Mindful Rest & Delicious Sleep

There is one practice, perhaps more than any other, that results in us keeping ourselves awake. That practice is trying to sleep. Sleeping is essentially an unconscious activity. When the conscious mind tries to take control of this function, it gets in the way. Another thing that often keeps us awake is worrying about how tired we’ll be if we don’t sleep. The main thing is to get off the topic. We need to allow our body to do what it already knows how to do, and one way we can do that is by managing our attention. So, as you listen to this recording, just let the words and sounds wash over you. If you find that some stray, anxious thoughts about sleep intrude, just allow them to be there, and they will disappear all on their own. It is impossible to decide not to think about a particular topic! If I were to ask you not to think about a pink elephant, you’d probably find that the first thing you thought about was, in fact, a pink elephant. This is completely natural because, in order to know what not to think about, your mind has to represent that thing to itself.