Restful Insomnia

Ah, my manuscript is done. The book is retitled: A Better Brain for Any Age for publication by Conari in the fall (2008). Lots of research, some writing angst–defining emotions and creativity was a thrill.

Here’s what the book will contain:

• * Short Tour of the Brain
• * Not All in Your Head: The Body-Mind
• * Eating for Brilliance
• * Your Brain’s Environment
• * Play With Your Memory: Boosters and Stretchers 
• * Hey, Genius! Intelligence, Learning Styles, and Creativity
• * Emotions and the Brain: When You Can’t See the Forest for the Angst
• * Meditation and a Bigger Perspective: Less is More

I’m ready to blog again–in between edits, medical writing, and the stuff that pays.

Enjoy your nights,
Sondra

I love to meditate. It took me only 30 years to get here.

I started with TM (Transcendental Meditation) in… Cleveland, dating Andy, probably 1974. After the instruction, I was high as a kite, happy for the first time at my work, ready for a lifetime of joy. Then life returned–so disappointing. I kept meditating hoping that joy would return. 

I often fell asleep when I meditated, though I had occassional moments of beyond this. Once, I was driving to State College while Andy drove my blue Dodge Duster; I remember the darkness, the road, the body sensation of spaciousness. I don’t remember the content, just the sensation of more.

TM faded–I slept more than meditated. Over the decades I tried meditation classes, reading, during yoga. I say tried because I thought there was a place to get to…transcending my thoughts… and I never did. 

Still, there was something that kept me going.

I found myself meditating during Restful Insomnia. Lying in bed, returning to the breath. It lessened the Conscious Mind and I was proud of myself (see, I’m a good person, I meditate!). Then Ragini suggested I could get more connection to the spiritual and my mind by sitting up. I rousted myself vertical during insomnia, meditated, and returned to sleep.

Then I found the pleasure in meditation during the day.

Meditation has so many aspects. The body: lowers blood pressure, relaxes, deepens breath. The emotional: opens to the stories–true or not–behind the anger or fear. The spiritual: connects to the reality beyond the thoughts. The mind: trains focus and attention.

Researching for Brain Boosters, I read John Ratey’s A User’s Guide to the Brain. He says that movement is the essence of thought. That’s a whole ‘nother entry. Still, it got me thinking about paradox. Doesn’t stillness–meditation–enhance movement?

So now I practice being still. It’s not trying. I’m coming back, learning again and again that there’s stillness between the throughts, that there’s my breath, that there’s here and now. Always changing, here and now, but not moving. 

Even when I “don’t wanna” sit, there’s always soft pleasure when I do.

In fact, I’ll go breathe right now.

Enjoy your nights,
Sondra

Where have I been? I’ve been researching and querying experts on that plastic glob under your skull: the brain. Experts who know about

• Brain exercises
• Food
• Exercise
• Creativity
• Emotional intelligence
• Types of intelligence
• Energy medicine
• Meditation.

I’m writing the The Big Book of Brain Boosters: How to Keep Your Brain Alive–Well into the Next Decade (Conari, 2008). The book will let you know the latest research on brains–in English–and tips to maximize the brain.

The first tip: Eat lots of Omega-3s* to improve the fats in our brain compared to the overdose of Omega-6s (most cooking oils) and other fats (animal fats).

Omega-3s are in

• Walnuts
• Butternuts (what are these?)
• Flaxseed
• Oils (flaxseed, canola, soybean)
• Fatty fish (salmon, herring, tuna, mackerel, sardines, bluefish)
• Fish oil capsules

And somewhere I read ground cloves?! Maybe that’s why we love pumpkin pie. Omega-3s ease depression and help cholesterol. I wonder if Omega-3s help you rest at night?

Have other brain boosting ideas? Let me know.

Enjoy your nights
Sondra

What a healing time. Sadness, friendship, sand castles, in and out with the waves.

We went to Port Townsend–Mary, Sallie, Nancy and me–picked up Jesse and found Nora’s house. We remembered Diane’s laugh, her life changes, our loss. We walked to North Beach and, inspired by Mary, made a sand castle of our memories of Diane. Then the tide came and took it back to the ocean.

Healing into rest.

Enjoy your nights,
Sondra

We think of Gratitude as a Thank You note.

Dear Higher Power,

Thank you for the nice sunset, my car, my kids.

