The Princess Bride

Last night my husband and I decided to watch "The Princess Bride" as our date. We hadn't seen it for a while so it was like watching it with fresh eyes. As I watched the show I began to compare the characters to political figures. I definitely saw Prince Humperdink as Barrak Obama. I think that maybe Princess Buttercup is "America" and those setting out to save her are "we the people". Sort of a crude resemblance but it was fun to see how closely Prince Humperdink resembles our current president. He tells us what we want to hear (just as he did with Princess Buttercup)then does something else completely different. I like the line when he is telling his right hand man, "I am busy, I have my wedding to plan, my wife to kill and Gilder (a neighboring country) to frame for it." Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall in President Obama's secret meetings. I think it would sound much like the conversations in this movie. Check it out. Watch the movie and see if you can see the resemblence between Barrak Obama and Prince Humperdink.

Politics

I am new at being politically aware. I became more active in this last Presidential election where I was very disappointed in the results. I can understand why some people believed in Barack Obama, he is carismatic. So if you voted for him but are now disallutioned you are in good company. I am stunned by his lack of leadership and his actions, or rather lack thereof, in several crisis situatuons. The "underware" bomber at christmas time, his response was delayed. The New York central park bomber, his reluctance to call this person a terrorist. Now the Oil spill in the Gulf, do you really think he is doing all he can to help clean up that situation? These are just the obvious ones. I know this sounds crazy but I am beginning to believe that there is a conspiracy to ruin this country and President Obama is a pawn in that game. I believe that the head of that conspiracy is the enemy of this world from the beginning. I do not know all the flesh and blood players, but I am sure that there are many. I do not think that attacking this at the political level is the best way to combat this enemy. Of course we do need to do all we can to preserve our nation, but what will preserve this country? The Book of Mormon has the answer to that question, just look up land in the index and you will find 39 scriptures about this land we live on being a choice land. The scripture I want to point out states: "...this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ..." Ether 2:12. (see also 2Nephi 1:7: Mosiah 29:32) The way we combat this enemy and restore our land is by obedience to Gods laws. Read the Scriptures, modern and ancient. Read the history books about our great nation in modern times.(well modern is since the 1700's)Listen to the news and make judgements for yourself. Listen to people who have studied and who have done the reaserch. Ok I can't believe I am saying this but listen to Glen Beck. I can only take him in small doses but really listen to what he is saying, if you can get to the meat of his message through all the hype, what you will hear is a cry for a return to the values of our founding fathers. I am not comparting him (Beck) to the prophets or considering him as one but, he is searching for the truth, for answers to the problems of our nation. Because of Mr Beck I am learning about Progressives, I never ever even heard of that before. I looked it up online and found that this movement started after the civil war. I had no idea it had been around that long. On the surface their ideals sound very good. You could even make a case that the founding fathers were progressives, in that they were fighting a system of government that repressed the masses. Here is some information I found online about progressiveism:
Progressivism - in U.S. history, a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th cent. In the decades following the Civil War rapid industrialization transformed the United States. A national rail system was completed; agriculture was mechanized; the factory system spread; and cities grew rapidly in size and number. The progressive movement arose as a response to the vast changes brought by industrialization. .....In state after state, progressives advocated a wide range of political, economic, and social reforms. They urged adoption of the secret ballot, direct primaries, the initiative, the referendum, and direct election of senators. They struck at the excessive power of corporate wealth by regulating railroads and utilities, restricting lobbying, limiting monopoly, and raising corporate taxes. To correct the worst features of industrialization, progressives advocated worker's compensation, child labor laws, minimum wage and maximum hours legislation (especially for women workers), and widows' pensions. http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/38650)
This all sounds good doesn't it. Progressive, even the word sounds like a good thing. From my small amount of information,Social reform, sticking up for the little guy seems to be their main agenda. That looks good doesn't it when you think of it that way, isn't that how our country was founded? We left the big bad King to come seek our fortune in a free society. Oh wait, we came here for religious freedom, for freedom of thought, for freedom to "seek our fortune". We didn't come here to be supported by the "government". In fact that is what we were getting away from, wasn't it? There is a truth that when you are in debted to someone they have control over your life.(lack of freedom) Just look at the people who are on welfare, are they free, or do they belong to the "government"? Aren't these people are just modern day serfs? Which is excactly what our ancesters were getting away from. Crazy isn't it!
(This last part has been a rambling off the cuff thinking as I write. I think though that this kind of thinking is when I come to true conclutions. Like making the correlation between serfs and welfare recipients. Brillient don't you think? lol.)
Back to the serious and important stuff though... most importantly, you need to pray. Pray for our nation, for our president, for our congress for yourself and your family. Pray for truth in your own life. Don't take anyone elses word for it just pray to find out for yourself to have your own peace of mind on these issues. Remember that you are significant. You can make a difference in your own sphere of influence. What you do does matter. Be honest, do your best in your work, do what you can to contribute to your community. Be active. Even if you just teach your own children about truth and how to find it you are doing this nation (and them) a great service. I for one will continue to seek truth where ever I can find it. I will also seek out the ability to be self sufficient. My dream is to have a home that is completely self sustained. I think in that way the Amish have a leg up on the rest of us. They don't need anyone else to survive, certainly not the "government".

