The Best of the Rest

The best of the rest... And relaxation


Do you have trouble sleeping?  Have you ever been working on a important project and found that it has been keeping you awake?

Some times I find myself doing research looking up and noticing it is late at night, I must go to bed. When I lay down the ideas in my head are swirling like a hurricane!


Insomniac or Insaneiac?

When that happens it is possible to spend all night tossing and turning trying to get some sleep. Insomnia could be the problem, or is it the insane storm of thoughts that keep you awake?

Insomnia I have no experience with as I was lucky enough to learn my sleep patterns early on and have found that if I follow them I sleep very well.

But that storm!

Oh the storm in my head, the thoughts swirling about, puzzles that need to be put together.

That's what keeps me awake.


What's a poor boy to do?

Well their may be hope, let's look. Many religions talk about the need to clear away the day, before you sleep.


In the Bible Ephesians 4:26, and Psalm 4:4 both talk about not going to bed with anger and silencing the mind in bed.

Buddhism talks about cleansing the mind before resting.


How now?
 
The traditional method is to pray before sleeping. And that is a good thing to do. I find traditional methods of prayer do not work for me.

I do not want to ask God, call it the universal energy or any thing else you like, for anything. He knows what I need better than me.

I do what I will call meda-praying (meta-praying?)
—I thank God, the angels, and the universe for this days blessings.
—I confirm my desire for Gods will to be done
—I meditate
—I sleep soundly
 
Storm busters unite!

Why meditation?
Because it works for me.

What happens is I will focus on what I hope will be inspiring dreams.
The thoughts of the day will filter thru that focus I will acknowledge it and put it to sleep.
 
At some point the thoughts will stop coming and I will awake refreshed and ready for the new day.

Dream weaver
 
In the morning I will try to remain in bed calmly reviewing my dreams. If they feel important it is best to record them.

The moral of the story is that we can find a calm in the midst of the storm if we find the place in ourselves that we can put the worries of the day asleep.

Nite, nite, don't let the bedbugs bite!