Insomnia Meditation

"75% of long-term insomniacs who have been trained in
relaxation and meditation can fall asleep within
20 minutes of going to bed."
- Dr. Greg Jacobs, Harvard psychologist

If you suffer from insomnia, I know of no better cure than meditation. Insomnia is usually caused by an overactive mind. The mind accumulates noise throughout the day and when you want to go to sleep it continues; it's become a habit. It does not know how to turn off. It's as if the switch isn't working. Getting to sleep, then, is a matter of finding a way to release this energy and then, emptied out, you will easily fall asleep. Through the following meditation, you create a situation in which that can happen easily.

Sit in your bed, turn the lights off and start talking in gibberish. Do this for 30 minutes. Allow any sounds that come. Don't worry about meaning, language, grammar. In fact, the more meaningless your sounds, the more helpful they are. You are simply throwing out the rubbish that the mind collects during the day.

Just start and go. But be very passionate about it, as if your whole life depended on it. Be in a passionate dialogue with yourself. Put your whole energy into it. Do this for thirty minutes and chances are you will have a good night's sleep, if not the first night then in the nights to come.

The gibberish works so well because there's no judgment involved. You can't start analyzing or feeling guilty about what you're saying, or moralizing that you're saying bad things. When you speak in sounds you don't know what you are saying. Your gestures, your passion are doing the work.

Try this for at least 7 days. The mind will become accustomed to the release, the unburdening of all this mental stress and will welcome it. Afterwards you will enjoy a good, natural sleep.

Remember, insomnia is a symptom of a greater stress in your life. If you have been in the habit of taking sleeping pills, you are only treating the symptom and not the underlying stress. Here are some other suggestions for dealing with insomnia:

• Take a look at the stress factors in your daily life, and remember that these could be mental, emotional or physical, or a combination of the three. Read through all the relaxation techniques in this Step 2. By incorporating relaxation techniques into your day, the underlying cause of your stress, and therefore your insomnia, can well be eliminated.
• Examine any possible physical reasons for your insomnia. For example if you drink 10 cups of coffee a day, or eat a heavy meal late at night, these can keep you awake. If you smoke, remember that nicotine is a powerful stimulant. Don't forget the high dose of caffeine in ordinary chocolate.
• Think about how you spend your evening. Watching TV can stimulate the nervous system. Try listening to relaxing music instead. Or try my Insomnia CD-a guided journey into sleep with soothing music.
• After your work day, try some of the more energetic meditations . For example jogging, running, shaking, or dancing meditations can be very helpful in releasing stress after a work day and bringing you to a more relaxed state.

(Excerpted from Chapter One It's Easier Than You Think: Relaxing Lunchtime Enlightenment:Meditations to Transform Your Life NOW - at Work, at Home, at Play )