People who suffer from insomnia do so because they are not awake to the allness of God, the omnipresence of divine Love and its peace and rest, its health, happiness, and harmony. Those who are in bondage to sleeping pills find that this form of escape into oblivion provides no real answer to their problems. It is not sleep which is needed, but a spiritual awakening.

Mary Baker Eddy makes this arousing statement in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (pp. 218, 219): "When we wake to the truth of being, all disease, pain, weakness, weariness, sorrow, sin, death, will be unknown, and the mortal dream will forever cease." Are we awake to the truth of being, or are we still asleep in the mortal, material dream? Through the study and understanding of Christian Science, we awake from the mesmeric belief that we live in matter to the truth that we live, move, and have our being in God, Spirit.

Insomnia is a form of fear. If the victim is not worrying about himself, he is worrying about others; about world conditions, business, home, husband or wife, children or grandchildren. Worry is a vicious circle which never solves problems but only accentuates them. Thought is freed from fear through the realization that there is no presence, power, or life apart from God.

In I John we read (4:18): "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." We conquer fear by reflecting more of that tender, impartial love which finds its own in another's good.

That from which we seek rest is the wear and tear of material, selfish thinking. Love for our fellow men, coupled with gratitude to God, will always be expressed in happiness and harmony.

A young Christian Scientist had been suffering from insomnia for many months and had become quite frantic with fear. A loving friend, who was not interested in Christian Science, suggested a mild form of sleeping pills. But the student knew that regardless of the mildness of the sedatives she would only be adding another problem instead of meeting the situation through Christian Science. She knew that she needed to forget self, to awake to the truth of being—to awake to love.

While she was reading a hymn from the Christian Science Hymnal (No. 217), her attention was attracted by this line: "For where love dwells, the peace of God is there." She reasoned that if she wanted that peace of God, she must express unselfed love. Her days had been full of irritation, ending in wakeful restlessness, weariness, and self-pity.

A dictionary defines the word '"weariness" in part as "vexation." Vexation often includes criticism, self-justification, self-righteousness, and resentment, which all spell lack of love with its consequent lack of peace. As she learned to discipline her thinking by bringing every thought into obedience to Christ, she began to be more conscious of divine Love's government of her thought, speech, and action. She found that she needed less sleep and felt wholly refreshed, strong, and peaceful.

Expressing a greater sense of patience, thoughtfulness, love, and graciousness, one experiences dominion, peace, and freedom. How beautifully Mrs. Eddy states this in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 307): "What a glorious inheritance is given to us through the understanding of omnipresent Love! More we cannot ask: more we do not want: more we cannot have. This sweet assurance is the 'Peace, be still' to all human fears, to suffering of every sort."

Today we seem to be in a storm-tossed world of material thinking, but we can demonstrate the Christ-consciousness, which is never in the storm, never asleep in the dream. Just as the smallest boat may weather a storm and retain its buoyancy, freedom, and safety if it does not take in the stormy waters, so we can weather the storms of life and retain our buoyancy, spontaneity, freedom, and peace if we do not take in erroneous suggestions, or respond to error.

In proportion to our expression of the Christ-consciousness will the bonds of captivity be unloosed and peace and freedom be experienced. The healing of insomnia is an arousing, an awakening, to our true being, which is always at peace. As Mrs. Eddy says (Science and Health, p. 218), "The consciousness of Truth rests us more than hours of repose in unconsciousness."