The voice on the other end of the phone I’d
just answered said, “Hello. I’m Mary. I’m a member of a motorcycle
gang, and I want to order some dream pillow materials.”
The caller went on to tell me that her group consisted of
several men who had served in Vietnam in the 1960s. Her husband,
she said, suffered from persistent nightmares from that war and
seldom slept through the night without waking in terror. Mary had
bought my book, Making Herbal Dream Pillows, at a bookstore, found
my website listed and had ordered a dream pillow from my company.
“I wanted one from the source,” she said with a laugh.
I was imagining a motorcycle gang, dressed in their leathers,
riding the roads on big Harleys, sleeping on the side of the road,
roaring through dusty desert towns. How could a sweet little dream
pillow fit into that scene?
Without hesitation, Mary began to describe the events that led
up to her phone call. She’d ordered the Restful Sleep Pillow,
willing to try anything that might help her husband sleep, placed
the tiny pillow inside his pillowcase as they camped, and didn’t
tell him. Since the pillows are intentionally made to have a very
subtle fragrance, he wasn’t tipped off to its presence.
The first morning after the dream pillow was placed, she said he
came to the campfire seeming very relaxed and mentioned that he’d
slept through the night. Nothing more was said.
After the second night, she said her husband came to the morning
campfire and, as he visited with fellow road hogs, said, “I’ve
slept two nights in a row without nightmares. This fresh air is
really good for sleeping!” Mary kept quiet, happy to be seeing
results, but not yet certain of the source.
More mornings followed without comment, then on the fifth day
her husband said out loud that he’d been almost a week without a
flashback nightmare and didn’t know why. Mary sheepishly said it
was the dream pillow she had placed in his pillowcase five nights
before. He didn’t believe it, and Mary said, “I’ll prove it,” and
dragged his pillow out of their tent. She directed him to fish
around in the pillowcase and bring out whatever he found as their
friends watched.
He was dumbfounded. “I have no idea what this is,” he said, “but
it’s amazing and it works, so keep it in the pillowcase.”
The reason for Mary’s call was to say that the six other Vietnam
veterans in the group all wanted their own dream pillow, and she
needed to order materials to make dream pillows as they traveled
across the country.
My Restful Sleep Pillow recipe is good for soothing nightmares
of all types, and it’s fairly simple to make. But remember, never
use any oil, fragrance or essential oil in a dream blend — I
believe they make for a very unpredictable dream blend. Always wash
the cloth you make the pillow from, as the dye and sizing can cause
headaches or nightmares. Finally, use the best, well-dried herbs
and flowers (not any that have been stored with other
fragrances).
Restful Sleep Pillow
- 1 tablespoon rose petals (any color as long as they’re fragrant
and not chemically treated) - 1 teaspoon chopped mugwort
- 1 teaspoon chopped marjoram
- 1 teaspoon hops (broken up a bit with your fingers)
- Fabric
- Thread
- Fiberfill
Mix herbs together. Sew cloth to make a 5-by-5-inch pillow, into
which you’ll place some fiberfill, herb mixture and a bit more
fiberfill, and sew the pillow closed. To use, simply place the
pillow anywhere inside your pillowcase — it doesn’t matter where
since most people move their heads around during sleep anyway.
Jim Long, contributing editor to The Herb Companion, is author
of Making Herbal Dream Pillows (see Bookshelf, Page 54). Visit his
website atwww.Longcreekherbs.com.
