Close your eyes and accept this moment however it is.
If you are restless,
Accept your restlessness.
There really is nothing better that you could do for yourself right now.
If you are uncomfortable,
Accept your discomfort.
If you are thinking about the past or about the future,
Accept that the mind is busy.
Whatever arises in the mind,
Be it some sensation,
Some memory,
Some experience,
It is a fabrication.
All that is quote real right now is what's being reported by your senses.
Accepting these fabrications as fabrications and making the distinction between those and what's real right now divests the thinking mind of its power.
And it's that hyperactive thinking mind at the time of rest which keeps us from relaxing into sleep.
So accept this moment however it is.
And this one.
And this one.
A given moment may include some prominent senset experience.
It may also include fabrication.
Don't be in resistance to this fabrication.
That's just more fabrication.
Only allow these fabrications to come and go.
Naturally.
As they all do.
If you need proof that all mental fabrications pass,
Then just try to think of the same thing for as long as you can.
If you watch the mind closely enough,
You'll see that whatever you were attempting to think about was changing rapidly.
The mind is always changing rapidly.
Just like everything else we perceive.
And when we have the experience of some thought or sensation such as restlessness,
Being persistent,
It's really only that it keeps coming back.
Or rather,
We keep creating it.
When we learn to relax,
That is,
To accept this moment however it is,
Then we can finally put down the burden of constant fabrication.
Do you ever find yourself thinking about something you thought?
If so,
You're not alone.
But we can learn to relax.
And this relaxation comes from accepting this moment exactly as it is.
In this way,
Though there may be discomfort,
Though there may be restlessness,
Though there may be anxiety,
There is no dissatisfaction about these things.
And it's dissatisfaction that's the real problem.
It's the moment we become satisfied with things as they are.
We're okay.
Being okay,
We can relax.
Being relaxed,
We can rest.
And as we rest,
The accident of sleep may occur.
Or it may not.
And we don't care.
We're just fine either way.
And in this cool indifference,
The chance of sleep taking over greatly increases.
Let's practice being satisfied with this moment,
However it is.
Perhaps in formal sitting practice.
Perhaps being mindful as we go about our day.
Perhaps just at bedtime.
How about all of the above?
Because the more we practice this acceptance,
This non-resistance to life,
To ourselves and to others,
The more okay we feel.
The more we can relax.
The more relaxed we feel.
The more we can rest.
The more likely we are to fall into deep sleep.
