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Meditation
& Dream Activities
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Meditation and Dream
Preparation for
the Meditation and Dream Work Activities
We
welcome you to join us for weekly meditation practices in which we
join our energies together. These specific meditations are then
followed by dream preparation, where we each go to sleep with the
intention of continuing that night’s meditation.
You are also warmly encouraged to share your
experiences in our
meditation and
dream forum.
Meditation
We will be dividing our meditations into five stages. (You can use the
blue links to access the sections directly.)
1. Getting
into the Meditative State
2. The
Visualization Stage
A)
Sundays' Meditation
- release of
judgment and forgiveness meditation.
B)
Wednesdays' Meditation
- a healing
meditation for children in our local hospitals. This
meditation can also be used
to help heal yourself, your family
members
or friends.
3. A
Quiet Phase
4.
A Period of Gratitude
5.
Returning to the Body
1. Getting into the Meditative State
At least at first, meditation doesn't so much as quiet the mind, as it
first refocuses the mind on less fearful, stress-filled, and judgmental
based thoughts and ideas. For example, you may be trying to meditate and
a thought such as what bills you have to pay tomorrow pops up. I will
offer two meditative techniques to deal with this common challenge; the
use of a mantra, and a body relaxation technique to refocus the mind.
You may choose either one or try your own. It is highly recommended that
you sit down for these meditations. It is best not to lie down because
you are much more likely to fall asleep. Yet, if you’re having trouble
relaxing and going to sleep you may choose to use these techniques to
assist you in falling asleep.
The first meditative technique will be to focus on a mantra (short
phrase or word) such as "God is love." Take a few minutes to focus on
deep, slow breaths. With each intake, feel white light coming in and
filling your body. With each breath out, feel the stresses of the day
being released. Simply breathe in "God is" and breathe out "love." Do
this out loud first, and after a while let it become a whisper, and then
just the thought in your mind. As you breathe in, think "God is." And as
you breathe out, think "love." Equally so, you may choose to begin this
technique with breathing in just the thought "God is" and breathing out
the thought "love." Continue this process for as long as you can. It is
natural for other thoughts to come in. Do not judge yourself for this.
Do not question your focus or concentration. Simply let these thoughts
go and come back to the mantra "God is love." Breathe in the thought
"God is." Breathe out the thought "love."
A second meditation you may choose to try is a body relaxation
technique. Start by focusing your mind on your scalp. Feel as if a hand
is caressing your scalp. First, try the right side of the scalp, and
then the left side of the scalp. Fill your scalp with light and feel it
getting heavier and more relaxed. Try to feel it tingling, feel the
energy flowing to that area. As you focus on the area, your scalp gets
more and more relaxed. Then, move down to your forehead. Do with your
forehead what you did with your scalp. Feel as if a hand is caressing
your forehead. Fill your forehead with light and feel it getting heavier
and more relaxed. Try to feel it tingling; feel the energy flowing to
that area. As you focus on the area, your forehead gets more and more
relaxed. Do the same with the rest of your body, from head to toe.
Continue to go down your body, from top to bottom: scalp, forehead,
cheeks, chin, throat, neck, shoulders, upper arms, forearms, hands,
chest, stomach, upper legs, calves and feet. Spend as much time as you
wish on a body part and then move down. Intrusive thoughts that have
nothing to do with the meditation will pop up. Do not judge yourself for
this. Use the time that you might have judged yourself to relax, and
bring yourself back to the meditation. You do not have to start at the
beginning, just from where you left off. If an intrusive thought comes
in as you are focusing on a body part, simply let it go and come back to
that body part.
The more nights you try either of these two techniques, the sooner
you’ll reach a peaceful place and the quicker you'll be able to get into
the meditative state. If you have not tried these techniques before it
might take you 20 minutes, but you’ll find that the more you try it, the
quicker you’ll get to the meditative state, and what once took you 20
minutes - will now take you just 2.
You may want to start these or any meditations with a prayer. Not so
much a learned prayer, although that is fine, but more of a
heart-centered prayer. Let your heart be your guide; let it lead your
prayer, and ask for peace of mind and assistance in the upcoming
meditation. Ask your angels, guides, God or whomever you trust to assist
you in focusing your mind. Feel this support surround you in its soft
embrace.
