Thought for the Week
Sleep on it, is an old saying which we apply to a problem or situation, which we can't easily find a solution for. Most people think it is a just a figure of speech, but there is wisdom in it. It doesn't matter what kind of a challenge we have, sleeping on it, is one of the great problem solving exercises.
How does it work?
When we sleep we relax. Our physical body shuts down but our inner bodies continue to work and be active. In fact they work a lot better because now they don't have the distraction of dealing with the physical world. We, as Soul, can now focus on our inner life. We can do lots of things like, be present at major events, visit and meet significant people, family and friends, go to places around the world and to other worlds, and we can even fly, if we wish.
How to work it
Before you go to sleep ask for an answer to a particular situation or problem. Then leave it at that and go to sleep. In the morning, just as you wake up, watch your thoughts. What are your thoughts about? There may be a variety of things floating into your consciousness as you awaken. Check what your thoughts are on the question you asked about. Do you have any ideas related to that?
Don't just hop out of bed. Take time to observe your thoughts and record them into your memory. Once you have a good grasp of them, get out of bed. It is a good idea to write these thoughts into a dream or sleep journal so that you will recall them later. The act of writing will further embed the ideas into your memory and you may recall other details as you write.
Using the problem solving exercises
While writing this article I came to a piece which I couldn't find the words for. Putting the 'Sleep on it' problem solving exercise into practice, I did just that. The next morning there were no enlightening thoughts to help me write a better article but as I sat down to go over the article, a number of ideas about where to get information to develop the article, came to mind.
This is an example of how our inner selves work while we sleep. The insight to go to different sources to check for information would have been suggested to me while sleeping. Then while working on the article, the related insight comes to mind. The insight wasn’t available when I woke up because it wasn’t related to me getting out of bed. When I went to write, the insight came to mind and I was able to use it. The results of the ‘sleep on it’ exercises can be quite subtle but they work.
Learn while we sleep
We can also learn while we sleep. If we have had a restless nights sleep, it may be caused by our apprehension about something happening the next day. This can often be because you are preparing yourself for the event or task. As we are working on a task that relates to the physical world, we will spend your sleep time closer to the physical. When we sleep soundly we generally go deep into our inner worlds, far away from the physical. If we are learning something to do with our physical, it needs to be placed into our memory and we have to be somewhat awake to do that. This causes our restlessness while we sleep.
If you are having a restless night and you have ideas coming to you, it may be a good idea to write the ideas or insights down. Many people use a sleep journal or a dream journal to harvest the inspiration coming from their inner worlds. The act of writing it down will do a few things:
It will capture the idea in a solid physical form,
It will signal to the mind that the idea is now available for use when we wake up,
It will relive our memory which doesn’t have to try to remember the ideas,
All of this can help calm the mind and allow you to sleep better.
Contemplation
Contemplation is another method of finding new ideas to challenges. It's a more conscious way of connecting with our inner worlds. Because we are more conscious we can remember the new ideas easier, we can even take notes if we wish during our contemplation. There's more information on contemplation in this article.
Wishing you sweet dreams and inspirational insights with these problem solving exercises.
*Ed Parkinson
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