Good Morning, !-- I hope you are reading this in a well rested state. But if you are like many modern people, then you may have really struggled to get some sleep.
As you know, sleep is vital to our physical, mental and emotional well-being. And while most advice surrounds avoiding caffeine and creating a quite place to rest.
You may not know this but I used to suffer from a lot of insomnia, and high levels of anxiety, until I got some help from a book written in the 1600's by Henry Scudder.* I have adapted some of these tips from him and from my own experience.
Below are some tips to help you get some true rest. - Do not love sleep.
Far too many people love sleeping more than they enjoy being rested. It places your mind into a disposition opposite that of accomplishment and productivity. Often, sleeping too much will make us more lethargic
- Learn a mindset of rest. This is easier said than done, but have a realistic expectation & understanding of the rest your body requires. Don't convince yourself you need 8 or 9 hours of sleep. You may only need 5 or 6 hours and each day might vary. The time to begin sleeping well is before you go to bed while your mind is engaged. When you have a late night or early morning don't make the mistake of saying; "I'm going to be so tired tomorrow."
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Recognize distempered thoughts. Some people are not able to "turn their brain off." This is a skill that can be learned, but it is a sign that we aren't holding our thinking in the right place. It means we are fretting over the past or we are worrying about the future, our mind is not in the present moment. We are allowing thoughts into our moment that need to be dismissed.
Here are some additional ways to "Turn OFF your mind in order to sleep. - Review how you lived your day. Depending on the choices we made that day, we may not be FREE
to sleep. Our conscience can be a beacon to help us maintain a course to our best possible self. If we have squandered our day, if we not been loving to others, if we have procrastinated or allowed distraction, then lack of sleep is a real blessing. It forces us to reconcile our day and commit to live better tomorrow. Peaceful sleep corresponds with humility and clear consciences. Are you suppressing something? Pride always keeps us awake.
- Undressing for bed. Get a good look at your body in the mirror while undressed. Naked we came into the world and naked we will go out. We will not take with us our jobs, our workload, our houses, cars, or 401k's. Undressing each night can be a time to remind ourselves of the necessity to make the main thing the main thing. It is a time to regain the right perspectives on what really matters.
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Lying in bed. When you lie down, let the pulling of the sheets over your warm body be a reminder of the grave clothes that will one day wrap your cold body. When we sleep, where do we go? Yes our bodies are in a bed, but where does our consciousness go? If we cannot be at peace during the dress rehearsal of sleeping each night, then we are not ready to face our final rest. What kind of life are we living? What motivations do we entertain? Have we made peace with our maker and keeper? If this is settled well in our mind, then we can give ourselves to sleep and let go of a distracted mind.
Sleeping is the event horizon where we can do no more. We must leave today in order to possess tomorrow. It's a necessary transition and we must surrender to it or we will never find rest.
The Game Changing Schedule |
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You will sleep so much better if you begin being intentional about how you will live each day. Getting up early is a great way to live fully everyday. I get up before the sun each day. Here is a video I made in my venture with Getting Better that may help you accomplish so much more each day so that you can sleep in peace each night.
REPOT my schedule
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Neumaudio: If today was your last day |
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I've talked a lot about getting the right focus in order to get our minds in the best place for rest. Today's song has a great message and reminder to all of us to keep how we live in proper view.
Connect
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Why can't we talk about politics and religion at dinner parties? Because we end up fighting instead of relating. We all hold our belief's as completely true. But are they? And since we live in a diverse world, is the answer to just quarantine these special areas of our thinking?
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