4. Taking control of your internal clock

1) Make sure that you are completely comfortable with each section, prior to going on to the next one.

2) If you are not living alone, select a time and a place where and when you will not be bothered, and hang a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign on the door when practicing.

3) A physical trigger should by now be almost automatic, so for this exercise all you have to do is squeeze once, close your eyes, and slow down your breathing. It only requires a light trance.

We all have our own personal time clock! It is one of the many benefits of visualization that can be learned and put to use in a few short days.

The chart above represents the various brain wave speeds that your brain goes through in order for you to go to sleep. During the evening, you will be in Beta, and as you get sleepy, you will slow down to Alpha. (A drowsy feeling similar to what you might have while sitting in the sun). Then down to Theta. Then into Delta. Near the bottom of Delta, your mind will speed up a little, and you will rise up almost to the top of Alpha. Then your mind will repeat this cycle approximately every 90 minutes. The farther down you are, the deeper your sleep; the closer you are to the top, the lighter your sleep will be. The closer you are to the bottom of the cycle when awakened, the harder it will be to wake up and get going.

If you are in the habit of using an alarm clock, and it goes off when you are at the bottom of your cycle, you will be walking around in a fog. However, if you program your mind to wake up at a certain time, you will be alert when you wake up, for your mind will change the cycle so that it comes up into Beta just before the time you set. This is done by visualizing the face of a clock, in your mind's eye, with the hands set at the time you wish to wake up.

If you look at the clock, you will see that it is set at 7 AM.

Suppose you want to get up at 7 AM. When you get into bed at night, close your eyes and visualize the face of a clock, with the hands pointing to 7 PM and say, "I want to get up at 7 AM". It will perhaps take a few days for this to become a habit, so I would suggest that you set your alarm clock (as backup) at 7:10 AM. This practice, once mastered, will allow you to drop off to sleep at any time for as long as you want even if you haven't got an alarm clock.

The benefits of this process are many. You are no longer a slave to a clock, you wake up "awake", you can go instantly to sleep, and you can "cat nap" whenever you want to.

It is suggested that you master step three before moving to the next section!