It's sort of interesting to note that the only way to have an actual dream is to go to sleep. We must sleep to dream.
To be able to sleep, one must "let go". It takes letting go of this reality, in a sense. In other words, we have to let go of the "here and now" to allow our thoughts (or our spirit) to go somewhere else.
I think that may be the reason why so many of us find it difficult to sleep. We're exhausted, in desperate need of a good, deep sleep to rejuvenate us. Yet, we can't sleep. Our brain won't allow it. Or, our thoughts won't slow down.
It just seems that, although we do sleep, it takes longer than it should for us to fall asleep; deep sleep alludes us and we feel unrested when we awake. Waking up again is so difficult, yet it's also difficult to fall asleep.
The reason, I believe, that we have sleep problems is . . . technology.
This is just a theory of mine, but I do believe that we can trace most of our sleep problems to technology. And, when I say technology, I am including electricity along with computers, laptops, Ipads, Ipods, Smart phones and all that.
We have to look at electricity first and think about how much life has changed since the advent of electricity. Wires pass through the walls of our houses and apartments carrying exciting vibrations. Bright light sneaks through the cracks of our curtains and under our doors at night time. More vibrations.
It's night time. But, where is the night? Where is the dark? It's not really dark, so how can our brains know that it is really night time, time to sleep?
Perhaps that phone charger is only putting off a teensy bit of light. But, it is light.
Now, to address the bigger problem which is all-encompassing: computer technology. Ouch. If you're like me, you don't like to admit how much time you spent on your computer today. It gets away with me. Before I realize it, I've got TB (tired bum) from sitting so long on my laptop. Yike! The sun is going down! Don't tell me another whole day has gone by.
But, it has. The day is spent. The sun has gone down. But, my brain is firing messages back and forth like lightning in an electric storm. It's buzzing like a hive of bees getting ready to swarm.
If I'm outside during the day, the people I encounter are either on their phone, on their Ipad, plugged into their Ipod or sitting at a computer or laptop. And, I'd have to say, "Without exception."
You know it's true.
Even reading the Word, we use our gadgets. We certainly don't read a big old Bible by candle light anymore. If we have a "hard copy" of the Bible, it's usually a 3x5 or a 4x6. And there's nothing wrong with that. Even if it's a 1x1, the Word is the best publication to carry around.
Like "ET", we get loads and loads of "input". We're constantly firing on all-cylinders and multi-tasking. And, we can't seem to stop! When it comes to our "electronic lives", self-control has flown out the window. Along with all the time in our day.
Just one more message. Oh, one more phone call is all. Just this text and I'm done. Oh, I forgot about the 'so-and-so' and I have to tell 'So-and-So' about the 'such-and-such'. What time is it? What? It can't be! I have to get up at 7 tomorrow.
So, we reluctantly shut it all down. The screens go black. But, our brains are still humming with messages lit up and flying along the highway of our neural passages.
What about this message? What about that piece of information? What about that picture? Wasn't it funny? What did that mean? Why is it like that? Do people really say that about that? Try to sleep. Try to sleep. Try to sleep. Ok, I should pray over my dreams.
Yes, we try so hard to calm down. We even listen to some soothing Christian music. And that helps a lot. But, falling to sleep takes a lot longer than it should and waking up does too.
One hundred years ago, who would have thought that sleeping would become such a problem for so many? Most people worked long, hard hours with little time to spare. Falling asleep at night was probably the least of their problems.
Nowadays, the days seem shorter. It's a different world. That's easy to see. And, there are pros and cons.
But, we need to sleep and we need to dream. It's a necessary part of our spiritual lives. When else does God have the chance to speak to our hearts and minds without interruption?
Dreams are important. They can be messages from God. They can be prophetic. So, we should really try to remember them.
I had a powerful dream the other night. It was powerful in that it seemed to last a long time, seemingly all night long. That's why I was able to remember it. And it was a very drastic sort of dream,which made me think it could be a warning about something in my own life.
I dreamt a snake had appeared under the floor of our big house. The snake was long and thick. It seemed to go on and on and on... It was coming up through a grate in the floor and traveling around the house through the heating ducts.
Since it came up into my bedroom through the grate in the floor, I decided I had to move to another room to sleep because it would probably crawl into my bed while I was sleeping. So, I moved to another room. But, I realized that room also had a grate and even if I covered it, the snake would be able to push through if it wanted to...
When I woke up, I told my sister the dream but I told her, "I know it's not a real snake. It represents something." And that same day, I found out what the snake was.
I got a computer virus on my laptop. It was a scam, but for most of the day, I thought I had a huge problem. After making two phone calls and listening to an agent go on and on about how he had to save my computer, I discovered they were going to charge almost $100 for this "huge problem" to go away. I was told it had traveled through all my files, threatening to destroy them, gain access to my banking information and on and on.
That's when I realized, "This is the snake." So, I laid hands on my laptop and prayed for the Holy Spirit to rebuke the devil.
Although it caused me some stress and worry, it turned out to be an invisible snake after all. I was told by a nice young lady that there was a scam going around and that I shouldn't pay anyone to get rid of the "virus". And, in the end, it all just went away as if it had never existed in the first place.
Come the end of the day, I felt as though I'd done battle with a very long . . . snake.
Why was there a large house in my dream that the snake was entering into?
Well, it turned out the "virus" came in through a site I went to to watch "Downton Abbey". Now, that's a big house, isn't it?
I don't know about you, but I've decided to limit my tech time by setting a schedule. And to turn off my laptop a couple of hours before bed-time. If possible.
