Last night I had a vivid dream that I was outside at night in what looked like a European city with a friend. They handed me a cigarette, I took it, and I smoked it. I have never smoked a cigarette in my waking life, and never plan to, especially after this dream. But for some reason, I decided to take a puff.
I didn’t notice too much of an effect from it. It made me feel slightly more relaxed, but that’s it. I gave it back to my friend, she took a few more puffs, and handed it back to me. I decided to take a bigger puff to try to feel more of an effect from it. I breathed it in, held it in my lungs for a while, and breathed out. As soon as I breathed out, I felt absolutely horrible. I felt the stinging of the nasty cigarette smoke in my lungs and throat, and felt choked from it as well. I was struggling to breathe and was also fighting the stinging and smell that I could feel seeping into my lungs and throat. This is what woke me up from this dream.
I woke up realizing I was holding my breath, and I gasped for air. I viscerally felt how horrible smoking felt in my body, even after waking up. Although this probably seems like a PSA telling you to “stop smoking,” that’s actually not what this is about. I just reacted this way in my dream because I hate the smell of cigarettes. If you’re into it, then by all means. Go ahead. Haha.
What this PSA is actually about is breathing. Feeling the choke and smelling the smoke in my dream was a direct correlation to the fact that I wasn’t breathing well in my sleep.
I’ve had problems taking deep breaths for a while because of stress and anxiety. My chest and stomach have felt tight, which has restricted my ability to fully breathe. I’m able to get moments of relaxation and breathe deeply, but most of the time I’m only at half (or even less) capacity.
I’ve felt that this has been a problem, but this dream really made it clear to me how much of a problem it really is. After I woke up, came to my senses, and felt into the dream I had, I got an intuitive download that not breathing well- unintentionally holding your breath and shallow breathing- has the same intensity of negative health effects as smoking cigarettes.
So PSA- breathe well.
Some breath tips I’ve learned from others and from experience:
- Breathe from your belly/diaphragm. Not just your chest. Kinda hard to do when your chest and stomach are tight from anxiety, I know. Just keep focusing on relaxing. You’re free and safe enough to relax. 🙂
- Always breathe in through your nose. Breathing in through your mouth can cause your body to go into panic mode. You can breathe out from your nose or mouth, though.
- Breathing out from your mouth symbolizes releasing energy that you don’t want to hold on to. I use this during meditations.
- Breathing out from your mouth instead of your nose is also more effective for circulating large amounts of energy faster, which I use during energy healing/clearing sessions.
- Breathing in for a shorter amount of time than breathing out is very relaxing. The longer the breaths, the more relaxing as well.
You can try these out and see if they work for you. If not, never force anything. You’ll know what’s for you by getting in touch with your own body and seeing what feels good.
But yeah, in conclusion, make sure you’re breathing well so you don’t end up smoking a foreign substance and choking to death in your dreams.😂 Alright, talk to ya later.