“Sleep is the best meditation.” - Dalai Lama
I’ve been hearing about weighted blankets lately.
Everyone I know who has tried them loves them.
They drag them around with them wherever they go.
Also, I’ve been trying to improve my sleep quality. More and more people these days seem to be having sleep issues, and I’ve been looking into various remedies that people are trying. One is weighted blankets. The weight is felt as comforting and relaxing, perhaps lowering cortisol levels in the body (stress hormones).
“There is an underlying science behind weighted blankets. It’s called Deep Touch Pressure or DTP.
Often times, sleeping will be a major problem for those that suffer from anxiety. This can come from not being able to calm down as well as not being able to slow down the running thoughts in one’s head. One study found that people who used weighted blankets have calmer nights of sleep, with a reduction of movement.” -weighted blanket website
I’m not sure exactly why so many people are having so much anxiety and disrupted sleep these days, but there does seem to be an epidemic.
My guess is that one thing might be our constant staring at our illuminated devices, and artificial light at night in general is throwing our cycles out of whack.
Our bodies are incredibly adaptable, but we have evolved for thousands of generations without artificial light at night. Not to mention electromagnetic fields at variance with that of our planet.
So I decide to experiment on myself by restricting my bright and blue light exposure in the evening, using blue blocking glasses and doing lower light activities. Also, to sync with the Earth’s electromagnetic field, I sleep with a grounder at night.
It also helps me to eat early in the day, and not late, and if possible, to restrict the number of hours in the day that I eat. This is also known as intermittent fasting.
Also, your natural production of the sleep hormone, melatonin, peaks at around age twelve and by your thirties really begins to plummet. As it is only made when you are in total darkness, it helps to cover your eyes when you sleep or keep your bedroom dark.
Then there is the general stress of modern life, especially for those of us who are sensitive to the world around us. For that I use awareness of my news intake and mindful awareness of my attention and thoughts.
But I want do more. So I decide to look into weighted blankets. I quick look around online shows me weighted blankets from fifty dollars to three hundred dollars. Most are weighted with glass or plasticish pellets and very few are made of all plant fiber.
So I decide to make one myself. I find I sleep best in the cool, and polyester is hot to me. Silk is cool and soft, but too much violence goes into it. So cotton would be best.
My first thought is of sand for a weight. But I can’t think of a way to contain it in a blanket without using plastic. Sand has a way of getting everywhere and escaping from containers. Still, I like the idea. Sand is quartz, sand is heavy, glass is made from it. Rocks!
I love crystals, pink rosy quartz, clear quartz, amethyst. So I get several pounds of tumbled, smooth, gravel sized crystals in those three flavors. Everything else I need I already have around the house.
I clear the crystals. You can do this in various ways using salt, moonlight, earth, seawater, etc. I use reiki. As I do this, I learn that the crystals have had a rough time getting mined, tumbled, and traveling to me. So as I clear them I pray for their healing and ask for their help. Normally you should clear each one individually but since I had thousands, I had to do them all together.
I need some kind of cool cotton fiber batting to stuff my quilted blanket, something to contain and pad the rocks, create micro insulating air pockets, that will not clump, and will be washable. Terry cloth!
I’m never one to hesitate to tear up household furnishings for a good art cause. A few months ago, I was gutting pillows from all over the house to make my cloud art installation.
I merrily rip up several cotton terry cloth towels into three inch squares, and the sew two hundred and twenty five little pouches. I put a spoonful or two of the tumbled crystals into each pouch, and sew it shut. (I only break one needle hitting a rock.)
Next I sew them onto a grid of cotton muslin cloth that I have marked out in colored pencil. I leave one inch wide rows of blank area in between the pouch squares for sewing together the layers.
I sew the muslin with the crystal pouches to an all cotton waffle blanket on one side, sewing seams in the one inch blank rows in the grid. I sew this around the sides to a cotton print sheet on the other, and hand quilt the three layers together in the middle.
Finally, I program the crystal quilt. You can program the quartz crystals with whatever you intend for your blanket to do. It helps to use reiki for this, but you can use various methods. The key is to clearly impress your thoughts and intentions, respectfully, to the crystals. Quartz is used in every radio and communication device because it faithfully holds and transmits the vibrations that pass through it. Perhaps you might program it for peaceful quality sleep, or for protection, or remembering your dreams, or healing, and so on.
OMG! This thing is heavy! All folded up anyway. But when it is draped over me it does not feel heavy, or like I’m under a pile of rocks. Just close and present. Sleeping under it is nice. Sparkly.
I wonder what I might learn from my crystal quilt ...
“Happiness consists of getting enough sleep. Just that, nothing more.” - Robert A. Heinlein
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