Clients experiencing nightmares frequently ask me if a shamanic healing would help them sleep better. From a shamanic perspective, nightmares arise from a number of causes.
The subconscious may express fear or anxiety in a dream. Sometimes trauma from this lifetime or a past lifetime might get triggered and find its way to the surface during dreamtime. In these situations, a shamanic practitioner would likely do extraction (releasing heavy energy from the body or energy field) and then soul retrieval to bring home missing soul pieces that created an opening for the fear or anxiety. When soul pieces return, they bring back their natural wisdom, gifts and strength. We are more whole and less likely to experience fear or take on negative energy.
Children who astral project in their dreams might pick up something during their travels and bring an uncomfortable energy back with them. A shamanic practitioner might do a power animal retrieval and ask their new ally to keep them safe and free of any uncomfortable energy.
I specialize in compassionate depossession, so when a client experiences nightmares I also investigate whether there’s a discarnate spirit attached to them or a ghost in their home. If we are hosting a suffering being, their energy might surface in our dreams when our natural defenses are lower.
Here are are some remedies you can try yourself that may help you get better sleep:
* Launder your bedding. Residual bits of the heavy energy we encounter in our dreams can permeate the sheets and blankets. Reset the energy of your sleeping space by putting fresh sheets on the bed. Launder everything – even the mattress pad, comforter cover, or blanket. If you have a double-sided mattress, also flip the mattress.
* Smudge your bedroom. Sage is effective at moving the heavy energy from nightmares. Light a sage stick (or loose sage) and direct the smoke throughout your bedroom, including into the corners of the room, behind the door, in the closet, and under the bed. Open up a window to give the smoke a place to release from the room. While smudging, hold the intention that anything heavy that doesn’t promote good sleep will be released out the window.
* Call on your angels, helping spirits, and power animals right before bed. Ask them to be with you in dreamtime and watch over you, to keep you safe and protected. If you suspect you have a portal (i.e. energetic doorway) in your bedroom, closet, or energy field, you can ask them to close it.
* Use crystals in your bedroom. Position them at the four corners of your bed or in the four corners of your bedroom (or both). This helps grid the room and create a field of protection. For this purpose, stones that are protective and grounding are the most effective. Examples are black tourmaline (my personal favorite), hematite, jet, pyrite, or smoky quartz. All of these are reasonably priced and readily available at local rock shops or spiritual stores. The stones don’t have to be large – about half the size of a golfball will work.
* Place salt water in the four corners of the bedroom. Fill four drinking glasses halfway with water and add about a half cup of sea salt or table salt to each glass. Salt is purifying and will leech heavy energy out of the bedroom. At first change the water everyday, then settle into a routine of changing it once a week or once a month.
For frequent, severe or especially disturbing nightmares, I recommend a session with a shamanic practitioner. Sleep is important to overall health and well-being, and you deserve the rest and rejuvenation of a good sleep.
This work is real, and it matters.
September 24, 2021