Faith

Have you ever felt like your in a dark tunnel? You can feel that the light is near but you can't see it. That is how I feel right now. I know that the things I am concerned about in my life right now will have a good end. I am just about to the light. I will soon know the direction that the next chapter in my life will take. In Alma 32:21 it says:...if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen which are true. The hard part about having faith is that you can't see what is up ahead. I think my faith is being tested right now because I wake up every morning and I have to put myself in the Lords hands just to get throught the day. I know things will work out because he is takeing care of me. I am doing all that I am capable of doing to solve the issues that worry me, so I know he will do the rest and however it all turns out it will be for the good. Deep breathing helps too! Today I am just exhausted it has been a long week. Full of emotional, physical and mental challenges. I am rising to the occation, but first I think a little rest is in order. I can only take the elephant one bite at a time.

Positive Thinking

Are you a positive person? I used to think I was a very positive person, but it turns out that I tend toward the negative. How do you know when you are being negative? I have found myself lately being very aware of my thoughts and my beliefs. Much of what I think is critical. I think critically about peoples behavior, about the way groups are organized, about leaders (community, country work etc.), you name it if it effects my life in any way I have an opinion about how it SHOULD be. This I am learning is negative. I would not want others to think of me in this way. So I am learning to look at people and situations in a different way. I am learning to look at situations from a perspective of Love. It's more a feeling that I get. When I look at life through the eye of criticism I feel angry, agitated, contentious. When I make a choice to change my perspective and look at life through the eye of Love, I feel peaceful, happy, contented. If I can monitor how my thoughts make me feel I can then determine if I am looking at the situation in a way that is helpful. There is a saying, "what you put out you get back" that is so true. I have felt criticized and persecuted for much of my life. I didn't like to be around people because I always thought they were judging me. I was a victim. Now to be fair I was a victim as a very young child. I was the victim of childhood sexual abuse. This did shape my way of looking at life. This past year I was able to truly forgive the person who did this to me as a child. I was finally able to give my pain, anger, frustration, guilt etc, all of it to The Lord. I cannot even describe how much freedom this has given me. It has been a long journey for me. I looked for peace in many places. I found peace in Jesus Christ. Now that I have this weight off my shoulders I am able to work on other parts of my life like this part of learning to look at life through the eye of Love. This also requires me to seek the help of my Savior. I have found that in anything that I do I can look to Him for the answers. This wasn't supposed to be a post about Jesus, but I find that I cannot separate anything in my life from Him or my Heavenly Father. I did not intend for this post to go in that direction, yet here we are. I actually love that I find myself writing about how Jesus helps me in my life. I used to think that we have to struggle through everything in our lives, that we have to "go through the pain" I now find myself wondering if we are listening to the wrong voices, there is so much so called wisdom in the world and I think we are following the worldly wise, when instead we could just simply "look to God and live". When Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness many were unable or unwilling to look because of the simpleness of the task. Do we make that same mistake in our lives? Do we forget who gave us life, who gives us breath every day? It IS really that simple but we let the wisdom of men cloud our ability to simply have faith and rely on the God who gives us life. I am reading Leviticus, in that book there are so many complex laws and rules that the children of Israel have to follow. I think that God gave those complex rules and laws to them because this is what they wanted. They were used to Egypt where the Idol worshippers had complex ways and means of worshipping their idol gods. The children of Israel had to be taught to worship the True God and so He taught them in the way that they would understand, he created complex way for them to worship him, while if they were able to see they would have realized that all of those rituals pointed to the Savior of the World, even Jesus who would come in the meridian of time. We too must look to Christ, but he has now come and has already atoned for our sins, fears, weakness', etc. You name it He has already been there and he can take ours away if we will trust him. To those of you out there who say that is to simplistic. OK, go ahead and wander in the wilderness for forty years to get to a place that could have taken you only a few weeks. That is your journey and you will hopefully come to the same place I have come, which is the land of milk and honey. That said I am not perfect, by a long shot. I have just been able to grasp a truth that helps me deal with the challenges of life as they come. I am more able to partake in the Atonement because I am willing to ask Heavenly Father for help. I go to Him first, I am learning to listen and learning to follow. First I had to give up my strangle hold on "I do it myself". I listened to a child say that recently and I saw how I was doing the same thing with my Heavenly Father; he knows best, he sees the beginning from the end and if I want to "do it myself" he will let me, but if I ask for his help he will give it to me. Just like the little child who says "I do it myself", what mother wouldn't let the child do it his way and find out for himself that his mom was right.

