Sweet Sleep 3: Sleep Backwards
This program is my third one on sleep. I wrote the first two in Chinese. Not translated yet. They have you lie back and passively be lulled to sleep. This one gets you actively involved in putting yourself to sleep. I use it when I have difficulty falling to sleep or waking up mid-night (cats). It usually works. If not, I keep Joyce's Ulysses or Finnegans Wake by the bed. I force myself to read an hour before I go back to sleep. If still awake after 15 min, repeat. My mind sleeps to escape!
Transcript
Sweet Sleep 3 My name is Jim Steed and I'm going to be your sleepy sandman today.
Sleep requires relaxation and relaxation is the first step to a good night's sleep.
In fact,
Relaxation may even be more important than sleeping.
But if you really want to sleep,
You need to know that your unconscious mind is very powerful.
It is the boss.
It controls all your bodily responses and it even controls your conscious mind.
So let's first communicate with the unconscious mind what we wanted to learn in this practice session.
To do this,
Imagine a blackboard in front of you and having a piece of chalk.
Any color is okay.
Maybe blue would be nice.
I want you to write in cursive,
Not print,
But in cursive style the word sleep on that blackboard from beginning to end.
From S to P.
Let's begin.
S-L-E-E-P Step back and look at it.
Erase it.
And say the word sleep.
Now I want you to write that word backwards.
Sleep backwards from P to S.
Let's begin.
Just like it's a backwards,
You're rolling your movie backwards.
P-E-E-L-S Step back,
Look at it,
And erase it.
And say the word sleep again.
If you're not good at visualizing like I'm not,
Then you can just write the word sleep front to back,
Back to front with your eyeballs behind your eyelids.
Let's do that again.
Look at the blackboard.
Write sleep from beginning to end in cursive style.
S,
Continue.
P,
Erase it.
Say sleep.
Now P to S.
P,
Continue.
S,
Erase it.
Say sleep.
Now from beginning to end.
S,
Continue.
Erase it.
Sleep.
From end to beginning.
P,
Continue.
Erase it.
Say sleep.
Now do that two more times.
Beginning to end.
Sleep.
End to beginning.
Sleep.
Beginning to end.
Sleep.
And end to beginning.
Sleep.
That's good.
Now your unconscious mind knows what you want to do.
Now let's practice what I call snore-like breathing.
My aunt used to snore.
She snored so loud at first.
I didn't like it and it kept me awake.
But then I used to let her snore as I began to breathe like her.
And I let that breathing lull me into sleep.
So we're going to practice snore-like breathing.
And make sure you're in bed and you want to go to sleep.
This is a sleep-inducing exercise.
I want you to know that you can go to sleep anytime during this program.
No problem.
You can learn while you're sleeping.
Or you can listen to the program another day.
Each time.
Obtaining more and more benefits.
To do snore sleeping.
Place the tip of your tongue on the top of your roof,
On top of your mouth,
Just above your teeth.
Close your mouth.
Inhale quietly and softly through your nose as you count to four into your belly.
Breathe into your belly as you count to four.
Hold your breath as you count to seven.
And then slightly open your mouth and exhale a little more forcefully.
Making the shh sound through your lips while you're counting to eight.
Shh.
Let me explain that one more time.
Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth just above your teeth.
Close your mouth and inhale quietly into your belly.
Softly through your nose as you count to four.
Hold your breath as you count to seven.
And then slightly open your mouth and exhale a little more forcefully.
Making the shh sound through your lips while you count to eight.
Let's continue practicing.
Breathe in.
Hold your breath.
Exhale.
Remember,
All inhaling happens quietly through your nose into your belly.
Holding the breath in your belly and all exhaling happens with a shh through your lips.
Let's do that again.
Breathe in.
Hold your breath.
Exhale.
One more time.
Breathe in.
Hold your breath.
Exhale.
Breathe in.
Hold your breath.
Exhale.
Now if you're still awake,
You can continue this sleep-like breathing at your own speed,
Your own natural speed,
And we can now practice what we will call the wave of sleepiness.
Imagine this wave moving from the back of your head to your eyebrows,
From your eyebrows down over your eyelids and cheeks,
And from your eyes to your heart,
From your heart to your pelvis and feet.
