The Secret to Deep Sleep
Question: When we seek advice from either Eastern or Western medical doctors, they often recommend taking medicine to help us sleep better. People from past generations have also said that sleep can cure almost anything. Sometimes I feel refreshed after sleeping, but other times I wake up feeling uncomfortable. According to one research group, the quality of our sleep depends on our sleeping position and the thoughts we have before falling asleep. Great Mentor, could you please teach us how to sleep well to support our health?
Answer: Everyone needs sleep. It’s essential for both the body and the soul. Why? After a full day of activity, sleep gives us a chance to recharge physically and let the soul do its job. We’re not just running our bodies throughout the day, our souls are active too. And during sleep, both have their roles to play. The body works to replenish energy, while the soul also carries out its important tasks. Sleep is a time when we purify the physical body. A good night’s sleep helps eliminate toxins, impurities, and even the root of illness. If you want to cleanse yourself, physically or energetically, stop everything else and focus on sleeping well.
When we consistently care for and protect ourselves, our body becomes healthier, and our soul also becomes healthy. Caring for both daily is essential. There is something that our soul does with Grand Nature while we sleep. But for Grand Nature to do its work, we must sleep well. The quality of our sleep depends on how we spend our time before bed, what kind of conversations we have, and what kinds of activities we engage in. If we engage in low-quality actions or speak poorly before going to bed, we become deeply tired. Even if we didn’t do any physical labor, having low-level conversations or behavior drains the soul. When both the body and soul are exhausted in this way, you don’t sleep well, and the next day will be troublesome. That’s why sleeping well is so important. If you engage in high-quality thoughts or meaningful activities, you might feel refreshed after just 2 to 4 hours of sleep. But if your actions or mindset are chaotic or low in quality, even 7 to 12 hours of sleep won’t leave you feeling rested. That’s because your soul wasn’t able to process and clear away unnecessary burdens during sleep. This is why the kind of conversations you have in the evening matters greatly.
Those of you who study Nature's Principles (Jungbub) often listen to lectures at night, right? How do you feel after sleeping on them? You don’t feel drained, do you? Even if your sleep was short and you feel slightly tired in the morning, your energy quickly recovers with just a little activity. That’s because you input high-quality energy into your soul before sleep. Listening to these teachings raises your soul’s energy level, and this helps you feel more balanced in daily life. You don’t feel overly tired. On the other hand, when we engage in meaningless or negative conversations, the soul gets worn out, even if we sleep for a long time.
That’s why it’s important to create enjoyable and uplifting experiences in the evening. Many people spend their nights drinking and talking about negative things, but this isn’t wise. Avoid those kinds of conversations. Listen to positive things instead. You may hear negative talk during the day, and that’s okay, because your body still has energy to process it. However, if we put something poisonous in our body in the evening when we are tired from the day, our body loses its power. In the evenings, we should do simple entertaining things and eat healthy. And be sure to spend the winter well, so you can prepare for the following year.