Writing in Snow

Midweek Reflections: February 21, 2018

‘Idál (Justice), 16 Mulk (Dominion) 174 B.E. - Wednesday, February 21, 2018

"The other mode of the spirit’s influence and action is without these bodily instruments and organs. For example, in the state of sleep, it sees without eyes, it hears without ears, it speaks without a tongue, it runs without feet—in brief, all these powers are exerted without the mediation of instruments and organs. How often it happens that the spirit has a dream in the realm of sleep whose purport comes to be exactly materialized two years hence! Likewise, how often it happens that in the world of dreams the spirit solves a problem that it could not solve in the realm of wakefulness. Awake, the eye sees only a short distance, but in the realm of dreams one who is in the East may see the West. Awake, he sees only the present; in sleep he beholds the future. Awake, by the fastest means he travels at most seventy miles in an hour; in sleep he traverses East and West in the blink of an eye. For the spirit has two modes of travel: without means, or spiritual travel, and with means, or material travel—as birds that fly, or as being carried in a vehicle."

‘Abdu’l‑Bahá1

For the past couple of days (except last night), I have read the Long Healing Prayer before going to sleep. I've experienced pleasant and spiritual dreams, but last night I didn't say the prayer. Instead, I went to sleep because I thought I was too sleepy to say the prayer. I did go to bed later than normal, however, I'm not sure that I was any sleepier before turning out the light. Since this prayer is on a smartphone app, I don't have to have a light or my prayer book to say the prayer. I didn't have spiritual or pleasant dreams last night, I'm not sure that I dreamed at all. So from now on, I read the Long Healing Prayer before going to sleep.

I submitted the following comment to "Horror/Scary Newsletter (February 21, 2018)" : "I like the metaphor of the haunted house, because that is how depression feels. Thank you for emphasizing that depression can be treated."

Before I do any more reviews or writing, I need to look at what I've accomplished so far this week. I've accomplished a lot, but I still have things to do before I can post a goals update to "Weekly Goals" . I've managed to keep up with "Invalid Item" , but today I found out I need to recheck the spelling of a words, especially those I think I know how to spell. I have the item on Pakistan started for "Invalid Item" , and I need to finish it either later today or on Thursday. I want to post that as my entry in "I Write in 2018" . Most everything else concerns the stuff I've been putting off.

I submitted the following comment to "Spiritual Newsletter (February 21, 2018)" : Dreams are one proof of the immortality of the soul, because in them our souls can detect and comprehend things we can't understand in our waking moments. In dreams we can solve problems that we've been unable to deal with during our waking moments. I've found that my best and most colorful dreams occur after I have said prayer and meditated before falling asleep.

I submitted the following comment to "Poetry Newsletter (February 21, 2018)" : "Thank you for featuring "Construct Cup Poems"  in this week's newsletter."

Footnotes
1  Some Answered Questions,61. The Immortality of the Spirit (2): paragraph 2.