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2. The Visualization Stage
A.
Sundays’ Forgiveness and Peace Meditation
Relationships never end, they simply change forms. A relationship will
not end even with the physical departure or passing of a loved one.
Relationships can consciously continue even after death. The
relationship can continue and peace can be found. All relationships are
as eternal as the souls that fueled them. It is simply your free will to
decide how conscious you choose to be during its transformation and
development. If you truly desire peace with any person, loved one or
not, here or in the hereafter, then you will achieve peace.
My friend, pain, anger, regret or sadness are a foreign thought system.
They are not natural parts of who we are. They are learned ways of
acting, reacting and being. My friend, within each of us there lies a
key. Through forgiveness, this key sets our brothers and sisters free;
or through judgment it imprisons them. Yet we hold the key, we are the
liberators or the jailers. If we choose to play the role of guard, then
we will live behind the same prison walls that imprison those who we
have anger towards. If we choose through forgiveness to free them, we
will also free ourselves.
Love is eternal and it is eternally available. Forgiveness is eternal
and it is eternally available. The ego might have convinced you that in
this world, such a deed would be impossible to accomplish. I will remind
your heart, and your heart will remember, that there is nothing more
gratifying or rewarding. There is nothing more fulfilling, and there is
nothing more beautiful and liberating.
I will now suggest a meditation that will offer you the possibility for
peace. My friend, angels and guides are at your beck and call, and you
simply need to invite them to assist you, and they will, with honor and
pleasure, heed your call. You might have previously believed that
obtaining peace with the person you are angry with was impossible. I
will now offer you the opposite of what has brought us pain, anger,
regret and sadness. We have allowed pain, anger, regret and sadness to
exist even long after our brother’s error. Behold the power and
magnificence of forgiveness wherein one honest moment offering it, in
return offers us an eternity of freedom, peace of mind and joy.
Sundays' Meditation: Obtaining Peace through Forgiveness
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Before going to
bed, sit on the floor or a chair. Make sure that you will not be
disturbed. Take the phone off the hook if you need to.
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Use either of
the two above techniques to get you into the meditative state.
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Say a few
prayers; any prayer is fine, especially one that comes directly from
your heart.
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Invite your
guides (you need not know who they are) or any self-actualized
beings you would feel comfortable and comforted by. See them with
you. Feel their love for you embrace and protect you. In your mind,
envision yourself with them in a beautiful room completely filled
with love and light. They are all here to support you. To help you
move past any self-limiting thoughts you might be grasping on to.
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Bring forward
what issue and/or person you are looking to experience forgiveness
with. Speak from your heart. Ask for guidance in regard to the
issue you are dealing with. Be open to receiving guidance, be it
through dreams, visions, thoughts or other means.
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Invite the
individual, who you would like to experience forgiveness with, to
join all of you in this room now. Visualize him coming into your
room. Do not be afraid to do so. You are so protected, loved and
supported that it is now the right time. This individual is also, in
his own way trying to grow and develop into a more loving and
peaceful being. Trust me when I say that your effort is immensely
appreciated by him. For this will also help him move forward.
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With everyone
there, speak from your heart. Tell this person everything you need
to tell him. It is now time to say whatever it is you have been
holding within. Do not be afraid to say or feel whatever it is you
need to say or feel. He will listen. He will now better understand.
He supports you in freeing yourself from these thoughts and
emotions, for he now knows that as you free yourself, you also free
him.
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After you have
had your say, spend some time listening. Listen to him now apologize
for all he has done. Hear him say all the things you have wanted
him to say. Feel him truly mean all the words he is saying. Feel
him, truly and deeply from his heart apologizing to you. Listen to
him ask for forgiveness. Feel his deep desire for forgiveness.
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My friend, it
is now your turn to forgive, to truly let go of all that has chained
you to your past. With all of your heart and mind, forgive this
individual for his errors. Feel the chains breaking from your heart
as you forgive all you once felt you could not. Feel yourself and
this person now becoming free to move forward in peace. He offers
you a smile in gratitude, for his chains are now also broken and
dissolving in this light.
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This individual
will continue to work on his development. Know that from this
light, he will now support your efforts to move forward in your
life. Know that all of your spiritual family, from this light, will
also be supporting your development.
