Dear Friends,
This week I would like to share some tips for using mindfulness to help you if you’re having difficulty with your sleep. I’ve also shared some of this in a recent video. Many people have told me about their difficulties sleeping, and I have also had periods of time when sleep was more elusive as well.
I think of the challenges of sleep in four main categories:
Can’t sleep because I’m ruminating on past situations, conversations or actions
Can’t sleep because I’m dreading something happening the next day or in the future
Can’t sleep because my system is revved up and I can’t settle down
Can’t sleep because of medications or hormonal changes or pain
For the first two situations, I use my mindfulness practice to notice what thoughts are plaguing me the most. If it’s something that happened in the past, I ask myself the question: Can I do anything about this right now? If there is something small I can do, maybe send an apology email or make a note about something I want to do the next day, I do that.
Dear friends,
Over the years, I have sometimes found myself believing that I need a particular person or thing to make myself feel whole. This feeling is best captured by the expression (coined by Renee Zellweger’s to Tom Cruise in the film Jerry McGuire): “You complete me.”
As I’ve started learning about attachment theory, I see how this feeling stems from the anxiety of being cut off from the truth of my innate wholeness and connection to the cosmos. Understanding all the ways that human beings try to cope with our existential fears of separation helps me better understand and accept my own anxious thinking, which allows more space for transformation. (Some interesting videos on attachment and relationships here.)
Dear friends,
In two weeks, I am heading to Plum Village in France for a month-long meditation retreat. I know I have a lot of privilege to be able to take a month to practice deeply with my community. For that, I am very grateful.
Recently, a friend of mine reached out to see if I could help her with a direct action for social justice, taking place during the time of my retreat. She made a very compelling argument about these unique times that we are in and how important it is to do what we can to end genocide and destruction.