Consciously Falling Asleep
In the process of Consciously falling asleep, an attitude of remaining conscious is vital. Visualizing/Anticipating the entire process of Consciously falling asleep is also of critical importance to falling asleep consciously. You can Meditate, Contemplate, Pray or whatever works for you is just fine, provided you don’t put too much mental/emotional effort into the procedure. Let me take a moment to describe this falling asleep process with two analogies. The first analogy is hitting a fast pitch baseball the second is being in an auto accident.
Failed Assumptions
I was a good softball athlete in my youth, therefore assumed I could hit a 60 mile per hour fastball easily. Well, to my surprise, the mental processes involved in hitting a 3 mile per hour slow pitch softball, bore no resemblance to successfully hitting a 60 mile per hour fastball. Hitting a softball approaching at 3 miles per hour is accomplished by merely watching the ball slowly approach at an even slower rate of velocity. My grandmother could accomplish that. However, hitting a 60 mile per hour fastball with the same mental process involved in hitting a slow pitch ball, is tantamount to attempting to conduct a troupe of 6 year-olds with the same mental process as conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Advice From A Baseball Coach
My baseball coach informed me I’d have to commence the swing way prior to the fast ball even arriving within reaching distance. Example: If I employed the same process involved in hitting a slow 3 mile per hour pitch softball in hitting a 60 mile per hour fastball, by the time I swung the bat, I’d complete the swing 3-4 seconds after the ball past me. I soon discovered that I first need to focus exclusively on the commencing of the fast-pitch. Then I’d commence the swing procedure while the ball was about 40-50 feet away. That worked until the speed of the next pitch was reduced to only 50 miles per hour. At the reduced 50 miles per hour, I’d complete the 60 mile per hour swing prior to the ball arriving. Additionally, if the next pitch was now increased to 70 miles per hour, using my newly discovered technique would have the ball past me before completing the swing. But supposed the ball was curving away from me & to really complete matters, supposed the pitch arrived inadvertently anywhere near my chin. “Yikes”! That completely changed the scenario for me.
Will The Ball Come Straight Or Curve Away
Will the ball come in straight, curve away, faster/slower than 60 miles per hour. What if the ball arrived during the swing only one inch from my chin. And to finally drive the point home, as the pitches commenced, each possible pitch scenario appeared exactly alike.
WHAT TO DO? Being 17 years old, fear was mixed with the machismo of not wanting to appear fearful in front of my friends. Waiting for each pitch was like being stuck in quicksand. Well to my amazement, a solution finally came 30 years later. While at a 60 mile per hour batting cage, I remembered something the great baseball player Cal Ripken, said about hitting a 100 mile per hour Professional pitcher. Since the pitcher has the advantage of knowing what he will throw, he automatically has the advantage because you must respond to what he pitches. Cal Ripken said the only way to even the odds was to approach each at-bat with a prearranged plan. If a pitcher can’t pitch curve-balls then only focus on swinging at fastballs. You’ve eliminated the worry about the curve pitches.
Another mental approach Cal Ripken indicated, was the parameters each Umpire employed. Some umpires may have the quirk of standing far away from the batter. IE: Since I’m right-handed, the umpire sets up far to my right. Thereby he will call every strike inside close to me a ball. As a result, Cal Ripken will ignore any pitch that is inside & close to him, thereby reducing the arsenal of pitches the pitcher can employ. The idea here is not necessarily a mental duel. The idea is to devise a plan to reduce the scenarios a pitcher can employ. This placing the odds in the batter’s favor.
The “X” Factor To Consciously falling asleep
The second process involved in hitting a fast-pitch is a three-part mixture of relaxing, rhythm, and focus. This three-part mixture I’ll call the “X” factor. The “X” Factor is not a conscious factor. It is producing a quiet state to gear the batter up to hit or to unconsciously move his chin out the way of what in fact he cannot see. You have a dozen muscles in your neck, shoulder, arm, forearm, back, sides & even thighs, that you must relax to react quickly to any scenario the pitcher employs. The batter must, first of all, be relaxed which he does by stretching prior to the at-bat. The batter’s rhythm is set by the quirky motions and habits you witness the batter performs prior to readying himself for the pitch.
These ritualistic movements place the batter in an almost semi-hypnotic trance, thereby allowing him to react almost unconsciously if needed. Finally, the batter most focus to the point where he doesn’t hear the roar of the 25,000 fans in the stadium. The batter is now Trance Fixed, just the way you are when viewing a picturesque autumn sunset.
Now at this time, you might be utterly perplexed as to why this writer is babbling about hitting a fastball. And no ladies, this is not a male thing. What I’ve described is similar to the process involved in falling asleep so as to enter the sleep state consciously. This procedure can also enable you to experience a lucid dream and may experience an out of body occurrence. In some instances, Out Of Body Experiences or even Out Of Body Sounds have occurred to me with the aid of this procedure.
Calm Anticipatory State
The second analogy involved in explaining this unconscious state, occurred while I was in an auto accident. While I was a passenger on a dark dimly lit highway, the road was covered with black ice that was not visible. The car entered a curve at a high rate of speed. The driver drove over an unseen patch of black ice and swerved off the asphalt down an embankment. The final thing I recalled was holding onto the dashboard and quietly thinking this entire affair will terminate either two inches in front of an immovable big tree, or we’ll careen virtually through the tree and perish.
I was utterly calm as all appeared to silently proceed in quiet slow motion. I was now awaiting either life or death serenely, without fear. It was like viewing a football game last desperation pass with only seconds remaking in the game clock. Just then, the car came to a rest inches from this massive what would have been immovable tree trunk. “I’m alive”. Then the relief & anger at the driver for being so reckless. The point of the analogy is that this calm anticipating state is what I seek.
Your plan can be an intention of relaxing or anything else that fits your individual makeup. Concerning the “X” factor, we all have personal experiences. There are a thousand books/methods that offer advice to employ. No two people are exactly alike, yet we have similar experiences. You can use or mix this “X” factor in whatever works for you. Just be open to this falling asleep process.
For additional study on Consciously falling asleep, link here: https://info.ancsleep.com/blog/what-is-conscious-sleep-and-how-you-can-try-it
Blog #4… “Conscious Sleep & Lucid Dream”