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Have faith that
you have been heard, that what you have experienced is real, and
that your life will now begin to change because of your brave
effort.
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Offer gratitude
for the time you have spent in this peaceful place with your guides
and friends. Offer thanks for their assistance with this issue.
Understand that you have an open invitation to come into this light
with any issue that you may have.
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Be silent for a
while. Feel the light that surrounds you. Feel the peace,
gratitude and love that surrounds you.
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Slowly begin to
move your hands and feet. Begin to move the rest of your body. Open
your eyes. Go to bed. Sleep.
During your day, every single time you think of this individual, instead
of being controlled by old emotions that bring nothing but pain and
regret with them, choose not to play the ego’s game any longer. Choose
to no longer imprison him or yourself. Instead, any and every single
time you think of him, remember your meditation, breathe in God’s love
and light, and bless and pray for him. Pray for his health, happiness,
well being and continued growth. If you, in the moment can not find the
strength to do this, then ask God to hold you both in His arms. Ask God
to give you the strength and wisdom to love and forgive, and He will.
And if this is still hard, then simply ask God to love and forgive him
for you.
If, for whatever reason, you do not have an experience that first night,
do not judge or criticize yourself. Simply keep trying until you achieve
or receive peace in regard to what you are trying to accomplish. Be
open, for peace may arrive in many forms. Do not concern yourself with
the form or with achieving or receiving a specific type of experience,
but simply invite and be open to receiving peace. Peace will be offered,
and soon you will experience a shift. This meditation will work. This
invitation will bring you more peace with regard to whatever issue or
individual you bring to light. Trust, speak from the heart, listen, and
be open - nothing more is asked of you.
You may do this invitation as many nights as you wish. The more you do
it, the more connected you will feel. The more you bring problems and
issues to the light, the easier they will be for you to see, work on,
and resolve. The more you bring problems and issues to light, the less
you will worry about them during the day and the more peace you will
experience. The more you bring problems and issues to light, the more
you’ll feel connected to this light. The more gratitude offered, the
more grateful you will feel.
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B. Wednesdays’ Healing Meditation
For this meditation, I like going to the chapel of my local children’s
hospital. Usually I go after visiting hours, when the hospital is very
quiet. If a security guard tries to stop me, I just tell the person that
I’m going to the chapel to pray. They have never said no to me. I highly
recommend doing this meditation in a children’s hospital but if that is
not feasible, you can also simply find a chair or couch in your house,
and visualize yourself in the chapel of your local children’s hospital.
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Find a seat in
the chapel or at home.
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Get into the
meditative state. Use either of the previous two techniques or your
own.
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With every
breath you take in, feel God’s love and light merging with you.
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Feel His light
and love slowly surround and envelop you. Give Him permission to
join you and ask your guardian angels, guides and those
who are participating in this meditation to also come in.
Surround yourself in God’s light. Visualize all of you surrounded in
this light.
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Begin to pray
directly from your heart and soul. Ask God, your guides, your
angels and those
who are participating in this meditation
to join you in bringing God’s healing light into this
hospital.
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Visualize this
light expanding - first covering the whole chapel, then extending to
the whole floor, then to all the other floors in the hospital.
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Visualize this
light touching, caressing, entering and healing all of the patients
in the hospital. Spend some time in this place and energy.
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Visualize and
feel this light touching, caressing, entering and bringing peace to
all the parents and family members of the patients in the hospital.
Spend some time in that place and energy. Imagine yourself, God,
Jesus (or any other awakened master), your guides, angels and those
who are participating in this meditation around
the beds of all these children, sending them light, energy and
renewed strength.
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Visualize and
feel this light touching, caressing, entering and bringing peace and
wisdom to all of the doctors and nurses in the hospital. Spend some
time in this place and energy. Imagine yourself, God, Jesus (or any
other awakened master), your guides, angels and those
who are participating in this meditation
around the doctors
and nurses, sending them light, energy and renewed understanding and
vigor.
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Visualize and
feel this light touching, caressing, entering and bringing peace of
mind, health and joy to all hospital personnel and their own
families. Spend some time in this place and energy.
