United States
University of Hawaii, Middlebury College/Bread Loaf School of English
Instructor, Writer, Author of Spirit of the Village A Maui Memoir ISBN 0977227707 Published 2006
Maui, Hawaii
Oxford, England
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Juneau, Alaska
Renton, Vermont
Portland, Maine
Agana, Guam
Leave a legacy. Write your story
ForefathersMind Trips
Mind traveling can be so exhausting sometimes. Two nights ago between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m, my brain decided to run through past events. Usually, I turn on the light and read a book or write a few pages when this sort of evening occurs. Instead, I allowed the memory files download through the night, each one tagged with emotions of varying depths.
People from the past visited, and conversations replayed.
However, the last one was seeped in frustration. I tried turning it off by counting sheep. There were a few hundred sheep that night. I eventually recreated the scene and arrived at a resolution. It was only then that I fell sleep.
This method of recreation also works for nightmares. Face the fear rather than run from it. Be curious about it. Ask what it is, and it will turn into something less scary. Of course, this is all easily said than done.
It's like writing a story. We create it. So next time I have a sleepless night, I'll try to remember to revise the mind trip. Or get up and brew some chamomile tea.
Truestarr, Thank you for your comments. Mind squirrels surely describes the scratching in the brain when the lights are off
I always think of them as "mind squirrels" up in the attic of my mind, scratching and scribbling around up there just on the edge of sleep. It always depends on how I feel about squirrels on any given night to determine if I actually want to confront them. Some nights I'd rather read. Some nights it's time for the old serenity prayer... "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Hello 9AbeeA,
Thank you for your comment.
The "racing mind" is that exactly. I like your idea of replaying a pleasant memory. Beats the sheep, that's for sure.
My husband calls this "a racing mind" but his is usually about some problem at work. Sometimes when I can't get to sleep, I will intentionally chose something pleasant from my childhood to replay. My favorite one is walking around the yard, naming and smelling all the flowers
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