Drugs of the Dreaming

VISIONARY PLANTS / DREAMS "Gianluca Toro and Benjamin Thomas have made an invaluable contribution to the literature on psychoactive substances with their rigorously researched and fascinating survey of the planet's oneirogens. This book marks a giant step forward in an exciting new front of humanity's exploration of heightened states of consciousness. No one with a serious interest in the rich lore of psychotropic substances should be without this book." --J. P. Harpignies, editor of Visionary Plant Consciousness Oneirogens are plant and animal substances that have long been used to facilitate powerful and productive dreaming. From the beginning of civilization, dreams have guided the inner and outer life of human beings both in relation to each other and to the divine. For centuries shamans have employed oneirogens in finding meaning and healing in their dreams. Drugs of the Dreaming details the properties and actions of these dream allies, establishing ethnobotanical profiles for thirty-five oneirogens, including those extracted from organic sources--such as Calea zacatechichi (dream herb or "leaf of the god"), Salvia divinorum, and a variety of plants used in shamanic practices--as well as synthetically derived oneirogens. They explain the historical use of each oneirogen, its method of action, and what light it sheds on the scientific mechanism of dreaming. They conclude that oneirogens enhance the comprehensibility and facility of the dream/dreamer relationship and hold a powerful key for discerning the psychological needs and destinies of dreamers today. GIANLUCA TORO, an environmental chemist, is the author in Italian of Animali Psicoattivi [Psychoactive Animals] and numerous articles about naturally occurring and synthetic dream-enhancing agents. He lives in Italy. Benjamin Thomas is an independent researcher specializing in the effects of drugs and plant extracts on humans, particularly in Papua New Guinea. He lives in Australia.