Signed,
Me

That’s a useful start, but we’re missing something. We’re missing the experience of being alive.

When Gratitude is a Verb, appreciation for being alive.

• Thank you for the experience of seeing the sunset.
• Thank you for the feeling of driving a nice car.
• Thank you for letting me love my kids.

It’s the difference between having and being.

Express gratitude as a verb. Brings you into the present, doesn’t it? Express gratitude tonight–it helps you let go into rest…and sleep.

Enjoy your nights,
Sondra

It’s easy to get into the “it’s not fair” of life. Or the “why did this happen to me?”

My latest biblio-therapy book–Everything Happens for a Reason, by psychotherapist Mira Kirshenbaum–changes that view. 

I’ve thought for a long time about that what we learn from what happens is the connection to our deeper selves, the larger universe, or God. Mira Kirshenbaum researched hundreds of people (herself included) who found gifts, lessons, or opportunities after bad times. She discovered they learned 10 main lessons, such as letting go of fear and radical acceptance.

It’s a comforting book, easy to read, and helps change the way I see my life choices and events.

Enjoy your nights,
Sondra

How do you release insomnia tension? Restful Insomnia’s five-step plan shows how each technique addresses natural nighttime renewal:

1. Soothe Your Night Environment: When you create a soothing environment of dusk and darkness, your body lets go. Since electricity and electronics stimulate us night and day, we use Evening Rituals and Night Nest techniques to relax the body and increase the natural production of melatonin.
2. Befriend the Body: Allow your Unconscious Mind to emerge by getting into your body (instead of thinking about it). Restful Insomnia teaches how to release tension with Night Yoga and lessen the impact of physical difficulties.
3. Diminish the Thinking Mind: Our minds can make us ecstatic—or miserable. You can release the hold of your mind at night with Restful Insomnia techniques such as inquiry, cognitive behavior changes, intuition, and body sensations.
4. Release the Hold of Emotions: Emotions are linked to our thoughts in a circular fashion—a belief can trigger an emotional response, and an emotional response can reinstate a belief. Too much feeling and thinking when we’re trying to rest! Reduce the intensity of emotional distress using Energy Medicine, Tapping Techniques, and Wisdom Writing.
5. Tap into the Natural or Spiritual Self: What’s left when you diminish the emotions, thinking mind, and your bodily activity? Sleep of course, and also a connection with the larger perspective on life, the balance of nature  and/or a spiritual dimension. Restful Insomnia helps you find a spiritual center—which helps you diminish the hold of the Conscious Mind.

Enjoy your nights,
Sondra

They’re featuring MJ Ryan’s This Year I Will (MJ produced Random Acts of Kindness), Mira Kirshenbaum’s Everything Happens for a Reason, and 365 Energy Boosters co-authored by me and Susannah Seton. It’s a nice boost to get a book treat in the mail.

Last night, I woke up at 3 a.m. thinking. Not unusual.

I put on my nightshades and rolled over. That usually sends me to rest. This time, I kept thinking: the dirty laundry, applications, money. No matter what I did, my thoughts haunted me.

Many of you read my article on the Gotta-Do mind. (It’s in my f ree e-book for those who sign up for my newsletter). But last night I was being chased by the gotta dos.

After two restless hours, I thought I might as well just get up and DO, even though Iwas exhausted. Then I remembered a deeper level of Restful Insomnia. Not the environment (nightshades), not the mind. I looked at the sensations of my body. Sadness in the chest, lots of exhales.

Aha. The Gotta-Dos were chasing me because I wanted them to. Part of me did. That part wanted to avoid the grief at losing my best friend. That’s why the lists were never-ending.

I needed to be sad.

I did some TAT in bed. I didn’t cry, but felt the energy of loss in my body. It was a comfort just to feel it rather than run away. And yes, the comfort led me quickly to sleep.

You can look underneath your habits to find the real you at night. Once you find it, you can embrace it, and embrace rest and sleep.

Enjoy your nights,
Sondra

My dearest friend died. I have a cold. I forgot about Restful Insomnia techniques for a few long hours last night. I’m a drama queen and could complain about all that.

And…

• My sister is here from the other coast. She is supportive, loving, and a good cook.
• My niece and nephew are here, playing with my kids. Mostly loving, creative, and laughter.
• It’s the Solstice (hurray). More light, more sun, expansion.

Gratitude helps keep things in balance.

Enjoy your nights,
Sondra