As with all advice, always check with your health care
practitioner before embarking on any regimen, especially one that you haven't
tried before. Everybody's body is different. Having said that, I would like to
introduce you to the secrets I discovered about sleep while living as Buddhist
monk in the backwater jungles of Thailand.
I never slept better than when I was practicing the 227
rules of a Buddhist monk. The rules are designed to create a harmonious
atmosphere for a community of monks so that they can live together peacefully
and practice meditation, but I quickly discovered that these rules not only
enabled us to live together in accordance, but they mystically improved every
aspect of my life, including my physical and mental health.
The rules included only one meal a day and a lot of walking.
We would walk into the surrounding villages at daybreak, usually a two to five
mile walk, and collect that day's food from the villagers. We were not allowed
to store food, so we had to make our walk every day. The food consisted of
mainly rice, miniature Thai bananas, leafy vegetables, and occasionally a
little protein, such as dried fish, grasshoppers, chicken -- all organic.
We would eat our one meal a day in the meditation hall,
which was about a half mile from my hut, so I had to walk the half mile quite a
few times, night and day. This was in addition to the walk into the villages.
The walking, combined with the type and quality of fresh food, and the fact
that the digestive system had to work only once a day, all promoted a restful
night's sleep. The decisive factor, however, was the meditation practice, which
has a tendency to relax the mind and resolve any outstanding conflicts so that
one can really relax peacefully at night and experience a dreamless,
invigorating sleep.
Now that I am stateside again, I still sleep like a baby. My
regular routine is an hour or two of brisk walking every day, lots of whole
grain brown rice (the bulk of my calories), very little fruit, maybe some
blueberries, apples or grapefruit, lots of vegetables, beans, and olive oil, no
sugar whatsoever, no wheat, dairy products, meat, etc. (small quantities of
fish, eggs or chicken can be added), adequate salt, and lots of vitamins,
especially vitamin C. I meditate regularly whenever I have time and always
before bedtime. Walking, meditation, and a diet close to the macrobiotic model
seem to work magic.
If you are lacking in either or all of these areas --
walking, vitamins, meditation, or diet, and you are having problems sleeping
well, you might consider slowly incorporating this regimen into your lifestyle.
It costs nothing, and actually your food bill will reduce dramatically, unless
you buy designer brown rice. (Is there such a thing)? Another side benefit is
that any health problems already active or soon to become active will probably
be reduced or eliminated without the need of invasive drugs.
Overall, your health and mental outlook will improve
dramatically; a good night's sleep is the best insurance policy for health, and
since everything mentioned is natural, there are no side effects or long-term
dangers as one may experience with drugs of any kind. The three key ingredients
are meditation, diet, and exercise. The reason walking works so well is because
it doesn't add to your stress levels. You can do it around home, no need to
spend extra money to attend classes or involve yourself with stressful,
competitive workouts.
Meditation is free as well. A beginning book on meditation
will suffice, or free advice is available on my Southwest Florida Insight
Center website mentioned below. Since none of this should cost you additional
money, your stress levels should reduce, and with meditation practice, your
stress levels should reduce dramatically. One added bonus is that meditation,
over time, will reduce any obsessive wants and cravings, and this will help
maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Sleep well!
E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and
principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, http://www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com
His twenty-eight years of meditation experience has taken him across four
continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the
remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A
Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major
bookstores and online retailers. Visit [http://www.AYearToEnlightenment.com]
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