Intuition for Insomnia

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Insomnia, especially long-term insomnia, is tough. Whether you can’t fall asleep, wake in the middle of the night, or wake too early in the morning, recurring sleeplessness wears on the nerves and emotions.
 
Sometimes the reason for a bad night’s sleep is clearly connected to anxiety or anticipation over what’s happening in your life. For example, there may be an upcoming event, a significant life change, or a big decision to make.

However, when the reasons are not as obvious or when insomnia persists, that’s an indicator of deeper issues that we may be having trouble facing. During the day while our egos are alert, our defenses may consciously or unconsciously block difficult things from our awareness. When let go into sleep our defenses go to sleep as well, and blocked issues have the chance to bubble up to the surface of consciousness.​

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Treating Insomnia
As I’ve endeavored to face fears and follow my heart, I’ve spent some dark hours awake and alone in the middle of the night in various states of anxiety and acceptance.  
 
It’s natural to want to “cure” insomnia as quickly as possible, since a restful night’s sleep is right up there with air, water, shelter, and food on the list of fundamental human needs. Bedtime routines and sleep hygiene can help, as well as listening to a calming meditation before bed. The Internet offers many suggestions and resources. Alternatively, there are a wide variety of pills available.
 
Of the various over-the-counter remedies such as melatonin, Advil-PM, and Valerian, melatonin has given the best results for me. Because it’s non-habit forming, unlike most prescription sleep aids, I don’t worry about the side effects. Yoga Nidra recordings have also been a go-to aid to relax me back to sleep.
 
But at a certain point my sleep aids failed to work, and this pushed me to look for a deeper self-healing approach.
 
Turning to Intuition
In dealing with insomnia, I’ve had to accept how strong my fears can be and how supremely gentle, compassionate, and creative my approach must be in uncovering them.

After raging against the symptom and not making progress, I finally got to a place where surrender became the only option. With surrender, my perspective changed—I found gratitude for my symptoms, and a new level of humility.  It became apparent that having this experience was necessary to inspire me to change.
 
At the suggestion of a trusted practitioner, I decided to practice what I preach: see my insomnia as a mirror, turn on the receptivity of my intuitive self, and listen and learn.
 
Here are the suggested intuitive practice steps that I have found helpful.
 
Steps for Intuitive Practice
1. Accept and Surrender

• Accept that there is something you are afraid or unwilling to see. Accept that physical well-being depends on finding courage to go deeper and see what’s there.
• Surrender to the insomnia. If you use sleep aids, for 1–2 days a week you may choose to put them aside and commit to being present with what happens, using the steps below. However, if you use prescription sleep aids that may be combined with anti-depressants or any other medication, please check with your doctor before making any changes.
• Vow to go through the process with compassion and gentleness. This includes cutting yourself slack in your waking life on days when you don’t get much rest. Create a cushion of space and time to allow healing to take place. For example, if you normally have your daily activities planned back-to-back, consider scheduling less. If you are a parent, arrange for a few extra hours of child care to allow for rest during the day. If this seems completely undoable, then your daily routine could be the first place to investigate for the source of your sleep issues.

 
2. Celebrate

• Have an internal celebration, knowing that the release of whatever is causing your insomnia holds the key to potentially deep and significant healing in your life. If it wasn’t a big deal, it wouldn’t be hidden this deep. Know that the “dark” part of what is being brought to light is wrapped around a strength or innate gift. When you bring that part of yourself out of the dark, the gifts that are associated with it will be freed as well.

 
3. Organize

• Keep a journal and pen next to your bed.
• If you share your bed, find a small source of light, such as a headlamp, that you can turn on at night without waking your bed mate.

 
4. Notice and Write
When you wake up in the night, pay attention to what is in your awareness. Collect this awareness in a semi-waking state, then sit up and write down what you noticed. For example,

• If you wake from a dream, note the subject/theme/symbol/character in your dream.
• If you wake with a thought or feeling, note what or who you are thinking about. (For example, a song lyric or a memory that has emotional significance)
• If you lay in bed unable to get to sleep, note the thoughts in your head. Drop out of your mind and into your heart, feel into your body. What is the predominant sensation or emotion? Sit up and write it down.

Write as many plain details as you can. Don’t worry if they don’t make sense or seem random. When you are fully awake later on you can begin to connect the dots. Write down the time of night with each entry and leave journal space for later reflection. Do this each time you wake up or can’t get to sleep.
 
5. Reflect
Set aside time during the day to review your notes. In your waking state write your impressions in the blank space after each entry. Here are some tips to make this meaningful:

• Look at the information through the lens of metaphor. The deepest parts of our consciousness speak to us in metaphors, archetypes, and symbols. Drop your literal interpretation and look for what the messages represent or symbolize in your life.
• Meditate on a character or memory or concept from your notes. Ask the question, “Why is this person/place/experience in my awareness at night when I am trying to sleep?” Then be quiet and allow images, words, or knowing to come.
• Dialogue with a character or image in your dream. Use a pen and paper. Select the character and write its name on top of the page with your dominant hand and set the intention to let the character speak through you. With your non-dominant hand write a question, such as, “Why are you in my dream?” Then put the pen in your dominant hand, relax, and listen for the voice of the character, writing down whatever messages or images you get.
• Notice if the time of your insomnia has a pattern, like waking up each night at 3:00am. Reference the Chinese Five Element Time Table (below) which maps the elements and body meridians onto the 24-hour day. Find the element that governs the hour(s) of your insomnia and read about its qualities, especially the emotion associated with that element.

 
6. See Patterns/Make Choices

• Every few days or each week, take inventory of the messages and patterns. Notice if you begin to receive more awarenesses in your waking day.
• Consciously slow down and allow yourself to feel the feelings associated with your awarenesses. These can be difficult feelings, such as loneliness, grief, anxiety, fear, or shame. As the feelings come to the surface, the wounds and patterns they are linked to can begin to heal.
• When issues are very deep, it can be tough to get to them on your own since the defensive ego works very hard to keep us “safe” in the familiar and protect us from seeing what is in the shadow, or the unconscious. You may choose to work with a trusted therapist, energy healer, or intuitive counselor to support your exploration and help bring an objective perspective.

 
My Results
I’m grateful to say that implementing this approach has improved my sleep and provided healing insight in my waking life. Although there may still be some wakeful nights, I no longer go to bed with anxiety about insomnia. I’ve come to appreciate the opportunity to walk through the doorway of my inner awareness when it opens, even when it looks dark.
 
May you sleep and dream well.
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Chinese Five Element Time Table