by Digger Barr
gaiasgardens.guru/
I am a dreamer. I have always been a dreamer.
What does this mean?
It could mean that like John Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr and Bob Marley, I have a dream for a better world.
This is true.
They were great visionaries of the way we could, should, and will be. Let it be.
I am talking about actual nighttime REM experiences.
I have just been through a bout of what I will call severe insomnia.
This is a world I didn’t know much about before my journey to Egypt.
I was a sound sleeper and could fall asleep at the drop of an eyelid.
After prolonged jet lag, I developed some setbacks and it turned into a real situation.
I learned a lot about insomnia very quickly. Namely, it is a prevalent problem and many people are struggling with it.
I had no idea. Now, not only do I have more awareness I have increased empathy, compassion and understanding.
Nothing like getting a real eye opener into the dark workings of our human struggle.
Apparently 1 out of 3 people have sleep issues. That right there astounds me.
As I have directly learned without a good night sleep I cannot function properly. I was functioning but it was not optimal.
If you look at how we each play a part in the function of society as a whole, this ailment alone sets our system on edge.
Sleep has always been a bit of a mystery to me. Why do we do it? Why do we need it?
But even as intriguing as that question maybe, the fact is we do need it and we need to get enough of it.
I am sleeping better now. Enough that I can get up in the morning and start writing again. Fingers crossed.
My solutions may not be for everyone but I will share what I went through just to give others and idea of the options I experienced.
This is not treatment advice.
First off the western medical world is whack. It has good people but the system is super challenging. But I did find relief within.
Benadryl and melatonin, Xanax, and many other prescription drugs are available.
Goodness knows how many people are having to use these every night.
I tried some but had varied levels of success and honestly did not want to depend on them.
This option worked for immediate intervention. Always check with your doctor before taking pills.
My friends were very eager to share theirs. Scary.
The next step from prescriptions are the OTC drugs like ashwagandha, valerian compounds and what has become my favorite go to, CBD gummies.
All of these seem to mix in doses of melatonin. There may be a few without.
The cbd gummies come in full or broad spectrum.
Again please do research for yourself. These are just things I tried with varying levels of success.
The turning point for me was hypnotherapy.
Wow, I did not think I could be hypnotised.
The therapy was totally different than what I had imagined. It was great and worked very well.
But again, Whatever my issues were causing the insomnia was outside of the scope this therapy involved.
Yes, My sleep improved but there was still the issue of actually going to sleep.
And then I had acupuncture.
And light therapy. And Bi-naural hemi-sync music. Vagus nerve sound therapy, Crystal bowl sound baths.
Somewhere in there, something finally shifted.
With the hypnosis and acupuncture it turned my sympathetic system around and brought me into balance. It corrected my chi energy.
I started falling asleep on my own without medication, without stress or a racing heart.
I gained my confidence back and I feel full and vibrant during the day again.
I will give myself credit for my persistence at trying to sleep each night before taking medication.
I have the luxury of setting my own time schedule unlike many people who have timeframes that must be met. With work, school, kids etc. dealing with insomnia is very difficult.
The cat and I seemed to be heading toward incompatibility. Imagine how people lose tolerance with each other.
I can see why we become so dependent on chemicals so easily.
My heart is so grateful for all the people out there that understand this issue and are willing to help in all the myriad of ways it was presented.
During this whole ordeal the one thing that became my marker for REM sleep was my dreams.
Sometimes I could not tell if I had slept or not. Especially when using the heavier medications.
But I could remember my dreams like I always have. I had vivid recall of tiny details within the dream.
Only by knowing I had dreamt could I register I had slept.
The dreams were not my usual. I won’t get into every aspect here, but the dreams were different from my normal.
And they shifted. Some held a central thread like a fiction novel.
And then there were nightmares.
Well, they could have been nightmares but I became lucid after the first couple incidents and started solving the problems as they happened, thwarting the nightmare that may have been intended.
Believe you me, I saged and saged and set protection around me, my room, my house, the property.
Oh yeah, the boogey man has been active and I was vulnerable.
With all the nighttime activity I also noticed that some of my dreams were releasing ancestral trauma.
Things I didn’t know were even there but my mom was in the dream. Or my brother or my son.
Now I hear reports of other people having similar experiences.
I am starting to see we are in a final battle of some sort and it’s playing out at a subconscious level.
For me this surfaced during sleep or what was my achilles heel from traveling.
I am not disheartened by my struggles. I am the observer and now the reporter.
I can share that this is not pleasant but then again I found help.
By being proactive and asking for help I found many healing modalities, kind knowledgeable practitioners, guardians and Angels available at every level.
I know it’s rough out there. I know the reports for 2024 say it’s going to continue and even increase.
But we also have the upper hand and are growing stronger each day.
Wherever you find yourself during this time of now, you are a blessing. We each have a role to play and no matter what you are facing you are doing it!
Take heart. Ask for help. And know that you are qualified to handle it.
Much love. So much love to everyone.
Digger 2024