Sleep More...

(an excerpt from my yet unpublished book iHealeress, A Memoir of a Shameless Old Lady who befriended the Universe)

Originally written in July 2020.

Sleep more. It is basic advice for maintaining good mental health. “I cannot sleep,” is often the first warning sign that something is going wrong. Patrick once told me that everybody, without exception, will experience delusions or hallucinations if they are sleep deprived for a long time. Delusions and hallucinations are signs of mental illness.

So…

It was 2001 when my daughter called me, saying, "Mom, there is a new, unusual film called

'Amelie.' I won't tell you anything about it. Just go watch it and let me know what you think…" At the time, my daughter and I were going through real hardship.

Anyhow, I went to the cinema and the movie started. Somehow, I couldn't help it…I was more and more sleepy, and then I fell asleep. I called my daughter after and told her that I hadn't seen the movie because I fell asleep. She laughed and said that she wanted to check with me because the same had happened to her.

After Amelie, it happened more often. I was not able to enjoy some outstanding concerts or performances, because I popped into a divine mood, relaxed, and fell asleep. Once I remember after a long period of hesitation (because of really high prices) I finally bought a ticket to one of the Sydney Festival events. It presented photographs of human faces (though a more accurate description would be photographs of human souls) along with divine, soothing music. It was the creation of two artist friends from the US. I was truly upset, because I had paid so much for the ticket, only to find myself napping. On the bright side of this phenomenon was that my subconscious mind was listening and probably healing. High Art and High Emotions can touch the core of many people's inner beings…a higher truth, innate goodness, ultimate justice…home. And… at home, we have naps.

In 1996 when I moved into my new house, the first thing I did was nicely decorate it. Later on, people started appearing, mostly for yummy food and advice. Violeta, a frequent guest at this time, always kept saying that staying for 15 minutes in my place would clear her mind and provide respite from all her trouble. Another thing I had noticed among my visitors was that after a meal, friendly conversation, and soothing music, everybody started to yawn. Was I so boring? It was my first thought, but later I knew that people felt at home...and at home, we have naps.

Yesterday, my friend Adam came over. Adam is a young healer who is strict with boundaries, not to say obsessed. He always talks about the strict rules healers should implement. He had been through some coronavirus hardship recently. None of his healer friends wanted to see him. Me, a healer without boundaries, gave him some nourishment. A warm homemade meal, conversation, soft music, and a happy tarot reading. He could hardly keep his eyes open, so he left early. Will he draw any conclusions from our meeting? Or he will lose respect for me, the healer without boundaries for whom money and time do not matter? Or maybe he will not acknowledge the situation…

By the way, I like to take note of when the people I talk to become firstly deeply relaxed and later sleepy. Often, they report long naps or an extremely good night of sleep after. Not many of them connect it with magic of the healing session…