To sleep perchance to dream...

Sleep is very important to each of us. The research has shown that it is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. One of the big problems with people in the States is that they don't believe this fact. They think they can function on 4-6 hours of sleep a night. I've written before about how we are too busy in our lives & sleep is a by-product of that busyness. We believe it doesn't matter, that we'll be just fine with a little bit of sleep.

Why am I writing about this today? I believe sleep is important & I had a night where I just couldn't sleep. I have had these nights, as I'm sure most of you have, before but as I've grown in my spiritual practices they happen very rarely. I may have a night where I wake up several times because of vivid dreams but I rarely don't sleep.

I have learned in my life to deal with most things that are thrown at me. I have always been good under pressure & I have excelled even in life threatening situations but I don't do well without sleep. I really never have. What I have learned as I've grown in my spiritual life is to pay attention when this happens. To allow the thoughts that are filling my busy mind to flow freely. Then I just become quiet. I allow the silence to take over my body. Any thought that comes into my mind once I've become quiet is acknowledged & let go.

We can learn a lot from the thoughts that come to us in times of being quiet. These thoughts tend be our greatest fears & some of our most self limiting thoughts. If we allow ourselves the time to listen we can move beyond these thoughts & create a true shift in the energy of our life. Open your mind & discover silence, it can lead you to a wonderful new place.

God/universe works in wonderful ways & sometimes to get your attention God/universe will reach you at times you don't expect. When you're having trouble sleeping rather then getting upset about the lack of sleep, embrace the silence & discover the keys to a better life.

Until tomorrow,

Bill


Quote of the day:"Take time to get the sleep you need & if sleep eludes you. Take the time to be silent & find the answers you're looking for."

center>

Dreams

It begins with the closing of my eyes. I slowly drift between reality & another world. Sometimes I pause at this in-between place where I can still hear the sounds of reality but the beauty that's waiting for me continues to call me deeper. Slowly, ever so slowly I drift off to my new reality the place of my dreams. Often my dreams start with a walk through a garden. I smell the beauty of nature as I continue my decent into the reality of my dreams.

Dreams are an amazing thing. Something we all do. In fact if we didn't dream we'd actually go insane. There's a lot of research that's been done on the meaning of our dreams & I've read several books on their interpretation. Dreams, for me, are one of our easiest connections to our true self if we can move beyond the noise of the day.

The natural process of dreaming is to digest the day & make sense of it. The mind uses this process to quiet our fears or to make them bigger. We feel our raw emotions when we dream & it's through that connection that we can find our true self. Dreams can be self-directed to some extent but in my experience this direction only lasts a short period of time. Once you've fallen into a deep sleep it's very difficult to direct your dreams because your conscious mind let's go & allows your sub-conscious mind to take over. The wonderful thing about the sub-conscious mind is that it is much more preceptive than the conscious mind & therefore through dreams we can discover the signs we are looking for in our life that were previously overlooked.

The biggest challenge many people have with their dreams is actually remembering them. The average person only remembers a small percentage of their dreams each morning & the further they move away from waking up the less of those dreams they actually remember. The best remedy for remembering your dreams is to leave a notebook on your nightstand so that you can write down your dreams as soon as you wake up.

The interpretation of specific dreams is beyond what I can write here, if you're truly interested I would suggest picking up several of the dream interpretation books. One of my favorites is: "The Dream Encyclopedia" by James R. Lewis. I would caution you in that some of the explanations for dreams vary from book to book so take what they say with a grain of salt. What's important to me is to understand the depth of your perception of events that occur in your life. You have a deep meaningful connection with everything around you & through your dreams you can begin to understand that connection.

Trust in your dreams for they have signs & meanings that need to be explored. Begin to keep track of each of your dreams & you'll discover the steps you need to follow to bring more joy into your life.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Dreams have deep meanings beyond our conscious mind that will uncover the path to true joy & the true connection to our self."