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this for therapy, not for publication. Even if you do want to publish, you can always polish it later. Concentrate now on capturing the emotions and feelings. You may want to paint out your feelings, or turn them into music. Transmute!

If you're emotionally aroused, sit down and write to the newspapers, your congressman and send out email to all your friends. The important thing is to take some kind of action, so that you feel you have some kind of control in your life.

You can also do a simple progressive relaxation exercise. Lie down in bed and relax completely. Start by tensing and relaxing your toes. Then tense and relax your calf muscles. Continue in this way up your body until you have tensed and relaxed every physical muscle you have. Then breathe in and out deeply and concentrate completely on counting your breaths. Exclude all thoughts except for the number of breaths you are counting.

If you're really tense and anxious, you may need a natural sedative. A number of plants and herbs have soothing qualities, including passionflower, valerian and chamomile. However, use even a natural sedative only as a last resort.

Finally, let's get back to Dr. Rudolph Steiner and his prediction. The anthroposophical viewpoint of sleep tells us that the spirit detaches from our physical bodies at night and returns to the spiritual realms, in a simple rhythm much like breathing.

The hectic pace of modern living naturally affects our rhythms, which in turn affects the ability of our spirit to detach at the right time - and our willingness to return to the spiritual realms.

Modern living has isolated us. Very often, we don't even know who our neighbours are. We meet thousands of people in the streets every day, and they are all just bodies to us.

The need to make ends meet simply forces us further into a material existence. We are getting hardly any spiritual nourishment, and the spiritual world has become a void we no longer understand.

The answer, of course, is to feed our spirits daily. Spend a few minutes reading from a holy book, or doing a meditation which opens our souls to the Greater Love.

It's clear by now that body, mind and soul interact with each other. Anxiety about money could cause us to drink more alcohol and exercise less, while impacting on our spiritual well-being. Helping the physical aspects of sleep alone may have little effect if the mind and soul are not soothed as well.

Consider a total program to combat sleep disorders. A little exercise to get your internal rhythms back in order. Healthier eating and drinking to revitalise your life forces. Positive thinking and positive action to help you overcome your anxieties. And a little meditation or prayer to keep your spiritual side in focus.

Learn more about this author, Janet Pieterse.
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