On Sleep And Dreams

Sleep in heavenly peace . . . . 

The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream . . . .

The Gospel readings during the Christmas season are replete on stories about sleep and dreams.

i always find something mysterious and salubrious about sleep. Nothing is more refreshing and invigorating than a good nap or a good night’s sleep. In fact, many health problems are caused or exacerbated by chronic lack of sleep. Regular sleep is part of any healthy lifestyle.

When I am asleep I may be dead to the world; but I feel it is the time when I am most alive. My consciousness (or my soul, my spirit) is what makes me human. It is life an iceberg. My conscious self, which is what I am more familiar with, is just the tip; the bulk of the iceberg being my unconscious. There is also the subconscious which is the area between my conscious self and my unconscious, that area between sleep and wakefulness.

Strange as it may seem, I feel I am most myself in my unconscious, like when I am asleep. It is the area where all my defences and masks are down. It is the area where all my deepest memories and fondest dreams remain alive. Many of my actions and motivations which I often cannot explain not understand come from my unconscious and subconscious. It is where I can truly meet God; for somewhere there I still know where I came from and whom I came from.

These days, I see my sleep time as sacred time and a sacred place. In my last wakeful moments, I tell the Lord that I shall be meeting Him in my unconscious, in my sleep. I ask him where he would be taking me tonight and what will we be talking about. And when I awake, I immediately try to recall what “happened” in my sleep. I often wake up rested; but I also feel that I did a lot during my sleep. My dreams become clearer; my plans get hatched; my ideas get a better and bigger perspective.

Yes, I believe I truly encounter God specially in my sleep. And yes, he comes to me in my dreams.