You can imagine this wave of sleepiness arises,
Oh,
About a centimeter or a half inch over your skin as you breathe in.
And then just like rolling out dumplings or cookie dough or pie crust and soft dough,
While you breathe out,
Imagine that this wave of sleepiness rolls over your body,
Lightly pressing sleep into your skin and muscles,
Just like a light,
Light massage.
So you breathe in,
And a wave of sleepiness rises at the top of your head.
You breathe out and it moves over to your eyebrows,
Pressing sleep there.
And breathe in to your belly,
It arises,
And out as it presses sleep into the muscles around your eyes.
And breathe in,
Think sleep,
It arises,
And breathe out,
And let that wave of sleepiness,
Let it move to your heart area,
Gently pressing sleep into the muscles.
Breathe in,
It arises,
Say sleep,
And breathe out,
And in half steps,
The wave of sleepiness goes down into your pelvis,
Then down your legs,
And out your feet.
Feeling wonderful all the way down,
What a nice pressing.
Enjoy that feeling.
Now double that feeling.
Double that feeling again.
That's comfortable,
Right?
Let's practice that again.
Breathe in,
And the wave of sleepiness arises at the top of your head.
Breathe out,
And it moves to your eyebrows,
Pressing sleep there.
Inhale,
And it arises again.
Exhale,
And it moves all over the muscles around your eyes,
Pressing sleep there.
Inhale,
And it arises again.
Say sleep,
And then breathe out,
And the wave of sleepiness moves into your heart area,
Pressing sleep there.
The sleep just accumulates there.
Then inhale,
And exhale,
And in half steps,
Allow that sleep to wave,
To move into your pelvis,
Your legs,
And your feet.
You feel wonderful,
Enjoying that feeling.
Now double that feeling.
Double it again.
Now,
If you're still awake,
We can practice the wave of sleepiness with your sleep-like breathing.
Breathe in.
Sleep accumulates at the top of your head.
Breathe out,
And the wave of sleepiness moves to your eyebrows,
Pressing there.
You can double it there,
And then breathe in,
And the wave of relaxation accumulates at your eyebrows.
Breathe out,
And it moves into the muscles around your eyes.
Breathe in,
And it accumulates around your eyes.
Double it there,
And you can feel them glue shut there.
Say sleep,
And breathe out.
The wave moves into your heart area.
Breathe in,
And feel the sleep accumulate in your heart area.
Double in there.
It arises,
And then breathe out in half steps,
And that wave presses sleepiness into your pelvis,
Down to your legs,
Out your feet,
Feeling wonderful.
Enjoy that feeling.
Now double that feeling as you breathe in,
And hold it there.
And then breathe out and enjoy that feeling,
Going completely and honestly through your body,
Feeling wonderful all the way down.
Now do it two more times.
Breathe in the top of your head into your belly.
Hold.
Exhale into the eyebrows.
Inhale.
Hold.
And the sleep accumulates.
Exhale,
And it moves over your eyes.
Breathe in,
And hold your breath as it doubles there.
The sleep accumulates,
And then exhale,
And it moves to the heart.
Breathe in.
Sleep accumulates in the heart.
Exhale,
And it moves to the pelvis.
And the legs and feet.
Double it.
Double it again.
Do it one more time.
Breathe in.
Sleep accumulates the top of your head.
Exhale.
Your eyebrows.
Inhale.
The sleep accumulates there.
And exhale as it moves to your eyes.
Inhale.
The sleep accumulates there.
And exhale as it moves to your heart.
Inhale.
It accumulates there as you hold your breath.
And then exhale as it moves to your pelvis,
Legs,
And feet.
Good.
On your blackboard,
You can write one more time.
Front to back.
Sleep.
S.
L.
P.
Sleep.
And then back to front.
P.
Sleep.
Front to back.
Sleep.
And back to front.
Sleep.
Now,
Try to stay awake while you have your body.
Only feel the feeling of a very,
Very blue,
Blue O sound in your mind for one or two minutes.
It's okay if you just want to give up and sleep comfortably for the rest of the night also.
So try futilely to stay awake while you have your body.
Only feel the feeling of a very,
Very blue,
Blue O sound on the inside of your mind.
Did you get some sleep in at unlike are being sheaf or shhhh shhhh shhhh shhhh shhhh.
