Sleep lessons

Image by Ri Butov from Pixabay

I’m reading Fast Asleep by Dr. Michael Mosley, and the “Challenging Your Thoughts” section on page 100 resonated with me. Like many others, I have thoughts that surface before I go to bed (or throughout the day), and these affect my sleep. Dr. Mosley suggests a bit of cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT, which I've actually gone through when I had therapy years ago. The author suggests that we challenge the thoughts that run through our minds. For example, if my current thought is on worrying about sleeping late and its implications the next day, I can challenge that thought by telling myself that I will eventually go to sleep like I always do, and it's going to be fine. Dr. Mosley further suggests that these forms of negative thinking are long-term patterns and if one needed to do it effectively, a professional therapist could be consulted. 

Last night, I wasn't worried nor did I have any difficulty sleeping. In fact, on the couch while watching a YouTube video of an orchestra with my family, my eyes started to become very heavy, and I went to bed shortly after. I don't attribute the sleepiness to the video, but the stressors last week that bled to the early part of this week. These unchallenged stressors became mental overload. I need to consciously challenge any unnecessary ideas that would result in physical exhaustion. After weathering that storm and clearing the major items from my mind, my body seemed to say, “Alright, she’s not in crisis mode anymore--time to repair and recharge.” I’m writing now as part of that maintenance process--and also because I had a vivid dream last night about an artist I admire who, while walking away, glanced back and said something poignant to me. So, thanks for the feedback loop, subconscious, I'm hanging up the phone now. To end this post, I'm sharing these nostalgic songs--the first one I heard at a Home Depot last weekend, and the other a reminder of my younger years and that the great indoors could be one's mind.

Continue to give myself permission

I've been writing for myself for approximately 30 years, which is equivalent to two-thirds of my life. That includes diaries and this medium here. I recently joined a mailing list of an academic centre focused on humanistic inquiry (they offer degree programs in philosophy, theology, and the like) that also features a variety of short workshops. They have an upcoming half-day workshop on writing as spiritual practice and I've been thinking about registering. I had the impression that it may simply be a space that gives me permission to write freely and without critique. I've been doing that already, so I'm trying to understand where my knee-jerk interest comes from. Was it that I want to write with others and be prompted externally? There is a cost, which is reasonable, given the expert facilitators. There is hesitation, so I guess, I won't register. I could just continue to give myself permission to pause and write. I've mentioned the benefit of blogspot before in terms of longevity, because I currently still have within reach only three diaries out of maybe four or five that I know I've written on. The chronology is already broken across those paper journals so I can forget about wanting to review and learn from my past thinking tendencies. I may have downloaded up to a certain point of this electronic journal, but I have to remember where I saved it. So, for now, this is the most accessible way for me to capture real-time train of thought. To my future self: carry on.