For years, a friend of mine was plagued with nightmares. After awakening from these troubling episodes, he would be physically exhausted and emotionally upset, which affected his work throughout the day. He began to dread going to sleep, staying up as late as possible to try to induce deeper sleep and avoid the nightmares. Finally, he committed himself wholeheartedly to Christian Science to face the condition head on.

As he did so, he understood more deeply that there is truly only one Mind, one intelligence—God—and that this God, who is also Love, could not produce such dreams. Instead, they were the suggestions of “mortal mind,” the belief that there is a mind separate from God. Because they did not come from the divine Mind, they could not lay claim to his sleeping or waking thought or control his life in any way. As this enlightened understanding swept over my friend, it enabled him to sleep more soundly, and within a few months he was and continues to be completely free.

My friend confronted this challenge with the expectation of healing, even though it had been an issue for many years.