Who Are You, and What Are You?

Did you know that sleeping pills can shorten your life? If you’ve never learned about the risks of sleeping pills, read The Dark Side of Sleeping Pills as one of many sources. But even with the widely known risks, millions of people continue using sleeping pills regularly, with over 50 million prescriptions each year amounting to more than $3 billion.

And, while most unfortunate people will keep on popping their pills to get to sleep, a few of us know a much better way—which is simply learning to quiet the mind. It’s safer, cheaper, healthier, and has numerous side benefits. You’d think everybody would want to learn it, right?

No. Pills are easy and cheap (especially when subsidized by health insurance). Whereas, learning to quiet the mind takes time and practice. Most people want instant gratification and little or no effort. So be it. Essentially, they are choosing a dead-end street. They are using drugs to mask the real problem. Over time, they’re likely to need stronger and stronger chemicals to bludgeon their mind into numbed-down unconsciousness. But despite the drugs, their out-of-control mind will continue to torture them day and night, even during their drug-induced sleep.

Learning and practicing your way to deep, restful sleep can be done in as little as a few weeks—or in some cases, never. It all depends on the student. But more than half of my Conscious Quiescence students reported positive results within a few weeks.

Learning to achieve deep, restful sleep is an easy two-step process. I call it “easy,” because there is nothing inherently difficult about it. The chief difficulty will be your persistence and lack of dedication. However, if you resolve yourself to practice ten to fifteen minutes a day for at least five days of each week, you’ll get it.

Next post: What are the two steps to achieving deep, restful sleep.