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Sunday Contemplations: Cures for Insomnia

Jamal (Beaury), 12 Masa’il (Questions) 175 B.E. - Sunday, December 23, 2018

Cures for Insomnia

I haven't had insomnia this month. The main reason, I think, is that I'm reading before going to sleep. Right now I'm reading The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which I should finish in a few days. In addition, I either read or recite prayers revealed by Baha'u'llah, the Bab, or 'Abdu'l-Baha before I go to sleep, so my nights are restful. True, I've been getting up later this fall and winter, but that's because I don't like getting out of a warm bed on a cold morning. I take my first morning medication before getting up, the pills and water are on my bedside table so I can reach them easily.

Reading Poetry In Bed

The mind
sated with verse
falls into a contemplative stupor.

Eyelids close,
pupils focus on the interplay
of light and shadow.

Words
unassociated
with those just read
jolt the mind awake.

Eyelids open,
pupils focusing on the interplay
of meter and rhyme
close again.

That is one of two poems I wrote in 152 B.E., when I was dealing with random bouts of--what I referred to at the time as--terminal insomnia. As you can see, the insomnia didn't actually kill me. It finally went away, and I went back to my normal sleep pattern. My normal sleep pattern is sleep for two or three hours and wake up. I go back to sleep after a few prayers. The second poem is below.

Reading the Word of God in Bed

The mind
hungry for reality
consumes the Holy Words.

Eyelids
heavy with meditation
fight to stay open.

The mind
thirsty for the Water of Life
drinks long and deep.

Eyelids
surrendering to the joy of contemplation
falls asleep.