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Mentally enter a child’s room. Bring together all of this child’s
support system, all the people that are praying for this child’s
health, all those who are working to help this child get better.
Unite your group with this support system and become one unit
praying and sending energy to this child. (This child represents all
of the children in the hospital.) Feel and see all of these
different units coming together and filling the hospital with light,
love and healing.
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Visualize, feel
and see the child being healed. There is literally no level of
difficulty in miracles. Having the child healed now - is absolutely
and without question possible. Feel each child and each child’s
support unit believing this unequivocally. Now, join together and
gift this child with this knowledge.
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A period of gratitude. Spend some time
in gratitude. Thank your angels, guides, God, Jesus (or any other
awakened master), and those
who are participating in this meditation for their assistance. Send them waves of
love and gratitude, and then feel them sending you waves of love and
gratitude in return, and thanking you for your effort.
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A quiet phase. Spend some time
in silence - feeling the love, light and energy.
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Returning to the body. Return your
focus to your body. Start to wiggle your fingers. Then move your
hands, then your arms, legs, etc.
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3. A Quiet Phase
Be silent for a while. Feel the light that surrounds you. Feel the
peace, gratitude and love that surrounds you. Spend some quiet time with
God, with your guides and angels. Simply be silent and feel the
protection and peace that surrounds you. Try listening to God for a
while. You have spent hours and hours talking to God, but how much time
have you actually spent listening to Him? As any dear friend would
appreciate you being there to listen, so too would God. Do not, under
any circumstances, consider yourself unworthy of His time. Your worth,
regardless of your current perception of it, is perfect, has always been
perfect and will always be perfect in His eyes.
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4. A Period of Gratitude
Offer gratitude for the time you have spent in this peaceful place with
your guides and friends. Offer thanks for their assistance with this
issue. Understand that you have an open invitation to come into this
light with any issue that you may have. Let God’s love enter you. Feel
the waves of love entering your spirit. You and God are one. He has
absolute love for you. Thank Him with all your heart, and feel God
receiving your love and thanks. Send waves of love and light into His
light, that you now are. Thank God for being there for you. Thank all of
your spiritual family for their protection and support. Spend some time
in the light and in quiet gratitude. Say goodbye and let God, your
guardian angels and your guides go with the understanding that they are
always with you and that any moment you ask them to be with you, they
will be there. For today, you have rediscovered a moment in time that
had been hidden from you, but you now acknowledge is always available.
All you need to do is ask, and Heaven will gladly come to you. All you
need to do is ask for peace, and as you ask for it, you will remember
its ever present availability.
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5. Returning to the Body
Slowly begin to move your hands and feet. Begin to move the rest of your
body. Open your eyes. Go to bed or return to your day with renewed
energy.
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Dream
Preparation
1.
Remembering your Dreams
2.
Lucid Dreaming
3.
Sleep Paralysis
4.
Conclusion
1. Remembering Your Dreams
There is much knowledge that can be extracted from dreams. A lot of
people tell me they have trouble remembering dreams. So let me first
offer a little advice on that issue. By following the steps below, you
will be able to better recall your dreams.
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Buy a dream
journal. Keep it on your nightstand.
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Meditate for at
least five minutes before going to bed, and tell yourself that you
will remember your dreams. This allows you to set the intention.
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During the
night, if you wake up after a dream, write it down in your journal.
(I keep a tape recorder next to my bed, so that I don't need to turn
on the light. In the morning, I simply transcribe the tape into my
journal.)
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Learn to
recognize that moment before waking, when you haven't moved
physically but you know that you are about to wake up. Do not move
physically, and do not open your eyes.
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During this
brief period of time, teach yourself to review all the dreams you
can recall from your night’s sleep.
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After recalling
all you can, your first physical movement should be to open your
eyes, then to pick up your pen and begin journaling your dreams.
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Repeat the
procedure every day if possible. You will get better with practice.
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Start sharing
your dreams with someone with whom you feel comfortable and see if
she has a different take on what the dream may have symbolized.
