Can't sleep?

One of my colleagues have been commenting that lately that a night of uninterrupted sleep appears to be quite difficult to achieve. It is a bit of irony because like meditation, the key is letting go, and if you chase after it, the more you won't get it.

Anyway, he said that either it gets too long for him to fall asleep or he will wake up in the middle of the night and then stay awake till dawn breaks. I asked him what was bothering him and he said work.

Normally, I would have laughed it off if the same thing had not happened to me.

I sleep quite well normally but just a few weeks back I was grappling with a risk management issue at work. And one night, in my dream, I was actually dreaming I was grappling with the same issues, so derams mimic life, exactly. I had to tell myself, in my dreams, to wake up and I was laughing at my horrible dream.

In any case, my colleague asked me what options could I offer. I told him he could either use a bit of alcohol (my exact recommendation was milk with some DOM Benedictine), loving-kindness meditation and regular exercise.

He reported back just a few days ago that he slept soundly after a run.

On Running

I participated in a mass run at Macritchie Reservoir park last Sunday. Even though I was contemplating not going for the run during a very brief moment when I woke up, the experience of completing the run made me realise it was all worthwhile.

A colleague asked me what do I think about when I run. He says he counts numbers to establish a rhythm and to take his mind off the running. I said I enjoy the experience of running so I do not distract myself. In fact, through my own experience, the longer the distance and hence the longer I run, the mind tends to focus itself better because the mind has a major issue it has to muster, that is getting the tired muscles to work.

So for me, I let the mind run free and I find that it helps me to think about some of the issues at work and see them clearer.

But most importantly, the benefit of the run is to train the mind particularly in not giving up.

So, today, I signed up for another three runs, one of them a half-marathon.