THE GIFT OF SLEEP

Ancient legends abound about the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus with a correlation to our own Rip Van Winkle, who slept for only 20 years. An intricate and interesting account can be found in Wikipedia of the Seven who slept in a cave for, depending on the source, up to 373 years, to escape severe religious oppression.

Mr. Van Winkle awoke to find that he was no longer a subject of England’s King George, but was now a free citizen of the new America! Similarly, the Seven Sleepers awoke to find buildings with crosses everywhere – Christianity had become mainstream while they slept, though the rendition found in the Quran may end a little differently.

But sleep is when we moderns recalibrate and heal. Our cells that have been subjected to stress and toxins and sugar can quietly go about the business of rejuvenation, so when we awaken, we see a whole new world with homeostasis once more achieved. Adequate oxygen is key.