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Keep
practicing. Just as consistent exercise makes your muscles stronger,
so too will practicing these steps make you more conscious of your
nightly journeys.
to dream index /
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2. Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming differs from ordinary dreaming in that with lucid
dreaming, you consciously control your reactions, your actions and the
direction of your dream. In your non-lucid dreams you have no or little
conscious control over your reactions, actions or the direction of your
dream. In a non-lucid dream you are simply in a reactive state. To
achieve a lucid dream, try the following:
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Right before
going to bed, you give yourself a command to assist you in becoming
lucid during the dream. The command can be anything as simple as “I
want to see my hand.”
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You repeat this
command to yourself over and over again before sleeping, “I want to
see my hand during my dream.”
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It may not
happen the first or second night or the first or second week, but
there will come a dream when you suddenly recall your command and
say it. You will give your first conscious command during your dream
state, and then take control.
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The shift from
the reactive to the control state, from the non-lucid to the lucid
state will be quite noticeable.
Take for example, a dream most of us have had, that of being chased. In
the dream state, most often you don't realize what you are really
running from. In this state, you become afraid, you keep running until
you wake up or simply move to another dream. In the lucid dream state,
you recognize that you are dreaming, and you are then able to take
control of your reactions and what is occurring in the dream. Here's
what happens during a lucid dream. First you realize you’re actually in
a dream. Second, you lose all fear, and I mean absolutely all fear that
you had in the non-lucid state. Third, you then turn around and ask what
is chasing you to tell you what it represents. Fourth, you can continue
the dream or move to another subject you would like to deal with, you
are now in control.
Another technique you can follow that will assist you in having more
lucid dreams is to set your alarm clock for a few hours before waking.
When the alarm sounds, turn it off and go to the bathroom or walk around
for a couple of minutes, then reset your alarm clock for your usual wake
up time (I keep two alarm clocks). Meditate for five minutes and go back
to sleep. This might seem like a pain in the neck to do, but if you're
having trouble achieving the lucid dream state, this will put you in a
lighter dream state, and help you to achieve your goal of remembering
your dreams and having lucid dreams.
The steps to learning to lucid dream are basically the same as learning
to remember your dreams. Simply replace the meditative intention of
remembering your dreams with an intention of becoming lucid or aware in
your dream. Tell yourself that the next time you dream, you will ask to
see your hand. What this does is switch the control from your
unconscious mind, where you are simply reacting to what is occurring in
the dream, to your conscious mind where you are giving the instructions
to your dream. Sometimes when you become lucid, you find your
surroundings either foggy or dark. In such a case, simply ask for
clarity. Say to yourself "clarity now" until the environment around you
becomes clearer. Keep demanding clarity until your field of vision is as
clear as you wish it to be. The simple act of giving an instruction in
the dream immediately shifts your perception, because now it is you who
is in control. The shift is usually noticeable if not dramatic.
to dream index /
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3. Sleep Paralysis
Sleep paralysis occurs when the mind is awake, but the body still
sleeps. Sleep paralysis offers you a great opportunity to have many
productive adventures. Again, fear is usually your first response, so
most often the opportunity is experienced negatively. I have read and
heard that a large number of people have experienced this condition.
People in this state believe themselves to be awake, but for some reason
their entire bodies are paralyzed. Not only are they unable to move, but
they cannot even scream for help. Some people say that they have tried
to scream, but nothing comes out. Most people in this state panic and
have a very difficult and frightful experience. Again, the solution is
very simple. You need not panic or have a frightful experience. All you
need do is to stay composed, understand the situation and relax. After
you have done this, simply think of your big toe (left or right, it does
not matter), and try to slowly get some movement out of it. Put all your
concentration on your big toe, and once you get some movement, start
trying to move the other toes on the same foot. Little by little, you
will recover all movement. If you are experienced with sleep paralysis,
this is an excellent time to begin a meditation or even leave the body.
If you experience this state, but are not in the mood to meditate or
leave your body, simply go back to sleep, and the odds are good that the
next time you awaken or are in a dream state, you will not be paralyzed.
If not, just think "big toe" and relax.
to dream index /
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4. Conclusion
My friend, it is what your mind focuses on that you will experience. If
unending judgmental, critical, fear based thoughts fill your mind then
you will experience restlessness, confusion and stress that will have
you tossing and turning all night. If you focus on peaceful, calming
thoughts you will create a peaceful and calming environment where a good
night’s sleep is once again possible.
to dream index /
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