EPISODE 2 - DETOXIFYING THE MIND BEFORE SLEEP

Anyone  who goes to work, market or some kind of social activity comes back home with  issues in the mind still wanting to be attended to and this is worse off for the leaders or bosses of their team who have to keep the place on board.

The Creator says “sufficient unto the day is the evil or the hassle there-of’’ and so you don’t need to go to bed with a congested mind all the time and expect to perform optimally the next day. The garbage has to be thrown aside at least for the meantime and you some technique to do that.

There are a number of meditative exercises that can calm the nerves but we can only take one here.

MEDITATIVE EXERCISE:  After your meals at the end of the day sit in a quiet corner where there is minimal distraction. Write any unfinished business of the day in a jotter and as you close the jotter, determinedly tell yourself that you are closing that case for today. Remind yourself that the world will go on without you.

Then focus your mind on any picture scenery in your house- say a waterfall, or beautiful garden etc. As you focus on the scene, imagine yourself being actually in the garden and strolling on the path between the flowers and intermittently breathe in all that is pure and life giving and breathe out all that is impure. Savor the scenery because experiments have shown that the brain does not discriminate whether the person is actually relaxing in a real garden or an imaginary one. As you do this, feel all your nerves relax and tension ease off from your toes to your head. Then go to sleep with the thought of the beauty of the world and all it portrays.

If you have problems going to sleep due to some hurts or midlife problems, don’t keep pumping yourself with sleeping drugs unless it has been specifically prescribed by your physician for a period of time. Go natural—use herbal teas which are just vegetables. Chamomile or Jasmine are very calming teas and their oil can even be sprinkled on your pillow for inhalation as you lie down. Some mix honey and milk or cut a lot of raw onions into their bowl of rice and sleep is easy. But there is a secret I want to reveal to you today –ORANGE LEAVES.  Grape leaves do the work but very acidic. Get some raw orange leaves preferably about 10am, wash them and dry in an airy open but clean place. Then grind and store in a dry container. One tablespoon in a boiling water, seeped for ten mins and drunk will give you a very relaxing and natural sleep. Can be mixed with honey for a better taste and effect.

Science has shown that our brain goes through various levels of consciousness which is classified as wavelengths; we have the beta when we are fully awake and mentally most efficient, then as we drift to sleep we enter the theta wave, then the delta state of very deep sleep, then back to the theta and then the alpha wavelengths. During the very deep sleep our brain is truly resting but as it moves in the theta wavelength (active dreaming state) will be digesting and sorting those things we pushed aside before. And towards your wake that is when you are half asleep and half awake you are in the alpha wave length of human consciousness when the sorted issues in the mind are relayed. Don’t just jump out of bed then; spend some 5 to 10mins in that near wakefulness and take note of any messages or intuitions you get. If they are relevant to your job or issue, write them down so as not to forget. Then you can get up pray and start your day. That kind of habit creates the difference between a calm, self confident, efficient and calculated executive and a disoriented one.

Watch out for the next episode when we will be talking leadership and stress dispositions.