For Sale or Rent

This is a Goldilocks kind of dream.

I had responded to an ad in the paper and talked to the owner of a house that was for sale or rent. It was a Sunday afternoon but the owner told me that he would meet me at a restaurant tomorrow morning at 7:30... and I said that would be fine.

Anyway, I went back to the property and was surprised to find it was unlocked, so I went in and looked around. I laid down on the bed with my clothes on and fell asleep... just like Goldilocks.

I don't know how long I slept, but I was awakened by the sound of people in the house. They had all came into the bedroom and made no effort to be quiet. There was two women, a man and two children under the age of six. They asked me about the house and if I was the owner. I told them not yet... but I had an appointment with the owner tomorrow morning.

I got up and went into the bathroom to straighten up and wash my face... and again some of this family followed me and kept on chatting to me.

The next scene was the next morning at the restaurant. I was a little early so took a table and ordered breakfast. While I was eating a man came and asked if he could join me since I was alone... and I told him I was meeting someone. He said he would leave when they came. He was just having coffee... and he sat down and just wanted to visit with someone.

I was almost done eating when the man who owned the house came. I was surprised that he was an older man and in a wheelchair. He recognized me and saw I was with someone... but he recognized someone else he knew so wheeled over to that table and visited with him for a few minutes. I got up and then went to the man in the wheel chair and told him he could come to my table... and then I woke up. I don't know if I made a deal on the house, or if I rented it... or what happened.

Shirley and I have been talking about getting a place to rent in Lake Country while we are doing the project there... until we get some product built. We hope to live in one of new townhouses as soon as we get them built. We have been working on revisions to a plan that is three stories... and Gerry is just getting started on the modifications.

Interesting how dreams work.

How Much Sleep Should I Get?

"How much?" is likely the most asked question on the topic of sleep. And it's not going to be the same for everyone.

Most of my adult life I have subscribed to the thinking that I did not need as much sleep as most other people do.  But do you see in the list above any category for "Super-important, super-busy macho man: 3-5 hours."

Since I have been diagnosed with diabetes, I have learned that sleep is very important to good health. Without a lot of success I have been trying to get more sleep, but since I have been reading this book, "Sleep Revolution," I have begun to make better progress and even have dreams again.

I had a great dream last night, but unless one writes it down right away, I wake up and just cannot remember what that cool dream was about.  Adriana says that is not uncommon, so keep a pen and pad nearby.

Closing thought. Saw this quote on a Bistro when on a walk yesterday... accidentally got a selfie!

Mastering Sleep

Changing all our bad habits regarding sleep is not something we can achieve quickly. As with any other self-destructive pattern, making a lasting change requires taking small daily steps toward our goal.

In the same way that a good day starts the night before, learning how to deal with  stress throughout the day will impact how we sleep at night.

As Marcus Aurelius put it, 

"Do not remain out of tune longer than you can help. Habitual recurrence to the harmony will increase your mastery of it." 

"When we wake up in bed on Monday morning and think of the various hurtles we have to jump that day, immediately we feel sad, bored, and bothered. Whereas actually, we're just lying in bed." -Alan Watts, The Philosophies of Asia

Here is hoping that this Monday goes smashingly for all of us!

Dreams

I have so enjoyed my Father's Day present... every chapter has been beneficial.

I finished the first part of the book "The Sleep Revolution" this past week...

The last chapter of the section was about Dreams... it was by far the most inspirational to me.

Here are a few of the favourite quotes from that chapter.

"The dream is a little door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul." -Carl Jung

A Jungian analyst Pittman McGehee told Arianna Huffington,

"Carl Jung saw the unconscious as a wellspring of creativity and conduit for the divine. He called the dream a 'voice of God.' If one pays attention to one's dreams, one can use the dream for a vehicle for transformation."

"God has given you dreams to show you your inner state." -Rumi

Adrianna shared the story of how Larry Page had a dream. He woke up and and was thinking, what if we could download the whole web, and just keep the links and... he grabbed a pen and started writing. Sometimes it is imperative to wake up and stop dreaming... and he turned it into Google.

"When a really great dream shows up, grab it!"

I know that I have had the wrong mindset on sleep, and this book has got me onside for doing some long overdue changes. I've always said that I don't need as much sleep as most people... WRONG!  For years Shirley has told me we cannot have TV running all night... or even have a TV in the bedroom.  So for over two weeks now we have shut off the TV in the bedroom... and I'm trying to sleep seven hours.  Not easy for me... but I'm really trying to do it... and doing much better.

And last night was the first time for a long time that I have had dreams.  I can't remember how long... but I seldom have had any dreams... and last night I had at least three or four dreams.

In my first dream I was driving my car... and apparently too fast. The man beside the road motioned me to stop... but he wasn't in a police uniform, so I just kept on driving and beetled out of town, hoping to avoid any flashing red and blue lights. It seemed like I was successful. The shot above happened at least six years ago, when I was not as lucky... that was south of Bellingham.

My second dream involved food.  We had sampled some very tasty meat substitute. Shirley sourced the product, but it was not available unless one bought a 20-day package that included a variety of other products we had not yet sampled. That didm't make any sense.

Next dream happened in the Loma Linda Market. There were some super sized fruits for sale for only one dollar each. What a deal!  We bought a single pear that was over 10" high for $1.00.  As I was walking out I noticed a very attractive cordless phone on the counter in a charger. No one was around at the time so I picked it up.  As I started to leave, a lady came out and saw me with the phone and asked if I would like a bag for it. None of that makes any sense to me... I wouldn't steal anything.

Then there was another dream... we were driving around and saw a new subdivision going in. The roads were done, but housing had not started yet. As we were leaving I noticed outside the subdivision some lifts of lumber and 2 x 4's on a flat wide spot beside the road... it wasn't in the new subdivision.  Thought nothing of it at the time.

A week later we came back and someone had taken all the lumber and made the most creative idea of a house I have ever seen. Walls were not made using normal framing methods with a bottom plate and double top plate with studs on 16" centres. The studs were nailed together on the flat and not making a solid vertical wall, but they fanned out in a very pretty pattern. I don't remember seeing a square room in the whole building. The structure had no concrete foundation... and there was no roof yet.  It was craziest kind of structure I've ever seen.  It was like someone who had no experience in construction said, "I'm going to build a place without those boring straight walls." I wish I could have a picture of the structure I saw in my dream.  It was like nothing I have ever seen before. Wild stuff!  There is no way anyone in this part of the world could ever get a permit to do that kind of thing, let alone pass any inspections!

Then we drove further where the subdivision was and they had just started to build houses already. Same old boring stuff that we are used to seeing. Concrete foundations and square, plumb walls with standard windows and doors. After seeing that creative house, this seemed so disappointing to me.

As I started to wake up I found myself thinking about retaining walls. My sleep and my dreams were over. I was in the real world again.. looking forward what my next night of dreams might yield.  Is there a way that one might influence what he dreams about?

The author of the Sleep Revolution book suggests:

"In what area of your life would you like to receive guidance? What question would you like answered? Word your question carefully and precisely, write it down, and focus on it as you drift off to sleep." 

Some may see this as getting very close to how prayer works. I know that to pray about things I want guidance in allows me to...

"Let go and let God."