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Q. Am I responsible for the content of my dreams? It seems to me that my dreams can be very potent, full of all kinds of images and urges. Sometimes I find them upsetting and distasteful. I do not have to confess my dreams, do I?

A. Absolutely not. But your dreams can teach you a valuable lesson. Just as you are not in any manner responsible for the content of your dreams because your mind freely generates each image and situation, you are also not responsible for intrusive thoughts or daydreams. Your mind is in control of all of this. You are just the witness, the observer of the creation you experience.

Q. You often state that anxiety is not an indication of sin. Isn’t my anxiety the direct result of my sin? Shouldn’t I feel anxious about something that I have done wrong or incomplete?

A. In a nutshell, your questions describe the havoc of the scrupulous disorder. If you did not have the scrupulous disorder, the anxiety that you associate with an action, thought, or experience might be very useful in your discernment. Unfortunately, because of the scrupulous disorder, you are deprived of the ability to use anxiety in a helpful way. Scrupulosity generates anxiety in any manner it can.

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