From: dicksilk@gmail.com   
      
   On Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 8:28:05 AM UTC-5, sandy$ wrote:   
   > Hello Dick,    
   > I am glad to know she is still alive so you still have hope.    
   >    
   > I discovered the reason most of my dreams have disappeared as a friend told   
   me this. I have been taking melatonin 10mg every night because I have not been   
   able to sleep. Mind is too busy. So I stopped taking it and am now getting   
   flashes of dreams but    
   nothing to write down. Maybe one of these days I will be back posting more   
   often.    
      
   Hmm... I've heard melatonin helps others to dream, but I suspect it may   
   *certainly* be related to how it interacts with each individual being   
   different.   
      
   I was having a period of being unable to sleep, which had been going on for   
   some time, only I didn't ever think of it as a problem so much as a   
   condition.  And, sure enough, the mind was VERY busy.  (Once, as a kid of   
   around 5 or 6, I remember being    
   unable to sleep, and my dad somehow asking me, "What's the problem?" and my   
   reply, "I can't turn my mind off!"   
      
   And, while I really can't remember what he said in return, as if some general   
   comforting words, I eventually got to sleep that night (obviously.)   
      
   So a few decades later, and I realize the same issue is occurring.  What to do   
   about it?   
      
   "Ah!" (or something like that)— "If I can't go to sleep, then I may as well   
   put my mind toward doing something productive" (or useful, etc.)   
      
   That's when I began giving "meditation" a whirl:  the idea is to focus on one   
   word (or thought) for as long as possible.  Naturally, the mind wants to run   
   off and play, but when the individual notices the mind off-target, simply   
   return to the mantra and    
   keep going.  Trust me, you WILL fall asleep!!   
      
   Meanwhile, I started to meditate upon some Biblical principles (Jesus, and His   
   Words) and *WOW!*  what a difference in course my life has taken!!   
      
   There were some interesting ideas regarding meditation, like that om-mani   
   business regarding the flower of the Universe.  And sure, there's some value   
   to that, but the 3 words of Jesus (translated into English) in Matthew 5:44,   
   "Love thine enemies," *IS*    
   that flower!  It's just amazing, but feel free to try it for yourself and see   
   what works best for you.   
      
   But *caution!* The FIRST one I started on (back when I was 30) was "I love my   
   father," because I felt the biggest problem in my life at that time was the   
   undercurrent of hatred I had for him in those days.  I picked "I love my   
   father" because I wanted to    
   see if meditation actually accomplished anything—  Oh yeah!!  Not only did I   
   learn that I actually loved my father, but I *became* a father less than a   
   year later, with a gal who'd had her tubes tied!!  (And that's how Charles   
   came into the world!)   
      
   So be careful, but "Love thine enemies" is a super-duper winner, in my book :-)   
   (It will also help you sleep, and a multi-B vitamin every other night will   
   super-boost your dreams!)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)