Bedtime Stories

With all the excitement in my life and all of the tasks and "to-do's" for the next day, I have been finding it hard to get to sleep when I crawl into bed. This is especially the case on nights where I try to get to sleep between 8 and 8:30 so I can wake up at 3am fresh the next morning. I have employed the use of a sleep mask, which is awesome although my eyes have been a bit itchy in the mornings. Although I can easily shut off the lights, it is still hard to shut off my mind or even slow it down as it races through thoughts. I have found a solution! Sometimes the simplest, most elemental things from our childhood can still carry over into adult life. There was often nothing more settling than my mom telling or reading me a story as I lay in bed. Although I can't duplicate the soft, gentle touch of my mother's hand on my brow, I have been listening to an audiobook story each night through my iphone's ear buds as I lie in bed and relax. I focus on the words of the story and try to paint a picture of what is going on in my mind. All of the focus is in the story, so my own worries and thoughts fade away. I don't think I get very far as I find the next evening I have to start in almost the same spot from the night before. Good. At some point in the night I wake up and stop playback and can easily fall back to sleep.

I've been listening to "Buddha" by Deepak Chopra and narrated by Deepak Chopra. He tells the story very well as he should since he wrote the book! The descriptions are very detailed, and this is a story of the Buddha's life. I'm only in his childhood and will probably be there for a great while, but so far I am enjoying the story. Audiobooks are a great way to enjoy a story since they are narrated and all you have to do is listen. I listen to motivational audiobooks as well, but I'm trying to keep it more relaxing near bedtime. If you're having trouble getting to bed, I encourage you to listen to a story and envision it in your mind as you fall off to sleep. Have a great day everyone, and thanks for reading!