While I pondered weak and weary.....my daughter recited the opening to that poem in 4th grade and though I've long forgotten the bulk of it, I think often of those two lines as I'm awake at midnight. And again at 2am. And 3am. And again at 4am and 5am. I have become a guided meditation master, blowing through hours of Deep Sleep Meditations. They mostly do put me to sleep, but then I pop awake an hour later. Apparently, as you get older, your hormones want to party all night long and your body wants to sleep all night long. These days, the hormones are winning.
One of my favorite meditations is by a dude named Kenneth. Kenneth has a lovely accent and thanks me for being there with him every night. Oh, Kenneth. You're welcome. Then he reminds me that everything is okay. That it's okay to relax andit's okay if you fall asleep and it's also okay if you don't. I didn't realize until after I had listened to this meditation a half dozen times, that it also contains affirmations for "Unstoppable Courage and Inner Power". Probably because I'm always adjusting my headphones in the beginning when he mentions this and I fall asleep before he starts the actual affirmations. Considering how many times I've listened to this meditation though, I should have the heart of a lion at this point.
This is me in my fashion dress riding my giant lion that I manifested from all my meditations.
They say that your sleep score is important if you have insomnia. Turn off lights, shut down screens, keep your bedroom dark and cool...blah, blah, blah. As my fellow insomniacs can attest to, you can have a sleep score of 150 and still have your hormones (or for some of you it might be your thoughts or your body) screaming "We gotta fight! For the right! To PAAAAAAAARRRRRTTTTYYYY!" Of course they're screaming Beastie Boys songs from the '80s. They're old people hormones. Duh.
This is what my hormones would be using to play their funky music while I try to sleep.
I've also heard that melatonin is good. And lavendar, magnesium, CBD and a whole host of other fancy supplements. I've also heard sleep aid drugs are good. None of these work for me and the drugs are like being stuck in a horrible nightmare that you can't get out of. I'd rather just not sleep.
I should have happy ending to this post. Some sort of resolution or suggestion or at least something witty. But I totally don't. Howeer, I will leave you with some of my favorite bedtime meditations (not all of them, cause I do like 8 a night) and while they may not keep you asleep, they're lovely to fall asleep to. And if you can manifest millions of dollars or unstoppable courage while you're drifting off, why not?
What's better than a million dollars? A full night of sleep, that's what.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9jIuZ_1I8c&t=101s This one is very relaxing, though you don't get to manifest anything. She has an incredibly soothing voice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H0xE47I6T0&t=2886sI like the message of this one and I REALLY DO want to manifest everything I desire, but I find his voice hard to listen to sometimes. He's trying too hard to talk quietly. Like when someone is trying to chew quietly, but it's right next to your ear. Still - if you don't mind chewing, you might manifest your dreams from this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEd2K1FxNQY Like Australian dudes? Here ya go, mate.
Sleep well, my friends. And if you don't, know that I'm right there with you with my headphones on, listening to Kenneth tell me I'm a dear soul and that it's okay. It's okay.