Parenthood

There is an old saying, families get together at weddings and funerals. Well with my family that is pretty much true. We have a family reuinon every two years but I haven't been able to make it to one for a few years. There are eleven kids in my family. I am more connected to my sisters than to my brothers. I have a few sisters that I keep in touch with more than others. I haven't been really close to my dad since my mom died about twenty years ago. But lately I have been more connected with my family. My Dad turned ninty in December. Nine of us(out of 11) were able to make it to Arizona where my Dad lives to celebrate his birthday. I had a wonderful time and got to know my Dad's wife better. I came to really love her on that trip. Then in March Verdell (dads wife) fell and broke her hip. Another opportunity for me to serve my dad came so I flew out to help my Sister get his affairs in order and help him get settled in an Assisted Living home. This seemed the best option since daddy couldn't live alone and Verdell would need help when she got out of the hospital. Verdell was not doing well her hip did not heal well and she kept getting infections. Finally though they did release her from the hospital to the Asssisted Living home. She was there for two weeks and she was still not back to her usual self. Then last tuesday I got a call that Verdell passed away. I felt so bad for daddy. My dad has outlasted three wives. I think Verdell was his last one although my sister joked that maybe he would get married again. I worry about him. His body is in good shape but his memory is going. He doesn't remember things. I think he is getting used to the place he is living now, but for weeks he would wake up in the middle of the night and call my sister to ask "where am I" He can't drive anymore but he doesn't remember that and he thinks someone stole his car. I worry about him being alone. When Verdell was there and healthy she was so good. She was there to help him remember the small things that he would forget. She was always familiar and I think she provided an anchor for him. Now he doesn't have that and he will have to grieve her. I fear he will be greiving over and over since he does not remember that she is dead. He thinks she is just gone out or something. It is hard to watch him like this. I am thankful that many family members will be able to make it out for Verdell's funeral and some will be able to stay after to lend support. I think I have been more connected to my dad during all of this than I have felt for some time. It is true that we feel connected to people when we serve them. Well this is titled parenthood and I was thinking of how we start out as parents to our own children. In my case my kids had two moms. Then we grow old and our children have to become our parents. All of us (my brothers and sisters) have different ideas about how to handle the situation, so it is kind of like there are eleven different parents trying to take care of one kid. It is different though because the "kid" is our dad and he is not innocent like a child, he has experienced independance and now that some of that is being taken away by his the circumstance of his health it is harder on him and everyone. How do you help him to keep his dignity and as much of his independence as possible, while at the same time keeping him safe? We have different ideas about that, but I trust that it will all work out in the end and it is a good opportunity for us to reconnect with each other and our dad, and each other.

Losing Faith

Do you ever have those days when you feel like you are drowning? Maybe you owe money to someone that you cannot pay, you have gotten in over your head. Maybe you are worried about a family member or a friend. Maybe your kids are just being holy terrors that day and you wish you could just escape being a parent. I think we all have some kind of trials in our lives that test us to our limits. Yesterday was such a day for me. In reflecting on what made me break down I think it is because for a little while I lost faith. I didn't remember that I have a loving Heavenly Father who has been taking care of me and who has sustained me in similar trials. I went strait to panic. I was distraught off a on all day. Thankfully I have a good friend who helped me get things back into perspective. I also was listening to Christian radio and there was a program that made me realize that I was not trusting in the Lord as I have in the past and that is why I had lost peace. I was also very tired my sleep has been interupted quite a lot lately and that is a major contributor. I am thankful that by the end of the day I was back on track, feeling good about my life and the world around me. I know that there is nothing that my Heavenly Father cannot handle and when I trust in him to sustain and guide me I can have peace even with the wolf knocking at my door. A few years ago I would have been thrown into a deep depression. I would have taken to my bed for weeks. I was raised with the teachings of Jesus, but I have not understood how to use them in my life until recently. I know what stood in my way of accepting His love, it was a feeling of unworthiness. It has taken me this long to realize that none of us is worthy of his love, but he loves us anyway. I am still not worthy of His love, but now I can accept that I am not worthy and put my trust in Him to lead me. Letting go of trying to control everything is so freeing. I realize that there is only one thing I can control, that is me and my choices. I also realize that there are no trials in this life that I am not able to handle, as long as I take my Heavenly Fathers hand and let him lead me along. Do I forget that sometimes? Yes! Will I have another melt down sometime, Yes I will. Why? Because I am an imperfect human and that is why I need my Savior.

