Sleep is sacred. It provides a time when we are the most vulnerable, and vulnerability is a precious thing—it gives us our humanity. What you dream is your show, and you are the audience. What you witness on your subconscious stage may shape what you do consciously on the “real” one. It is both a civic and divine duty to protect and maintain your subconscious realm.
The good news is that you are the landscaper of your dreams. The architect of the design. You have the power to set the stage, or tear it down. Though you did not create nature, you are nature…and a product of your environment full of helpful materials. As you would hunt and gather to survive in reality, you could hunt and gather to thrive in the alternate reality.
If you ever wake up screaming from sleep paralysis or night terrors, I recommend immediately taking several deep breaths and envision the setting of the nightmare. Start by noticing the furniture, or the colors of the scenery. Observe the entire backdrop before finally focusing in on the entity (antagonist) which shook you from your slumber. Laugh at it.
Ideally, you’ll come to see the nightmare was a modest production crafted by your mind to symbolically awaken you to internalized fear. Your imagination was simply doing its job—so make that job easier. Offer it tools to build your sleep-scapes. Sourcing those materials is simple: just pay attention to what you’re feeding your mind while you’re awake. You may not be able to control all that you see, but you can control how it’s perceived. Carefully observe objects and creatures in reality which pop out to you, and they may return as friendly artifacts.
If night terrors come from repressed fears within, then perhaps peaceful dreams come from embracing the world around you. Put your own spin on objects and nature by taking a picture of it, sketching it out, humming a tune about it, or just by remembering it. Find yourself in it. You will still gain profound insight through your dreams without needlessly suffering. Find a seed in reality, plant it in your mind’s eye, and cultivate the beauty in your subconsciousness. One night, you may notice a gazebo subtly waving hello, replacing the monster that once sat on your chest in your drab chrome bedroom
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