Monday, April 23, 2012

One of the trickiest things I face before I go out on a film shoot, web series, or any other project is getting to sleep. Going to bed at 10pm leaves me vulnerable to noise coming from everyone in the neighboring apartments. One night, I tried something new and I had a very interesting experience.

I have listened to webinars by John Assaraf and his specialties in conditioning your subconscious to control your conscious. One night, before a shoot, I tested induced sleep through meditation.

As I lay in bed, I completely cleared my mind from any/all distractions and imagined myself in the complete darkness of space. I began to create a story behind why I was in this place so my mind wouldn't trail off and think about something else.

As I traveled through the space in my mind, noise distractions coming from people still awake became elements in my mental story. I heard a lady talking outside and, in my story, she became a soft mumble. It was as though she was guiding me.

Then I heard a baby crying. In my story, those cries became a reference back to who I have been. The crying, coupled with the lady talking, developed a story. The rest, I don't remember, as I had obviously entered 1 of the 4 stages of sleep. My body was totally relaxed in a way I had never experienced before. Quickly thereafter, I was asleep.

Thinking back on the experience, I thought this exercise would be useful to writers. Taking something as simple as your own meditation to create a fantastic story. I definitely implement this sleep strategy whenever possible. If outside noises don't distract me from sleep,  my own thoughts about what I have done and what I need to do will.