HOW are you spending roughly a third of your life? You don’t really know, because you are asleep then. Okay, we all know at least part of it. Sleeping, after all, gives us rest.
My Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition (1991), says sleep is “a natural, recurring condition of rest for the body and mind, during which the eyes are usually closed and there is little or no conscious thought or voluntary movement, but there is intermittent dreaming.”
About the rest of body and mind we know a lot, both collectively as a social community, and as individuals. Especially individuals we would identify with such terms as “insomnia” (difficulty in falling asleep), “somnambulist” (sleepwalker) and “narcoleptic” (the ever-sleepy).
Actually we can all identify, at least to a certain little extent, with each of these terms. But we can have a consensus that sleep is really about getting some much-needed rest.
But there is that intermittent dreaming. Most of our dreams we don’t even remember long past the waking moment, if we remember them at all. Some dreams seem to reflect hidden fears or hopes, some dreams seem to deliver messages but these are almost always vague when we try to recall them in the morning.
About the body and mind, we have come to know a lot, and for this reason we have come to know about what sort of rest it needs. But we cannot have a quick and clear consensus about matters of spirit, of the soul, and therefore we can’t have quick and clear thoughts and unities about the sort of rest that is needed by the soul. But we can half-guess that some sort of spiritual rest may actually be happening while we sleep.
.......I suspect that the spirit also gets energized while we sleep, connecting it more firmly with the great synergy of spirits during sleep and during other times that our mind is not overly and loudly focused on mental concerns, including such other times as when we meditate deeply.
Some would suggest to include the brief gaps of silence between our rational thoughts. We really do not know, but we have reason to be confident that the spiritual process during sleep is positive and it is a good part of our being happily asleep.
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.......The key word here is “happily.” And the other key word, of course, is “resting.” Many of us are concerned too much about getting enough hours of sleep in a specific night and try too hard to fall asleep. It does not work.
The tension brought on by this trying too hard is a sure-fire formula for failure to sleep. And for the build-up of tension. That would neither be happy nor restful.
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.......Of course our bodies need sleep for a certain number of hours. But especially among fully-grown adults (past the still-growing years of 0-25), enough sleep can not be standardized. It varies from individual to individual, affected by factors of age, physical health, and even knowledgable use of techniques that control body processes. And for every specific individual, the needed quality and length of sleep is indicated by her or his condition the following day. .......Whether one is really up and about and about or is zombie-like the next day.
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.......A certain weak or groggy feeling and/or lapses in mental alertness are sure signs of lack of sleep for that specific individual. Headaches that cannot be explained otherwise can also be indicators of lack of sleep. On the other hand, a fresh and vibrant feeling in the morning and for most of the day, with an alert mind and a cheerful disposition to match, is an assurance that you are getting enough restful sleep.
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.......Sleep does not start only when you lose consciousness. One can blissfully slide into sleep without worrying that the sliding is taking too long. In this slide, the body is slowly “slowed down.” Slower breathing and slower blood circulation results from decreasing use of the muscles (including stomach muscles, so don’t eat too much before sleeping) and decreasing the use of the mind (working out problems, making plans, solving puzzles).
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.......A few minutes of calisthenics or a short puzzle may be useful as a switch, and practically as brief as a “click.” After the “switch” comes the slow slide. Lifeparthers frequently or occasionally engage in erotic “wrestling” exercises that build up to a climactic mobilization of adrenaline, which, in turn, often has a tranquilizing after-effect on the partner(s) who actually reach/es such climax.
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.......This kind of “switch” takes a longer time, but especially if done in a broader blissful context, which even “creates new life,” it makes the sleep more happy and restful. Couples may choose not to go through the entire sequence, at least not every time, and just hug each other to sleep. But this would not involve adrenaline depletion that immediately helps to induce sleep.
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.......The whole happy rest routine starts as soon as the body is basically still and in the most comfortable position it could take. This position would preferably be horizontal. Comfortable conditions usually mean soft bed and pillow, dark and quiet, cool or cold with available blankets, insect-free, and spacious enough for outstretched limbs. Softness of the bed would afford support for the small of the back which, if unsupported, tires easily and causes the entire body to move and wake up again to a certain degree. Aside from the small of the back, the area behind the knees also needs support for anyone trying to sleep while lying “flat” on the back.
For the mind to start resting, it has to be switched off from the mental agenda of the day and really shifted to focus on happy, restful, “idle” thoughts.
On the previous pages are at least seven ways you can try if you have trouble falling asleep. There are many other ways. But just remember the basics: comfortable and basically still body; relaxing happy thoughts.
You may also be helped by repeating over and over, grad ually slowing down in pace, this sleep-inducing “mantra” that I composed for a friend in October 2003:
To keep very still,
All troubles I unbind
From my heart, from my mind.
And I can rest so well
'Tho in sleep i can't dwell,
And I can rest so well
'Tho in sleep I can't dwell.
And gradually, and happily, you are getting sleepy... you are getting sleepier... and sleepier.... getting sleepier... sleepier... sleepy... sleep... sleee... zzz... zzxzz! (Psst! Easy on the snoring!) (imagine some mellow music here or the sound of waves at the beach.)
So, did you have a good night’s sleep last night? The answer may well be indicated by just how good you feel today.
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