Walking in My Sleep

A couple of times as a child I walked in my sleep.  At least that was the family myth.  I don’t remember it.  I was sleeping.  I have taken a few free falls in my sleep falling off the top bunk.  I remember these because they came with some extreme pain.  Now that I am older, I make trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  Those are “calls of nature”.  I have never ignored “calls of nature”.  I prefer sleeping in a dry bed and so does the wife.

I tell you this because there is a lot of nocturnal activity in my life.  At least that is what the wife tells me.  She is quick to mention my snoring when it occurs . . . usually after a stressful day.  She will tell me when I toss and turn a lot . . . again, usually after a stressful day or anxiety about the next day.  She loves to tell me about conversations I have throughout the night with unknown entities.  Apparently, they are quite revealing.  She’ll question me about my dreams.  Several nights a week she will tell me I am a whirlwind of nighttime activity.

 

I guess I “go walking in my sleep” as Billy Joel sang several years ago in his song, River of Dreams.  My nocturnal wandering and nighttime activities is way older than his song.  I’ve been doing it since I was a kid.  Billy Joel just gave me a name for it.  It is ridiculous to say I have always dreamed because we all dream.  Some are us are just more aware of it than others . . . but, I have always dreamed.  Apparently, it keeps me entertained while I sleep.  I know that it entertains my wife.

 

Not all the night activities are for entertainment.  I will admit that there probably is a portion that is pure silliness and has entertainment value.  I will let you decide for yourself.  At the same time, I believe that there is a purpose to all these nocturnal gymnastics.  We are being spoken to.  You ask who is speaking to us?  Well, there can be a variety of potential conversation mates.  It could be our bodies giving us messages concerning our bodies and health . . . for example, the “call of nature” in the middle of the night.  Always seems that those dreams deal with flowing water and dams breaking!  It could be our minds attempting to sort out the details of our day or week or life.  How often have we stated that could not go to sleep because our minds were too active?  It could be our psyche—the “three stooges” (Id, Ego, and Super Ego) can be active.  For those of spiritual leanings it could be the soul.  I’m sure the soul has a few things it would like to tell us.  For people of faith, it could be the Spirit getting active and mouthy.  Even on a deeper level it might be what one terms as God . . . the Creator . . . the Holy . . . the Higher Power.  Whatever is speaking is for you to decide.

 

Whatever the case, come night, there is a regular party taking place where all the activities are vying for our attention.  Nighttime is the perfect time to come knocking on our doors . . . we are still.  We are asleep.  We are a captive audience.  We cannot escape.  It is then that we “go walking in our sleep”.  It is there that we are confronted, cajoled, jarred, shaken, and called into conversation with the “other”.

 

Maybe we should listen.  Listen to what is being said and shared.  I believe it will make a difference in our journeys.  After all, we are all looking for something.  The rock group, U2, tells us that we are continually searching for something: “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”  Searching for what we have not yet found.  Isn’t that the journey we call “life”?  So, we “go walking in the middle of the night.”

 

In the middle of the night

I go walking in my sleep

From the mountain of faith

To the river so deep

I must be looking for something

Something sacred I lost

But the river is wide

And it’s too hard to cross

 

There was a time when it was proclaimed that God was dead . . . that God no longer spoke to the people.  That conversation ebbs and flows throughout all generations.  It seems that we are in that space once again.  The truth is that God or whatever you want to call that Higher Power has never stopped talking to creation . . . to humanity . . . to us.  John Sanford, a Jungian analyst and Episcopalian priest, tells us that God has always spoken to us from the very beginning.  We just are not good listeners.  This premise is the basis of his two most popular books, The Kingdom Within and Dreams: God’s Forgotten Language.  Both books that I would highly recommend.  The author says we aren’t any different than the biblical characters God spoke to . . . Mary, Joseph, Peter, and even the reluctant Paul.  We just need to listen and claim our space.

 

It begins with “walking in our sleep in the middle of the night”.  I would recommend it.  That you give it a try.  I think you will be surprised at what you discover.  We are being spoken to all the time . . . even in our sleep.  We just need to learn to listen.  Think about it.  Sleep on it.  What do any of us have to lose . . . a little sleep?