Sleepless

I rarely have sleepless night. I fall asleep easily once I crawl in my bed and my kitty comes to cuddle with me purring. Only once in a while do I lie awake in bed with my mind spinning for some reason. Sometimes it is the late afternoon coffee although caffeine doesn’t seem to have an affect most of the time. Sometimes my creative mind gets very active and keep thinking of all the interesting ideas. And other times, it is just that monkey mind that gets obsessed about some things. So last night was one of those, and it was the case of those monkey mind as I just realized I made a small mistake in a paperwork I prepared a few hours prior. That mistake itself wasn’t really a big deal, but the mind started searching for all the other little things that are bothering me. It’s amazing how this mind can get so “attached” to the negative thoughts.

Mindfulness practice “should” come in handy in times like this. I did try to direct my attention to the sensations in the body, breathing deeply in and out while lying in bed. Then I tried to identify the feelings and how my thoughts are related to my emotions. It almost seemed to have worked, yet any distraction such as sounds from outside or my husband snoring would get me agitated more. So I got out of bed and went to the living room and sat on the arm chair to meditate. I found it equally ineffective. In the end, I just gave up and threw myself on the sofa and wrapped up in blankets and let my mind do whatever it wanted to do. Next thing I knew was I was awakened by my kitty who walked over me and meowed.

Only a few days ago, I was telling a friend of mine who was having chronic insomnia to try listening to nature sound on a phone app, which there is an abundance of. Even though I don’t have chronic insomnia, I do love to sleep to the sounds of ocean waves (hmmm camping…) or rains. Well, we may get one of those nights when we may have a natural sleep aid tonight…