Trouble Sleeping?

The best way to prepare for a restful sleep is to start a practice of nightly prayer where you repeat one hundred times or more the Jesus prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” This prayer, in the tradition of the Church, is one of the most powerful prayers. As you repeat it slowly in your mind, concentrating on the words, you mind shifts its attention away from your problems of the day. You begin to focus on God and seek His help and forgiveness. After you pray in this way, read a passage from the Bible or from the writings of one of the Church Fathers. You are now filling your mind with spiritual thoughts that will replace those you have collected from a hectic day. Then, as you get into bed, begin again to say the Jesus Prayer. Let it put you to sleep.

…If you do experience a bad dream that awakens you, immediately begin to say the Jesus Prayer to bring your mind back to a calm state. Then keep repeating it until you again fall into sleep. After awhile the prayer will automatically begin in your subconscious mind to stop troubling dreams even before you awake.

Source

I’m going to try this… right now…

Good night.

 

Tonight is Going to be a Long Night…

Tonight is the longest night of the year for us here in South Africa… This of course means it’s been the shortest day of the year (!) and it wasn’t half bad… Got plenty done:

• Pastoral work
• Study (M.A.)
• Got a new book 
• Washed the car 
• Blogged…

Now I’ve just finished me Compline:

The Lord Almighty grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end…

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace. Amen.

Oh yes, I almost forgot, it also means we’re now officially halfway to summer (yippe!), and for all you guys up north: halfway to winter!

Now to make the most it all:

Good night!

Sleep tight. And God bless…

Internet vs Sleep

The internet reaches into so many areas of our lives that one in four people now spend longer online than they do asleep, a survey has revealed…

Give it a read here.