523. Sleep that Nourishes

A young man was voicing several complaints in his life to an elderly man. When the long list of complaints was over, the other asked, "Young man, do you digest your food, and how do you sleep?" The boy's digestion was good and he slept soundly. If these two things are all right, one shows the boy's health is good and the other indicates there is no real issue in his life. The rest is fanciful. It is the quintessence of age. Sleep nourishes when one sleeps peacefully and wakes up fresh. Not all people sleep well. Some have disturbing dreams, others toss and turn. For a few nights, nightmares visit. To some people, their nights are nightmares as they visit him every night. The doctor says indigestion causes nightmares. Spiritually, low consciousness is the cause.

A devotee who could not sleep at nights for more than a few hours found his prayers were helpless. The dozens of suggestions that came from all quarters had not worked or worked only for one or two days. It was attributed to age. Age, of course, had not stood in the way of his good sleep for several years when the same problem had occurred and disappeared. By an odd package of parts of some suggestions, somehow he could restore complete good sleep for months. One night, mild nightmares began to haunt him. To his knowledge, his food habits had not changed. There was no indigestion felt by him. The nightmare was mild but unpleasant. He got up, tried to shake it off, went to sleep. The nightmare resumed as if waiting for him to go to sleep. Though unwelcome, he was not disturbed by its occurrence when it had started. On seeing its ready recurrence, a thought occurred in him, "What if it is going to be with me forever?" It was a frightening idea.

Just then he needed a solution. And a permanent solution too would be welcome. He got up and looked for a Blessing Packet. It contains a flower petal offered to Mother. He never used to resort to it, though he knew it had solved many a problem. Keeping the Blessing Packet on his chest, he went to sleep. The nightmare vanished. The next morning he had a usual visitor who told him he had nightmares for twenty continuous days. The next night there was no nightmare for him. The field of medicine is advancing every day. It cures incurable diseases. Still, it leaves out a few. Or the cure for everyone is evolved by someone sometime. Faith in the Spirit is powerful. If it is there, no blessing packet is necessary. When it is wanting, this flower petal is an unfailing help. One must not hesitate to use it, as we often use it for everything - overuse it. The Blessing Packet is a physical representation of one's faith.