| Many people cannot sleep at night. They try | | | | you will often fall asleep naturally this way after |
| wearing socks, drink relaxing herbal teas or take | | | | you harmonize its energies. If this practice brings |
| tryptophan or melatonin, read a book, keep a | | | | too much energy to your head you could do the |
| stress journal, and try all sorts of other | | | | reverse practice and imagine that there is a |
| expedients to help them fall asleep and get a | | | | golden duck egg filled with ambrosia sitting on top |
| good nights rest. What if I were to tell you that | | | | of your skull. Imagine that this golden elixir starts |
| you could use this downtime as a chance to | | | | melting and the liquid descends downward |
| practice meditation? | | | | caressing your entire body and washing away all |
| Here's what you do. In order to practice | | | | the poisons and tensions as it falls. Imagine that |
| meditation before you fall asleep, you must first | | | | your body turns into crystal pure clarity as this |
| lie on the right side of your body. There is a very | | | | happens and then also disappears into emptiness |
| good reason for this - it's because it puts less | | | | as you do this. |
| strain on your heart when you lie down this way. | | | | Another practice that you could do is while lying |
| Next, you have to decide what type of | | | | on your right side is to recite mantras in the |
| meditation you want to practice. | | | | region of your heart ("heart charka") behind your |
| One practice you can try is to set yourself up for | | | | breastbone or sternum. All you must do is take |
| lucid dreaming. In order to do this, while you are | | | | an auspicious mantra or prayer and visualize a |
| lying on the right side you can visualize a little | | | | silvery flame or moon or auspicious vision of a |
| flame in the region of your throat (the "throat | | | | Buddha or some other holy figure behind the |
| charka" region). You could even imagine a ball of | | | | breastbone and about two inches within the body. |
| light or a series of silver discs that spin like a | | | | Recite the mantra from that point or imagine that |
| gyroscope in the middle of your throat. | | | | the sound comes from that point. Eventually you |
| This is one of the basic practices that prepare | | | | will get tired of this exercise as you listen to the |
| people for lucid dreaming or the practice of dream | | | | endless mantra and then fall fast asleep. |
| yoga wherein you try to stay aware during your | | | | This is how you can use the time when you can't |
| dreams and learn to control them. Of course | | | | sleep for something productive that will also tend |
| another thing you can do is to take a very deep | | | | to restore your energy and lead to relaxation and |
| breath and then slowly release that breath with | | | | rest. You keep your mind busy with these |
| clenched teeth while letting the energy rise up into | | | | visualization, mantra, and energy practices until |
| your head before you fall asleep. This simple | | | | you're tired of them, your body's energy |
| practice alone will help you remember your | | | | becomes harmonized and you then naturally fall |
| dreams and may lead to lucid dream states as | | | | into slumber. |
| well. | | | | There's yet one more, and perhaps the most |
| Another type of meditation practice to use this | | | | powerful form of meditative introspection you |
| chance to do a full visualization of the bones in | | | | can use if you cannot sleep no matter whether |
| your skeleton to harmonize all the energy all over | | | | you are lying down or sitting up. Keep inquiring -- |
| your body. Starting with your feet, you visualize | | | | looking into the mind to find its source, the source |
| that all the bones in your feet start shining with a | | | | behind your thoughts. Look within to find your |
| bright white light. As you go up your legs, you | | | | mind's owner, the source of the "I" or person |
| progressively visualize that all the bones shine with | | | | experiencing the thoughts. If you can do this while |
| a bright white color and proceed in this manner | | | | forgetting the body and discarding the thoughts |
| visualizing all your skeletal bones up to the top of | | | | that come up in the mind, you'll make great |
| your head. | | | | progress in Advaita Vedanta or Zen. |
| Once the visualization reaches your head, you | | | | That's how you can use the time when you can't |
| imagine that your whole body turns to atoms and | | | | sleep for beneficial activity which will help |
| then blows away so that nothing but emptiness is | | | | rejuvenate your body even though you don't |
| left. Let go of the body and all its tensions and | | | | obtain any hours of nap time. |