Thread: Tricking My Body Into Falling Asleep, How to Finish?

Alright, well yesterday I went ice skating for about 4 hours, and got home at midnight so I was already a bit sleepy, had to drive everyone home in the fog too so that didn't help.

I got dressed for bed, and watched a few dragon ball z clips and part of the matrix, so I could try to influence my dreams then had a cup of coffee and tea and an orange, brushed my teeth and got into bed.

I wasn't trying to do anything, just laid there relaxing and sinking into the sheets (i use an unzipped sleeping bag as a sheet too, the silky kind) and just kept my eyes closed.

So I was laying there just like that, no noise to distract me or interrupt my focus on my breath.

I tried focusing on the center of my forehead? No dice. Hard to focus on something that doesn't really change much. So I kept focus on my breathing patterns, controlling my breathing from a normal pace (inhale for 1 second, exhale for 1 second) to a much slower pace (inhale/exhale for 2 seconds) then slower than that (3 seconds inhale/exhale at a slower pace so that I breath the same amount of air, just in triple the time.)

After about 2 minutes of this, I decided that I would not move my body whatsoever, and try letting my body fall asleep like I had read about. So when I felt my nerves in my legs itching just to move, I ignored them and just kept still, had to refocus on my breathing about 4 times because my legs were really distracting me from the task at hand.

In about 3 minutes, while practicing affirmation, I felt as if my legs were becoming one with my sheets (like they were getting very heavy), and instead of viewing this as weird, I accepted it as my body resting, slowly falling asleep. First, my legs and my toes joined with the sheets, then my torso, my arms, and my fingers; everything was one now. I was one with my sheets, I felt like a sheet.

I was completely conscious during this experience, but I made one major mistake, I didn't let my body fall completely asleep...

Since I did not know what to do next, what the next step after the feeling was, I thought I could move around now that my body was "asleep." So I tried moving my small toe, and no luck there, it was gone, next step was try my fingers, so I tried moving my finger and it took 3 tries to get it to move. Funniest feeling when your brain sends the signal to move and your body does not move.

Thinking my body was already asleep, I tried getting out of bed, big mistake. I actually got out of bed that time.... I looked at my bed and thought "... I didn't do it right?" But it was one of the most relaxed states of consciousness I have been in without the influence of external methods.

I have only been this relaxed after puffing the magic dragon.

So my question to you experienced dreamers, how do I do this properly next time? What is the next step after that feeling of your body falling asleep?