Sleep is not something you can bring about willingly.
Just as in nurturing a plant,
All you can do is create the right conditions.
I recommend that you do this.
You know,
Don't drink an espresso at 10pm.
What about those times when you've done everything right,
And sleep still won't come?
Well,
For once I actually have a magic pill for you.
Rest.
Rest—genuine rest—is different to sleep,
In that it requires no conditions to be in that it requires no conditions whatsoever.
You can rest in bed,
And you can rest in the middle of a busy nightclub.
I recommend trying this at least once.
It's quite trippy.
You can rest on your sofa,
And you can rest at work.
You can even rest while operating heavy machinery,
And you'll actually do a better job.
Because when I say rest,
I don't mean recline and put your feet up.
I don't mean close your eyes and count sheep.
I mean simply to stop telling yourself stories.
To stop seeking.
To stop wishing things were different.
To stop daydreaming.
To stop worrying.
I mean to rest as the fundamental basis of what is.
And what is that fundamental basis?
Awareness.
Uncontrived and unadulterated.
Always completely pure and beyond harm.
Never needing anything to sustain itself.
Awareness is what remains between stories.
Between seeking.
Between wishing things were different.
Between daydreaming.
Between worrying.
And it's present while all of this is going on,
Too.
If it weren't,
You wouldn't know any of it.
If you were not aware,
You would not exist.
Retreating to this natural state where nothing need be done is genuine rest.
And it is far superior to sleep.
Have you ever woken up more tired than you were when you went to bed?
You can be creating enormous tension when you sleep.
You can be tormenting yourself with the most awful nightmares.
What you really seek when you're tired is relief.
Relief from the mind's relentless fabricating.
Relief from reification.
From constantly attributing meaning to things,
People,
Places,
Events,
Sensations,
Thoughts,
Emotions.
Belief from chaining these things together into elaborate stories,
Extending into the imaginary past and future.
And you can give yourself this relief any time you choose by simply recognising the fundamental basis of all of it.
Be aware of things just as they are.
Be aware of thoughts just as they are.
Be aware of emotions just as they are.
And when you identify once again with stuff,
Rest once again.
Enjoy the relief that comes with this simple practice.
Gain evidence for its incredible benefit.
Rest.
Rest.
Rest.
Rest.
