I first came across vetiver many years ago when I had been suffering from insomnia for far too long - where it had moved past an opportunity to have extra hours for creativity to where I was hanging on by a thread - desperate for sleep. I had tried all the usual herbal remedies, some that had worked for me in times past but for some reason were not working for me this time. I figured the root of the insomnia had somehow changed and with that change there was a need for a different herb. I visited another herbalist in my city and she suggested I try vetiver. I have no idea where she got this use for it - since I hadn't seen it listed in any of my references, but I was game to try. The first night I sat out the thick honey like liquid next to my bedstand I slept and soundly - not pestered by my overactive dream life or anything. Real sleep. I have used it off and on since then to help me get a more peaceful nights sleep. Including over the last couple weeks. I had gotten so tired of the constant on the go aspects of my dreams I was ready to quiet them so I could actually feel rested. I set the vetiver out and had only hazey recolection of dreams while it was out. (That is a miracle in itself considering I am an acive and lucid dreamer with incredible dream retention - sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse.) Last night I wanted to open myself up to dreams again for part of a spiritual practice and so removed the vetiver. The effect was immediate and intense. A floodgate of dreaming was let loose and recalled again.

I had started out using vetiver as a way to get past insomnia and somehow discovered it as a tool for dream control as well. Interesting. Anyone ever heard of vetiver being used for these purposes or had similar experiences.