Can't sleep? Relax and fall asleep with these CDs

By ROSHANA ARIEL
Ariel Enterprises

I remember a time a few years ago when I couldn't sleep at night. There were many nights when I would sleep for only an hour or two at a time, and have to get up and go to work with only 5 or 6 hours of sleep.

Those were not happy days. How could they be?

When you don't get enough sleep, you can't help but be operating on less than an optimal level. And you feel a little crabby when you don't get enough sleep. ... at least, I do.

I am so glad those days are over. I don't work in an office anymore, so I don't have to get up particularly early. And I have no trouble sleeping these days ... no trouble at all.

One of my favorite things to do is to put on headphones and listen to a CD that will help me relax, put me in a deep, soft place to drift off. And if I'm having any kind of problems in my life – something's out of balance or it's not working out how I hoped it would -- I need a little extra help.

Anyway, when I get a little out of whack, I put on a CD. I have many, many CDs that I've collected over the years – self-help, hypnosis, confidence-building, relaxation, lucid dreaming, chakra meditations, other guided meditations, habit-breaking, trance-enhancing, binaural beat, isochronic beat, paraliminal, subliminal, brainwave-traveling, character-developing, prosperity-focused, and probably other categories that I can't think of now.

So, for example, if I am feeling somewhat needy, I might listen to a confidence-building hypnosis CD. If I'm feeling like I'm lacking or poor, I might listen to a prosperity, or “having” paraliminal CD.

If I just want to be taken on a journey, some of my favorites are the four-set “Brainwave Journey” CD by Dr. Jeffrey Thompson. I can't say enough about Dr. Thompson's abundant talents at creating soundscapes that are absolutely brilliant, completely transporting works of art. In some, a voice guides you to the far reaches of your inner mind. Much of the time, though, you're just being guided by his sounds, sometimes in front of you, sometimes behind you, sometimes above you, sometimes underneath you, sometimes swirling all around you. He is a master craftsman, and I am so glad I found his collection.

Everything I've listened to by Dr. Jeffrey Thompson is first-rate.

Some of my absolute favorite bedtime CDs are by Learning Strategies Corporation in Minneapolis, Minn. Their paraliminal CDs are amazing.

When I first saw a picture of Dr. Paul Scheele of Learning Strategies on their site, I have to admit, I thought he looked a little, ... well, “dorky.” There, I said it. But he does look a little dorky to me; I'm not sure why.

But when I heard my first paraliminal CD by Dr. Scheele, I was very impressed. I have heard a lot of hypnosis recordings, a lot of guided meditations, etc., and Dr. Scheele is right up there, I would have to say, at the top. He knows exactly what he's doing, and he does it very well. In other words, his job is to help you completely relax and forget about everything except this comfortable little dreamy “trip” to talk about this little problem we're having and to make it right.

I can't remember the name of my first paraliminal CD, but whatever it was, I was immediately hooked and was eager to try the bonus CD they sent with the first one and to order more CDs on topics I was interested in, because the quality was that good.

OK, I do have to admit that it does get on my nerves a little when he talks about “flipping the tape over” -- do teens even know what that means? -- but other than that, I LOVE these CDs.

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So, what is a “paraliminal” message? Paraliminal refers to a technology they use on these CDs in which you'll begin to hear Dr. Scheele talking to you not just in front of you, but he'll start separating into two voices, one in each ear, and slowly, starting to talk about two different things, overlapping. You'd think that would be a little uncomfortable to listen to, but it's not. It's really a strange experience, and it helps you kind of relax and let go.

I have several Learning Strategies CDs now, including:

• Prosperity
• Beliefs

• Personal Genius

• Memory Supercharger

• Personal Celebration series: Being, Doing, Having and Getting

I also Have Dr. Scheele's PhotoReading Course, which I also highly recommend.

But probably the CD I listen to most consistently is my “Floating” CD from Centerpointe Research Institute. That's the company that puts out the “Holosync Solution” CDs, which I also use. (I listen to my Holosync Solution CDs in the morning, though, not at night.)

My "Floating" CD is awesome. It's just wind in the trees and waves breaking on a beach. What's so cool about it, though, is that it uses that Autofonix technology that makes the sound "surround" you, so I imagine myself in a little porch of a house built right over the water, because I can hear the waves crashing sometimes on my left and sometimes on my right, like the wave is moving along the beach line from left to right in a beautiful, peaceful rhythm.

Sometimes I actually wear my little headphones in my ears and sleep on my back and listen to that all night long. It's just a 30-minute CD, so it just plays all night long, really low.

And the REALLY COOL thing about "Floating" is that it's got five minutes of me saying affirmations that I wrote and recorded and sent to the company. They put my affirmations, in my own voice, on that CD subliminally. So all night long, I'm telling myself good things about myself.

Sometimes I don't wear headphones, and I sleep on my side, and even then, you can get some sense of the waves going from left to right.

I do need to mention that you can't get "Floating" unless you go ahead and order Holosync, and it comes with your second "level," which is Awakening Level I (after the first level, which is "Prologue.") Holosync is awesome, though, and well worth looking into. You can get a free demo CD from the Centerpointe site.

I haven't had trouble sleeping for years. I can't say that it's only because of having a great collection of relaxing CDs to listen to, but they definitely help a lot. And I feel really good about programming my head with the thoughts I really want to think – uplifting thoughts, positive thoughts, thoughts about achievement, courage, intelligence, peace – those are good things to think.

Might as well feed your head good stuff to chew on.

Here's another resource for you; check out this page: Natural Sleep Secrets. Since I have no trouble sleeping, I can't give an actual recommendation, but their method is 100 percent guaranteed, so it sure wouldn't hurt to try it.

Here are some more ideas from a recent Oprah show: Sleep Ideas.