how to make insomnia your friend and deepen your intuition creatively

bits of randomnessinspirationpaintingssketchbook

Dec 15

Written By desiree east

I COULDN'T SLEEP

I had major insomnia during this most recent full moon.

It *could have* been the full moon.

OR, maybe I'm afraid to admit it that is was the bomb-delicious batch of homemade holiday cookies that our neighbor baked...yummers. Sweet toasted coconut macaroons, spicy gingerbread cookies, chewy peppermint patty cookies, and other delightfully addicting human scooby snacks (lookout Girl Scouts!) Insane.

It was just after midnight when I woke and stumbled to the bathroom.

Then, I laid back in bed. Eyes wide open. (Yep). Thoughts racing. (Perfect).

Then, it was a quarter-to-one.

Then, it was 1am.

Then, it was 1:17am.

Then, it was 1:24am.

Then, I was like, WTF.

So, I did what I always do when I can't sleep. I grabbed my journal, and I grabbed my pens.

Except, my journal wasn't anywhere to be found.

So, I grabbed the next best thing...a sketch that I had started earlier in the day, inspired by a group call with the Mystics Society (one of the entrepreneurial circles that I am a part of, founded by a dear business friend/colleague, Lindsay Pera).

Lauren Dalberth Hage, co-founder & CEO of the Weaving Earth Center for Relational Education, was talking about our connection with Mother Earth. (Hello, my fave subject!), and she mentioned bird language (hello - *as I raise my hand* - bird nerd alert!).

If you follow me on Instagram, you've heard how I recently had an incredibly vivid bird dream, where I freed tons of exotic birds from bird cages...annnnd there is actually more to that story, which I haven't shared with the public, yet (of some pretty marvelous psychic connections in real life). We'll save that story for another rainy day.

Back to my #insomniart:

It's nearly 2am in the morning...ahhhh, peace and quiet. Baby's asleep. Husband's asleep. Mama's got alone time. Whaaaaaat?

I quietly rejoiced with my alone time and lulled eyes to sleep, dragging color-soaked markers across the page.

This isn't the first time I've done this. This is like the millionth time I've done this. And whenever I journal or sketch/doodle, a little piece of wisdom always comes forth, surfacing onto the page, greeting me with a heartfelt soul-hug.

If you're looking for a nighttime (or midnight insomniac) wind-down meditation ritual, this is it. Go back to basics, baby. Journal.

SO THIS IS WHAT YOU WANNA DO

Doing this process may not always make sense at first, because your thoughts are bound to be racing and not making sense, when it's 2am in the wee morning hours, and especially, if you'd had a crazy week. It might sound like gibberish. But in the end, this process always feels really, really GOOD.

I've recently mentioned creating S-P-A-C-E
Now, take it further and find the Q-U-I-E-T
Grab your journal. Grab your favorite pens, pencils, and markers (these are my new fave).
Write it out. Sketch it out. Doodle. Draw. Scribble.
And here comes the important part:

LISTEN

Listen, listen, listen.

Listen to what message(s) are being transcribed from the depths of your soul, into your thoughts, down to your fingertips, and eventually, onto your paper.

Then embrace in your creative wisdom.