Sleep Your Way to the
Soul's Greatest Healing
onsider these two scenarios - You lie down on
your bed, close your eyes, have a blissful sleep
for 6 to 8 hours, wake up refreshed, ready to
take on the day. The other scenario is - you lie down on
your bed, toss and turn, and think of all the stressors
keeping you awake. Which of these two scenarios givesa
good start toa new day, anda peaceful anchor to life?
It is no wonder that alittle discipline over how long you
sleep, how deeply you sleep, determines your state of
mind throughout the day. If you have a habit of doing
‘yoga and meditation in the morning, a good sleep will
facilitate a deeply relaxing meditation and effective
‘yoga. Your consciousness will feel fresh and elevated,
ready to take on and make the best of the day.
April 2022| STAYE#T [3A\ Ve
Kamlesh D. Patel (Daaji)
Guide of Heartfulness Institute
Finding the Natural Rhythm
Let me go back a few steps to the two
different scenarios we encountered. How
do we give every day that stable start? If we
need stability, and a compass to live by for
our everyday lives, we need to find the
natural rhythm of Earth, of Nature itself,
and try to tune ourselves to it
afford to go against the natural cycles of
carth and expect tohavea peaceful sleep, or
even some semblance of peace. Both
science and ancient spiritual wisdom
confirm that it is in our best interest to
‘We cannot
‘work with the cycles of Nature and be in
harmony with the Earth. The first step in
thisis to sleep and wake up according to the
rising and setting ofthe sun, if possible.
When we try to balance our lives, not only
do we balance our roles and
responsibilities, our time, and
relationships, but we also balance the
natural elements in our space. Sleep is one
of the most important elements, another
being nutrition, for physical and emotional
well-being.
34| STAYFAT | April 2022
Heal the Body While You Sleep
A good sleep is essential for the body to work on
healing and recovery. ‘The quality and quantity of
restorative sleep deeply influences how soon the body
repairs injured parts. A study indicates that sleep is
‘more important than nutrition to heal the body. Sleep
scientists began researching the role of nutrition in
healing, instead they ended up discovering that sleep
actually accelerated physical healing. Another study
shows that sleep deprivation slows the healing
process. Sleep also strengthens the immune system.
Alack of sleep damages our genes.
‘Therefore, for physical wellbeing, we need good sleep
to perform well at our jobs, careers, relationships,
and generally to function well in society and
community. Sleep is ‘Manna’, an elixir, for our
‘wellbeing -nothingless.
Heal Consciousness While You Sleep
Not only does sleep provide physical healing, it also
heals our conscious mind and our consciousness. At
the physical level, the human system needs a
balanced input of nutrients, like proteins,
carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. Similarly, at
the level of consciousness, we need to spend a
balanced duration in the four states - wakeful, dream,
sleep, and ‘turiya’ (a transcendental state). Turiya is
purely an inner state of the soul orheart, and it can be
reached through a deeply relaxed meditation such as
Heartfulness meditation. This state is the source of
creativity, accidentally or unconsciously triggered in
artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs. The yogis of the
world do it consciously by training their
consciousness through spiritual practices. For those
curious about the turiya state, you are welcome to try
contemplative practices like Heartfulness
meditation. This heals our consciousness from past
impressions and emotional burdens. A good sleep isa
necessary precursor to reaching this turiya state.‘Coming back to the state of consciousness known as
sleep - we all know the length of a good sleep, the
benefits of maintaining the natural circadian
thythm, avoiding gadgets a few hours before we
sleep, having an early light dinner, etc. Additionally,
let us consider how to get into a peaceful and calm,
disposition as bedtime approaches.
A Bedtime Routine to Sleep Well and Heal Well,
My spiritual teacher, Shri Ram Chandra of
Shahjahanput, treated the hour just before sleep
with great reverence. He suggested 10 principles
for good living, and one of the important principles
was to sleep with an attitude of gratitude towards
the Source. He suggested that we submit our day's
deeds, both good and bad, our joysand sorrows, our
accomplishments and failures, all such dualities
with a feeling of utmost humility, laying our soul
bare, and further submitting our willingness to
attain our highest potential. This process heals us
emotionally and refines our heart, connecting us to
expanded subconscious and superconscious states
duringssleep.
Thus, the ultimate healing is our submission,
undisguised and candid exposing of ourselves to
our higher selves. Then, better sleep becomes a
mere byproduct in this magical passage of life,
helping usheal our souls for eternity.
About the Author:
Kamlesh Patel, known to many as Daaji, is the
Heartfulness Guide. He is bringing the essence of
yogic spiritual practices tothe modern world ina
scientific way, in order to help people regulate
their minds, manage their emotions, and elevate
their consciousness to the highest possible level.
He is a role model for millions of spiritual
seekers around the world and is at home with
people from all backgrounds and walks of life,
giving special attention to the youth of today.
April 2022