Oh man, I have tried so hard to not write this Daily Reminder, but I get reminded of the subject myself every single day, sometimes twice a day (if I manage to squeeze in a siesta), so you’re just going to have to bear with me on this one. It’s getting written. Now.
This is a little peek inside the weird and wonderful world of the G.E.C. (the Giles Ego Construct 📦)
But I’m really hoping you find it helpful. Because it’s the weekend and it’s the holidays and who doesn’t love sleep, eh?
😴
It’s a very silly little thing I’ve noticed, and it’s to do with getting to sleep easily, so here goes.
I’ve written before (Time to sleep, mind) , that getting to sleep is like a two-step process:
- Understand that—obvious physiological reasons aside—it’s distraction by the mind that’s keeping you awake
- Let the mind know it’s ok to STFU now, cos it’s sleepy-time.
And hey presto, you’re out. 💤
Step 1 is important. You kind of have to be in no doubt whatsoever that 100% of your felt experience of life—even your physiology!—is being brought alive in consciousness by the Principle of Thought.
Until you’re on board with that, it won’t make sense to do Step 2; it’ll seem like there’s something else going on, and the mind loves a loophole.
(If you’re not there yet, you really should come on the RECONNECT course – I only run it once a year for the public, and everyone who does it, sleeps better!)
And then Step 2 is really a case of noticing.
Because you can be all over the inside-out understanding—you could share it for a living, as I do!—and simply not notice that you’re thinking up an insomniac storm.
As in, it will totally pass you by (as it does me, from time to time) and you’ll be lying there wondering what the hell’s wrong with you and why you can’t sleep?!
😖
Cos there are a bazillion things that have happened during the day. And there are another bazillion things that will need doing when you wake up, and the mind will very naturally want to address all of that.
Thing is, it can do that (does a really good job, too) while you’re asleep!!
Indeed, that’s one of the main reasons you’re going to sleep in the first place. It doesn’t need to keep you awake for that.
🤦🏻♂️
So, you have to spot it, and you have to give it permission to shut up.
And I’ve noticed—from going to sleep, a lot—that my tongue holds the key.
😝
See, I’ve observed a really solid correlation: when my mind is active, for whatever reason, I find my tongue is pretty much always plastered to the roof of my mouth.
It’s really consistent. I don’t want to go creating any made up rules or anything here, but for the G.E.C. 📦 it’s like Processing Mode is associated with a degree of muscle tone in my tongue.
And so I’ve kind of got into the habit—when I know I’m ready for sleep (which for me is almost the very second I lie down!)—of just checking out where my tongue’s at.
99 times out of 100 I’ll find it stuck on the roof of my mouth.
So all I do is I relax it. Let it flop into waving around, unsupported in the middle of my mouth.
(Guys, I did warn you!! 😆)
It’s brilliant, because this is like a super-easy way to do Step 2: I’ve associated a relaxed tongue with giving the mind permission to stop all that processing now, and let me go to sleep.
Does this mean relaxed tongue = immediate free-flow/sleep mode?
It doesn’t mean anything. Stop that! 🤨
It’s just a pattern I’ve noticed in my behaviour that I’m leveraging to my advantage, having understood the universal principles that govern our experience, moment to moment.
For me, it works.
And if I don’t get to sleep straight away, I’ll check in again with where my tongue’s at the next time I remember, lying there, and what do I find? Oh yeah, it’s glued back up on the roof of my mouth again!
😂
You could find something that works for you.
My wife relaxes her shoulders, her jaw and—weirdly, to me—her eyeballs, and that’s very much a W.E.C. (Wife Ego Construct 📦) thing.
So anyway, there you go.
YMMV, but next time you’re heading for slumber-land, just try it: check in with where your tongue’s at… or find your own way to let the R.E.C. (Reader Ego Construct 📦) know that it’s ok to settle down now; its hyper-activity is officially surplus to requirements.
It’s time for sleep.
🥱
Giles
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