BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Meditation Meditating in Bed

There are often times when I really need to go to sleep but I just can't fall asleep. So I try to use the time to meditate (since I am a perennial multi-tasker). Rarely does it work My mind goes over all sorts of to-do lists instead.

I have tried the count-to-100 or count-down-from-100 techniques which do tend to work and help out a bit.

Does anybody else meditate in bed?

Yes, I sometimes go grab my meditation tape and listen to it for a 30 minute period and sit up in my yoga position in my bed because I can't get to sleep and because I missed a meditation session that day. Unfortunately I sometimes end up dosing off to sleep with my walkman speakers in my ears.

I also go to sleep every night to the sounds of a Sony wave machine. It's very meditative. I often just turn the light off and sit and think until the sound of ocean waves takes me away to a state of sleepiness. My mother bought me the wave machine as a gift. I thought at first it was a funny thing until I tried it. Now I can't go to sleep without it.

If I try to meditate laying in bed I go to sleep!

I would be fine with falling asleep I do have sound CDs and an air filter, I should try the ocean wave sounds the next time, and meditate to them.

I did find a mental exercise that was helpful a night or two ago. My mind was just *clogged* with mental junk. So I started imagining that I had a shiny gold scooper - the kind with mesh that you scoop things out of hot pots with. I scooped up the thoughts and put them safely into a carved oak box, for safe keeping for later. Any time new thoughts came in, I gently scooped them up and put them into the safe keeping box. It actually seemed to work!

Lisa, that is a lovely visualization! I can see that it would distract you from the actual to-do lists!

Sorry, the wave machine is not by Sony, it is by Conair and I've seen it at Bed, Bath & Beyond and I think Linen & Things has it too. It's a little round machine and has about 12 sounds like rainfall, white noise, thunder, waterfall, stream, birds chirping, etc. But my favorite is the ocean wave so I just always play that every night over and over. It can run by battery or electrical outlet.

I think if i meditated lying down in bed i'd fall asleep. But sitting up should be fine.

I have a sound machine I like too, but I mainly keep it and use when working in my office, since my honey prefers the sound of a fan while we are sleeping.

I'm with Jill. Any "meditation" lying down would result in a snooze.

Oh, and Lisa, that really is a lovely mediation idea. You are so neat.

I think it's fine to fall asleep during a sleepytime meditation though because you get double benefit You get the meditative relaxation - and then you get to sleep more easily rather than having your mind race around. So it's multitasking