Calming the Mind

From the Victorian Romantic Tarot, the Nine of Swords; from the Dreaming in Color Deck, Foreboding:

Besides being hereditary, some causes of sleepwalking are exhaustion and stress. Like nightmares, the mind tries to deal with anxiety in its own way. What else can it do if we live on a crumbling emotional edge, and our thoughts swirl around our panic rather than anything productive? Foreboding - fearful apprehension that something bad is going to happen - often instigates our sleepless, worry-filled nights. Gehlek Rinpoche offered this advice: "Understanding comes from patiently reasoning with yourself. You cannot force your mind or order it about." Gentle prodding to look at the facts of now rather than living in a projected future may help calm the mind. Once it is calm, we can consider if there is anything beneficial we can do rather than torment ourselves.