How can you wake children in a more kindly way than by a gentle Voice that will not frighten them, but will merely remind them that the night is over and the light has come? You do not inform them that the nightmares that frightened them so badly are not real, because children believe in magic. You merely reassure them that they are safe now. Then you train them to recognize the difference between sleeping and waking, so they will understand they need not be afraid of dreams. And so when bad dreams come, they will themselves call on the light to dispel them. T-6.V.2:1-5
A Course in Miracles (pp. 231-232). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition.
An acquaintance of mine said he has been very anxious and upset because his white blood count is way up, his doctor referred him to an oncologist, and he has been very afraid of having cancer. He said he has done numerous things to manage his anxiety and while they have helped somewhat, he is still very anxious and can’t sleep well. I said to him “Do you pray?” He looked startled and said, “Well, I used to but in the last year I have stopped going to church. They were expecting more and more from me and I felt I wasn’t good enough.” Do you think I should go back and start praying again? I raised my eyebrows and smiled. We laughed together and he said, “Thank you, I feel so much better.”
In Unitarian Universalism some of us covenant together to affirm and promote the acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth. My friend needed to wake up from the nightmare his own fears were making and remember what he really is: a soul in a body. Attending more to his soul than to his body seemed to bring a peace and joy he was seeking.
Today take some minutes throughout the day to attend to our soul by remembering God’s unconditional love for us.
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