Sleep

We spend half of our lives doing it. We can't function without it. Many of us don't seem to get enough of it. We know a great deal about it. Yet it still remains mysterious. I'm talking about sleep.

As I write I'm still waking up from last night's sleep and wondering not so much about the physiology of sleep but rather the mystery and wonder of what happens, where we go, and who we become as we regularly suspend physical activity, close our eyes and enter another state of being.

Dreaming is probably the most mysterious aspect of sleep. Our dreams take us into other realities where time and space are fluid and boundaries are porous and pliable. Sometimes we find ourselves in elaborate narratives populated by people we don't know, yet who seem familiar. People and things can morph into other people or things and it makes perfectly good sense within the dream narrative. Events long forgotten (we thought) come into dreams to haunt or comfort us.

History is full of mystics and prophets who find special meaning and "words from God" in dreams and visions. Most religions and sacred scriptures have dreams and visions in their origins, myths, and beliefs.

However, most dreams are not even remembered. How many times have you awakened from a night of dreaming, unable to remember what seemed so vivid and clear while dreaming it?  So what purpose do they serve?  There are too many studies and theories about dreams to even begin addressing in this short space, so suffice to say, dreams remain mysterious and fascinating.

All of this takes place while our body rests and recuperates. Then, we awaken and enter the other half of our life, hopefully having had enough sleep so we can be fully awake and aware of the wonder in which we live.