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You spend one-third of your life sleeping. Is spirituality a part of that time? This book shows you how it can be.
This inspiring, informative guide shows us how we can use the often overlooked time at the end of each day to enhance our spiritual, physical and psychological well-being.
Each chapter takes a new look at traditional Jewish prayers and what they have to teach us about the spiritual aspects of preparing for the end of the day, and about sleep itself. Drawing on Kabbalistic teachings, prayer, the Bible and midrash, the authors enrich our understanding of traditional bedtime preparations, and show how, by including them in our bedtime rituals, we can gain insight into our lives and access the spiritual enrichment the world of dreams has to offer.
Clear illustrations and diagrams, step-by-step meditations, visualization techniques and exercise suggestions for fully integrating body, mind and spirit show us the way to:
- Hashkivenu—Creating a safe space for sleep
- Hareni Mochel—Clearing our hearts through forgiveness
- Shema—Connecting to God in Love
- Bircat Cohanim—Experiencing the reality of blessing
- Hamapil—Thanking God for sleep and the illumination that comes in sleeps
This perfect nighttime companion draws on the power of Jewish tradition to help us enhance our spiritual awareness—in both our waking and sleeping hours.
"[Dreams] reveal insights, deepen wisdom, and often catalyze healing…. This book is highly recommended."
—Larry Dossey, MD, author, Reinventing Medicine and Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine
"In this revolutionary book, Frankiel and Greenfeld have rescued dreaming from its exile into the realm of psychology and restored it to its home in the domain of the soul…. A must-read for every dreamer."
—Connie Kaplan, author, The Woman's Book of Dreams: Dreaming as a Spiritual Practice
“For spiritual seekers who are looking for ways to enlarge their spiritual practice … this book offers traditional and creative insights.”
—Rabbi Lori Forman-Jacobi, coauthor, Sacred Intentions: Morning Inspiration to Strengthen the Spirit, Based on Jewish Wisdom
“A wonderful way to enter into the worlds of the night.”
—Nan Fink Gefen, author, Discovering Jewish Meditation: Instruction and Guidance for Leaning an Ancient Spiritual Practice
Preface
The Creation of the Sacred Dream
1 The "Other World" of Sleep
The Soul as Night Traveler
The Moon and the Night
Recovering the Sweetness of Sleep
A Ceremony for Dreaming: Shema al Mitah
2 Hashkivenu: Meeting with the Angels
Protection on Our Journeys
Inviting an Angelic Presence
Creating a Sukkah of Peace
Movement and Meditation for the Hashkivenu
3 Hareni Mochel: Healing the Spirit through Forgiveness—The Gift of Rafael
Forgiving, and Pursuing Justice
Spiritual Dimensions of Forgiveness
A Personal Story about Struggling to Forgive
Untangling Ourselves from Pain
Compassion Brings Us Freedom
Seeing the Grand Design
The Forgiveness Prayer with Meditations
4 Shema: Listening to Infinity—The Gift of Michael
How the Shema Guards Our Doorways
Listening for God's Voice
The Awesome Shema of Rabbi Akiva
Becoming One Family
The Shema and the Land of Promise
Unifying the Higher and Lower Worlds
Love in the Shema
Movement and Meditation for the Shema
5 Bircat Cohanim: Mighty Ones of Blessing—The Gift of Gavriel
The Gift of Blessing in Our Lives
Blessings Increase Life’s Goodness
The Threefold Blessing
Blessings Encircle Us with Light
The Blessing of Being Seen
Becoming a Kingdom of Priests
Urim and Tummim Meditation
6 Hamapil: Seeing in the Dark—The Gift of Uriel
Praying for Light
Judaism’s Dreaming Tradition
Dreaming as a Way of Seeing
Understanding the Process of Dreaming
Dreams Follow Their Interpretation
Dreaming in Community
Opening Our Inner Eyes
The Bedtime Shema: Short Version
Appendix A: The Shema
Appendix B: Holy Verses to Soothe Us at Night
Appendix C: Charting the Patterns of Your Dreams
Notes
Glossary
Recommended Readings