She thought she’ll give it a try!
An anecdote by Jaikumar Sivalingam
I had no schedule as I freelanced, writing original music for composers in India who worked
extensively on film and tv projects with shorter deadlines. Sprite, Pepsi, Cheese burst pizza,
burgers with fries were my go-to food. Ordering a customized chair to accommodate my fat
belly, I was working continuously for straight 3 to four days without sleep. I was restless,
shivered, and kept reading and implementing new technologies that emerged as a result of
the free internet era in my country.
Later met a healer who taught me how I could self-heal insomnia, following the method which
worked for me I began my quest to help others with energy medicine and healing. I’m here to
share one of the experiences where I helped my friend Vanessa to self-heal.
As I walked into the studio for one of the scoring sessions, I saw a girl with long hair, tall, and
was restless. ‘Hi, We don’t think we had met before, I am Vanessa, and I will be your project
coordinator for this animated series. ‘Nice to meet you,’ I replied, and we shook hands. She
gathered the requirements from the team of producers and presented them on their behalf
where she bridged the gap between the creative team and the producers.
One evening as I stepped into the studio, Vanessa was sipping her caramel latte and was
breathing heavily. ’Hello, Vanessa’, I said and noticed her eyes were red and with dark circles.
‘Are you okay?’ I asked. ‘I don’t know, it’s just that I have great difficulty sleep’ she said.
Then I asked, “may I suggest you something, even I struggled with similar issues a couple of
months back ”. She gazed with a look even if that was possible.
‘If you could make minor changes in her actions for the next 21 days…’ I heard, ‘What? NO
WAY!’ even before I could complete my sentence.
‘Huff, okay ok maybe not 21 days let’s think of it as 1 day’ I said. ‘Tell me more’ she said with
curiosity. ‘So, what’s your bedroom like? What do you do on my bed head back home?’ I
asked. “ Excuse me! what do you mean by what do I do what on my bed? She said with a
laugh. “ Hmm! Sorry, not the one that you are thinking right now, I mean general things’ I
replied. She smiled and looked up and began by saying, ‘I am sharing a room in a coliving
house with my cousin.
As I enter my room, I lay down on my bed to binge the series Breaking Bad and Lupin on my
52” LED screen, I skype with my friends Cecelia and Meghan on my laptop sitting on my bed, I
read a lot of non-fiction self-help books for productivity before going to bed too. Hmm., I also
watch Peter MicKinnon’s videos on youtube every time I’m unable to sleep. And of course, I
eat sitting on my bed.’ she said.
I told Vanessa,’ If only you could follow my simple suggestions you’ll be able to sleep well.’
‘Are you serious? ‘Tell me what it is!’, she replied eagerly to know what I am going to say.
- Please replace the LED TV screen in your living space
- Never use your laptop sitting in your bed
- Never use your mobile lying down on your bed.
- When you are in bed ensure to turn off all the lights and make it dark for better sleep
‘If you do only these four things, you’ll be able to sleep well, l I said. She thought about it for a
while and said, let me give it a try.’
‘Think that you have to do it one day at a time. And strike out every day on your calendar as
soon as you get up every morning because what you pay attention to grows.’
As the week passed by, and one morning my doorbell rang. To my surprise, Vanessa greeted
me with a warm tight hug and cried that she was able to sleep well. She self-healed in 7 days.
Wow! That feeling I witnessed, when the smile through her eyes on a glowing face was
priceless. After e spent the morning at home, ‘please go out and spread this to the people
you might know you might be struggling with sleep’, is what I asked before she left.
The brain associates your activities with its surroundings and secretes hormones based on
them. So in her case, the reason for insomnia was the compound effect of all the above
mentioned. In addition to regulating our melatonin levels, sleeping in complete darkness
helps lower the risk of depression. So when she switched her above 4 behaviors she was
healed and the brain associated with her actions to form new habits.
By thinking one day at a time and NOT 21 days, we are tricking our brain to believe that we
are doing it only for a day. 1 is lesser than 21 so psychologically one feels motivated to
accomplish anything that they had been procrastinating through.
Vanessa didn’t use her willpower, all she did was leave all her TV in the living room and make
the choice of not using any gadgets in bed. She sat on a new chair she bought and locked up
her mobile and laptop in the locker before she began to sleep. She concentrates only on her
breathing as she lay down on her bed and closes her eyes. On the first couple of days, she
had replaced the urge to have a look at her phone at night with a short stroll as lived right
near the sea in Bandra, Mumbai.
Disclaimer: I am not a certified practitioner, I love to experiment and to know-how, people
elevated and lived healthily as communities as tribes. Since these techniques worked for me I
am sharing them with the world because you don’t have to spend a penny to heal yourself
because what you pay attention to grows.