from: rangestormer on January 30, 2011, 18:44:46
Which supplements are they covering or which is the book, I may check on my own? My experience with melatonin is that it just helps me sleep and nothing more. If I take a high dose, I get to sleep too deep and don't ever remember my dreams. On the other hand, galantamine is insane. I have taken it early in the morning and slept for 2-3 hours. My dreams were so realistic, that I used to wake up a couple of times and could not decide which is the physical reality (this also ruined my attempts to turn the lucid dream into a OBE, because I simply forgot what I was trying to do and lost the idea of which is the physical and which the astral)
Oh yeah, galantamine is in there :lol: also, choline, alpha GPC, piracetam, yohimbine .05mg (suppose to be more powerful than galantamine but with side effects) mucuna pruriens, 5htp, melatonin, nicotine (obviously side effects), huperzine A
book is "Advanced Lucid Dreaming, the power of supplements, how to induce high level lucid dreams & out of body experiences, by Thomas Yuschak
Disclaimer: kids don't try this. do not try these supplements without first discussing with your doctor, could have dangerous side effects. thank you.
My recommendation is to stay away from any kind of supplements. But that is mostly just a very strong biased opinion. My most "realistic" OBE's were drug induced initially but some of them were terrifying.
I think this post has become too subjective, with too many assumptions. Yes like anything in life 'drugs' be it recreational or medicinal can be dangerous if used in excessive amounts or more importantly without some form of education, supervision or control. However that doesn't mean substitutes cannot be used to achieve positive results or to have fun.
So going back to melatonin or any other form of supplements, if it works to get you initially over that stumbling block then so be it and go for it! Unfortunately some people can't exactly get from A to B in life as easier as others, and sometimes substitutes can be beneficial in stimulating results towards the exercise or goal trying to be achieved. I do not believe we have to
There are quite a lot of medicines which often will often be seen as a side effect that can impact our dream awareness. Most of these medicines are the ones that usually affect the serotonin levels. But I would say it's important to note is anything being used a supplement to achieve an OBE has to also compliment some form of training or education on the subject (i.e. a plan!).
If most of these medicines allowed us to eventually have OBE's it would be more widely known, but the majority of people that have excessive vivid, lucid dreams just don't have the knowhow on the subject to go that one step further, and further more the drugs are being used to treat the individual suffering from a condition and often the dream side effect goes beyond their desired effect of what they are initially being treated for. Just visit some forums for people on anti-depressants, sleep disorders etc and there are a lot of posts of people confused by the dream side effects induced by some of these medications. Most of them appear to be scratching their heads somewhat baffled by the reality of the dreams, and also frightened but in the context of people using this medication it's probably not on their agenda to be exploring the dream state or subconscious, they naturally have other concerns.
I have mentioned this above and I have been a type 1 diabetic for 20 years (on insulin) and I'm very aware how additional medicines, food, drinks, exercise can all impact my body and the overall mental state. I have found that control of the blood sugar levels during sleep can induce OBEs, vivid dreams, nightmares etc (low sugars be it dangerous, usually always induces vivid dreams and then OBEs). And also believe that the insulin itself may have some subtle side effects towards or dream state. It's all do with how the sugar levels control the neurotransmitters, and in non diabetics this can be induced by sleep deprivation and decreased food intake (which is often viewed as an OBE stimulation technique).
As Xanth has mentioned it would be nice if there was some official studies on the subject and instead of often being seen as an effect adverse to what one is being treated for.