{"id":11,"date":"2010-12-03T06:25:25","date_gmt":"2010-12-03T06:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/12\/sleepless-nights.html"},"modified":"2010-12-03T06:25:25","modified_gmt":"2010-12-03T06:25:25","slug":"sleepless-nights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/12\/sleepless-nights.html","title":{"rendered":"Freeform Friday :: Sleepless Nights"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BS15100.JPG\"<\/a><\/span>I’ve written about sleep for my stress reduction column and I’m no stranger to difficulty sleeping. Mindfulness offers us a way to work with sleeplessness. As we lie in bed trying to fall asleep or back asleep we can do a body scan practice. Instead of tossing and turning pay attention to the sensations that are present in the body. Move to wherever the energy is strongest or move systematically from the top of your head to the tip of your toes. Either one of two things will happen: 1) you will fall asleep, or 2) you will spend time meditating and enjoy the benefit of that. While not sleep, time spent in meditation can be exchanged for minutes of sleep, providing restfulness and clarity. Give it a try the next time you are having difficulty. If you are unfamiliar with the Body Scan meditation, you can listen to it and download it for free from the Exquisite Mind website<\/a>. 
<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n


<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n


<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Waves, inexorable, crashing surf.
<\/span>The many threads of a tapestry, unraveled
<\/span>unwoven, all command attention at once
<\/span>in the roar of a crashing wave, and
<\/span>sometimes one by one
<\/span>petitioning anxiety, 
<\/span>necks crane into the future
<\/span>
<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Turning away into the seething foam
<\/span>Feeling the weight of the tidal pull,
<\/span>tucking the threads back into the body
<\/span>until sleep comes.
<\/span>Allowing gravity to do what it does,
<\/span>bringing us closer to ground, 
<\/span>to earth, to home.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/span>
<\/span>And this night, 
<\/span>the restless sea cannot wait until the light of day,
<\/span>marching in the darkness
<\/span>pushing from dreams of airplanes and cars
<\/span>to wakefulness: 
<\/span>5:46 A.M.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The imagined pleasure of coffee
<\/span>in the cool darkness
<\/span>is enough to get the body out of its
<\/span>restless turnings and into this day of 
<\/span>doing, trying to weave these threads into 
<\/span>something coherent, even artful, or 
<\/span>accidentally beautiful.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n


<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve written about sleep for my stress reduction column and I’m no stranger to difficulty sleeping. Mindfulness offers us a way to work with sleeplessness. As we lie in bed trying to fall asleep or back asleep we can do a body scan practice. 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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}