7 Reasons Why You Should Kick Your iPad Out Of The Bedroom

Yes, I really did kick my iPad out of my bedroom! I had to, not because my husband was complaining, and not because of the many studies done on people who were sleeping with their electronics and getting less sleep and along with a lower quality of rest and suffering the consequences. In fact, I had all sorts of good reasons to keep my gear near. After all, I had great “sleep” apps to track my sleep, my movements, including my restlessness, and my dreams! I needed Solitaire to wear my over-active mind out and make me give up consciousness. And there was always one more post to make, email to answer, FB friend in a different time zone to chat with. Until it began to dawn on me that my sleep was in fact suffering (I was restless 46 times in one night according to my Fitbit!), but worse than that, I hadn’t caught a dream in months! That was the straw that broke this camel’s back!

As you might imagine, my dreams are extremely important to me and simply put, without them I feel disconnected to Source and Soul. So with the encouragement of Laurel Bleadon-Maffei, channel for Josephus and the Wisdom Council, angel communicator and third cousin, once removed, extraordinaire, I agreed to a little experiment: to give up my electronics at bedtime—until my birthday seventeen days later—and see what happens. As I set my intention to start catching dreams again, I realized that my bad habits weren’t just at bedtime, but in how I wake up as well. Very quickly, I knew that I needed to create sacred space in order to make room for my dreams, which are sacred in their source and their uses. Dreaming, we learn who we are and why we are, we problem-solve, create, connect with community and the collective energy that we live in, and come into alignment with Higher Self and guidance.

When I work with my clients, whether as Soul Coach or Dream Coach, we always come around to the topic of sacred space. For some, it is the clutter of attitudes and beliefs that must be cleared, for others it is physical clutter that must be tackled and for me, it was my pile of electronics. So I cleared my space, put out an old-fashioned (yet cool turquoise Moleskine) journal next to my bed to record my dreams physically with pen in hand and began. I wrote down my intentions, wrote down a few lines about my day, put my iPad away at least an hour before bed and read a “bookbook” (Ikea) before closing my eyes.

Wham! Night one: a dream! Night two: a dream! Night three: dang, in that slippery state of mind, my dream evaporated in a split second! But I kept at it and in 17 nights, I caught a dream (sometimes a dream fragment, sometimes 2 dreams) on 15 of those nights. Success! On the morning of my birthday, although I hadn’t asked for any special dream, I was given a great dream! My dreams were back! Now here is why you should kick out your electronics too!

1. Better sleep/more rest: Research shows that the blue LED lights of your computers and hand-held devices are messing with your pineal gland and the production of melatonin. The more you use them, the harder it is to fall asleep and get quality rest. Best not to mess with Mother Nature.
2. Build your dream muscles: We all dream yet so many of us think otherwise. But with practice and a focused intention, you can build your dream-catching muscles. Once I put my devices away, my dream recall bounced right back.
3. Create Sacred Space: I can’t emphasize the importance of this enough. Make space for dreaming by clearing away the clutter in your bedroom. Your sleeping chamber can become the “abaton”, the sleeping chamber of the ancient Greek healing temples where dreams were used for healing. All that from decluttering. Not too shabby.
4. Connect with Source: If we dream, and we are created in the “image of God” then God must be a dreamer too. Dreaming can be a sacred practice for connecting with the sacred within and the Creator, the Great Dreamer.
5. Know Thyself: Once you go “inside” you might as well get to know yourself. The ancients considered this a high calling. Once you are on the road to self-awareness, personal growth and self-knowledge, you will notice that dreams are all the “technology” for growth that you will need. Pay attention.
6. Intuitive Windfalls: Did you read about the Canadian dreamer who, in 2006, dreamed the lottery numbers, twice? Really. She ran out to buy a second ticket with the same numbers and won $16 million! Ok, admittedly, I’m still waiting for that dream, but dreams can give you insight and warnings that are nothing short of a windfall for living authentically.
7. More Space for dreams; More Space for the Sacred: Once you make more space for dreaming, physically, emotionally, mentally, then the spiritual uses for dreaming burst open wide. Et voila, you are living in alignment with your soul’s plan for your life. Not unlike physics, the more you delve into the mysteries of your dreams and your psyche, you cannot help but see the miraculous in your dreams and connect with something bigger- whatever you call the Force.

Once you get the hang of detaching from your devices and doing some stellar dream-catching, then the possibilities for your waking and dream life are endless. You will have kicked the ipad habit and set yourself free!