[frankinstien]

Here's an article about the different hallucinogens and how their chemistry differ which correlates to types of experiences. The study used NLP tools to evaluate corpora from several sources. While this might seem obvious, but not to me at least, it that if the hallucinogens can turn cortices on and off and so too can a REM dream state, then how can such noise ever converge into some theme or story as dreams and hallucinogenic experiences can do?

[frankinstien]

Here's a paper on the similarities of hallucinogens and  schizophrenia

I don't know about the rest of you but my personal experiences as to trying to achieve a lucid dream while I'm conscious always produce either a nauseous feeling or fear that prevents me from going into a full-blown virtual reality.  THC is legal in my state and while under the influence I am able to better my lucid dreaming experiences but still, there seems to be a gatekeeper preventing me from inducing an altered state of consciousness.  I can get to a point where I start to feel the temperature and atmosphere in my dream and then there is this state of weirdness where I'm sensing that anything can happen and I won't be able to control it but at the same time where there is some kind of notion of pain I can protect myself. I don't get why I can't just enter a virtual reality. I know of gurus claiming that lucid dreaming while awake can be done but I never have been able to do that without drugs...