Dr. David Metzner

Ever since we were small children, we all have been told that sleep is a necessary part of life. We are told to get eight hours of sleep, no less, and for good reason. The brain and the body crave sleep in the same way animals crave food and water. Just as animals are willing to do anything for food and water, our bodies and brains are willing to sacrifice anything for sleep.

Do you know anyone who has fallen asleep while driving? Most of us have, it is fairly common. This can happen due to short unintentional naps called micro-sleep. When people are sleep deprived, they can sometimes slip into short periods of sleep, anywhere from a fraction of a second to several seconds. Just like normal sleep, your heartbeat will slow and you even have the ability to dream.

Unfortunately, it is near impossible to resist micro-sleep and they can often result in danger to one’s self, especially if you are driving. It can even result in death, but the body is willing to risk that for just a small amount of sleep.

A lack of sleep can also cause other issues. For example, it can cause people to become befuddled or disoriented, loose coordination, and in some cases, be unable to retain information. As well, people can also suffer from irritation, depression, and other mental issues if they don’t sleep enough.

All these negative things happen because the body needs sleep. Your body uses it to heal and repair itself. However, sleep also can be used to provide you with counsel.

Even though you are not consciously aware while asleep, your subconscious is wide awake. This can allow your subconscious to more easily communicate with you, as the conscious mind is not in the way. You subdued conscious mind let your subconscious mind to communicate not only when you are asleep, but also when you are praying or meditating.

When praying or meditating one removes him or herself from the issues of life so as to find guidance. In comparison, during sleep we do the same thing event though we may not be consciously looking for guidance.

Interestingly enough, when person falls asleep with the intent of asking his or her subconscious for assistance they receive a much greater benefit than one who simply sleeps. We may call this intuition, but it is really a pathway to our subconscious. Here is an example from Marina, a friend of mine from Los Angeles, CA.

Marina was offered a management position in New York that was twice her present salary, but was unsure of if she should accept it. She wasn’t sure why the hesitation, she was recently divorced, she really liked New York and wouldn’t mind living everything behind. Marina decided to meditate before she went to sleep, asking her subconscious for assistance. When she woke in the morning, she could not shake the strong feeling that she shouldn’t accept the offer, so she decided to reject it. This was what we call “intuition”, there were no rational reasons to reject such a lucrative offer.

Well, her intuition was right, a few months later a financial crush of 2008 happened and New York company that had offered her the position went bankrupt.

Some people believe that the subconscious is able to understand what will happen in the future because it is the result of your habitual thinking and that the future of a country is the result of the collective subconscious of the population. By knowing what has happened in the past, one is able to understand what will happen in the future. While this obviously sounds very speculative, some spiritual psychologists theorize that the events of tomorrow and beyond are already in your subconscious mind, so if you ask for guidance, your subconscious will assist you. Many believe that through prayer you are accessing your own subconscious and thus you can shape your future. Whatever you believe this or not, there is really no risk in trying to access your subconscious through prayer or sleep and mediation.

Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lastyearsgirl_/3639242948