"I'll Sleep When I'm Dead"

I've often heard people say, "I'll sleep when I'm dead." I've never embraced their sentiment. Seems silly to me. Seems counter-productive.

Sleep is important to health and happiness. We all know this. The studies have been done. So why the resistance? That's a rhetorical question that I have no desire to understand. I think it's stupid to deprive a body, mind and soul of such a beautiful part of life. I know people talk about doing stuff, creating things, being successful, and everything else that someone might do while awake; I just happen to appreciate my sleep and all the benefits that I gain from respecting this part of my life.

The biggest benefit of sleep for me is dreaming. Certainly being horizontal and relaxed for a good number of hours is beneficial, but it's those dreams that really make it for me. Whether my dreams are "good" or "bad", they are always informative and entertaining. I've learned quite a bit about myself through my dreams. For this reason, I consider my sleep time very productive time. Whether I wake up refreshed, or feel like I've been hit by a truck; I do awaken with some sort of sense of what is going on in my inner world. Many times the revelations are surprising. Many times the revelations are confirmation of what I already know. It doesn't matter.

I suppose my reaction to "Inception" was rather blase (add an accent over that e) because I've had the experience of dreaming through multiple levels. Have any of you ever done this? The link below is one take on Dream Levels.

Dream Levels by Diandra

This next link is the Wikipedia entry on Lucid Dreaming. It's very broad and includes things like False Awakening and Out-Of-Body experiences.

Lucid Dreams

While researching my dream experiences of "waking up" in one dream only to find that I'm still dreaming with a different dream scenario, I discovered terms like "hypnagogia", "hypnopompic", and "false awakening." All were very interesting, and I will leave it to you to do your own research should you feel so inclined.

So in parting, I am a dreamer. I do not think this is detrimental, nor do I think it is derogatory. We've all heard the cast off remark, "You're a dreamer" with the connotation that this is somehow counter-productive.

Could it be that sleep and dreams are their own reward that does not require someone to do something with them? Could sleep and dreams be our own little treat without any obligatory requirements to take action on what we've experienced in the most intimate setting that we can ever imagine? Dreams are the most intimate action we experience in our lifetime because they are communications from our self to our self. Think about it. One may believe that there are outside forces or consciousnesses that can communicate with us during a dream state, and I still offer that all of that is a part of our being. We are more than just our body and mind, after all.

The freedom and safety that can occur during a dream transforms our waking lives, if we let them. If we allow ourselves the same amount of freedom and safety while we are awake, we can love ourselves and others more fully.

It's all a part of the most important Yama, Ahimsa or Non-Violence, in Patanjali's "Eight Limbs of Yoga" in his "Yoga Sutra." If we are to "do no harm", we start by applying this practice to ourselves, thus allowing ourselves to encompass the entire world in loving thought and deed. You see, by criticizing myself or another person for not doing something with their dreams, I defile Ahimsa; and this is even to be accepted and chuckled about. Acceptance of self and life is an aspect of love, just like the dreams that deliver me from the confines of my mortal existence.

If you are interested in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, I have included the Wikipedia link. The Eight Limbs are found about halfway down the page. They start with the five Yamas, continue with the five Niyamas and go from there.

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

I've found that studying Yoga is very beneficial to me mentally, physically and spiritually. I am experiencing more peace than ever before in my life. It is also tied in with my love of all forms of dreaming, even the scary. Yoga is more than a physical practice; it is a mental and spiritual practice, as well. We all know that right? When I attained my DREAM of studying Yoga, I had no idea how sweet it would be. Actually doing the poses and breathing with the mindfulness that I had dreamt about is freeing me from doubt and self-loathing. Maybe it's because I "had" to wait so long. Maybe because it's just the right thing at the right time. All I know is that for the very first time, I am free to just dream and am not required to do anything with those dreams if I don't want to. I usually want to, but some are just beautiful experiences for me and nothing more. For the first time in my life I am enjoying just being me. I'm enjoying it so much that I'm standing up for my right to live my life the way I want to and not the way that anyone else may think that I should live my life which includes me and my expectations for myself. Deep relaxing, yogic, three-part breath, Everyone, and ...

Sweet dreams.