Keeping up with the Jones'

We have all heard the phrase, "Keeping up with the Jones'". We grow up with the belief we should pursue the "American Dream" Everyone should become a home owner! I have lived most of my Adult life as a renter. A few years ago my husband and I decided to purchase a home. I was really excited. We had a few dollars for a down payment, we got approved for the loan and we found this really great house in our price range. I always thought I wanted a yard, I wanted a place for my grand kids to come and play, and a garden. My husband always wanted a dog. Not long after we moved in we got a 1/2lab 1/2 weimeriner dog. He was so cute. It took about 5 months for this tiny little puppy to grow into a huge animal. The problem is he was still a puppy he needed so much attention. He was too big for his dog house and so I blocked off the stairs and made a place for him in the entryway. I came home to a ripped up floor. He quickly destroyed our house. I said he is going outside. So we put up a fence and put a shelter out there for him. I tried to take him on walks and train him but he was too much for me. My husband (who's dog he was supposed to be) has a bad leg and there was no way that he could handle this dog. Eventually we found the dog a good home in the country. I tried to grow a garden. I found out that I have a black thumb. I also realized that I hate yard work. I seem to be the only one who is able or willing to do the work necessary to keep up with this house. Just before Christmas our water heater went out and we had to shell out the money for a new water heater. The joys of owning your own home are not such joys. We are in over our heads and we do not have the financial means to keep up with this home. So 5 short years later we are selling this house. We are glad to do it. We will most likely loose money on this adventure and so for me the "American dream" has not been a great thing. I have learned something from this experience that is valuable and so this time has not been wasted. I have learned that it is not important what others tell you is important. I am an individual. My husband and I are not cardboard cutouts of the "perfect" family. We have our own likes and dislikes and our own talents and abilities. If we decide not to own a home that is up to us and it has nothing to do with success or failure. I always felt like a failure in my life because I didn't have that "normal" life. My life has been it's own journey and I should be able to be happy with that journey. By the same token to judge someone by the place they live or the work that they do is crazy. Today I heard Dave Ramsey say that really wealthy people don't care what other people think. They don't have to have the fancy cars or the big houses. They can if they want but most of them live below their means. I am learning something about living within your means and being happy and satisfied with what you have. My husband and I are very close to being out of debt. This did not happen because we won the lottery. We have been slowliy but consistantly making payment and slowly but surely one by one we have seen our debts paid off. I will be really excited when we have no more loans to pay off and no more obligation to anything but our living expences. I am happy to live in a rental, if the water heater breaks it is the landlords problem. I don't need a garden, I just kill the plants anyway. What I need is a warm place where my family can gather. Where we can have a meal and a good conversation. I need a reliable but not fancy car, preferably with no car payment. I have everything else, a great husband, a wonderful family, good friends, and God. What more can a girl ask for?

Police protection

What is your oppinion on calling the police for a neighbor who plays his music too loud? Today I was with a friend and we were enjoying the evening outside on her porch. Her son was playing in the front yard and we were having a good conversation. Then we started to get serenaded by some loud music with profane lyrics. I commented to my friend about the free concert. She said ya isn't it great? Then we determined approximately where it was coming from and called the police to complain. The police came out about 15 minutes later, talked to the neighbors and then came over to talk to us. The police offecer seemed to be annoyed that he had to come out for that call. I was also concerned that he came over to talk to us as soon as he got done talking to the neighbors down the street. Don't you think that those kind of calls should be annonymous? It is not very annonymous when the police officer stops his police car in front of your house and gets out to talk to you. We can hope that the people who where disturbing the peace are not crazy and take this all in stride. But what if they are crazy, or just drunk enough to want to get into a fight. Maybe it would be better if they did not have a clue who made the call. I hope and pray, for my friends sake that her neighbors are nice people who just had a desire to play their music too loud, and are sane and sober enough to just comply without feeling the need to retaliate. They did turn down the music and the street seemed to be peaceful enough when I left her. But, what do you think? Did she have the right to call the police? Do our police have the duty to protect us? Maybe I'm paranoid or have watched too many spy movies but I was really surprise at this police officers response to this call.

The Journey

So I'm driving home and just thinking about getting there. Along the way I have to pass some road construction. The road narrows from one lane to two. I can see that I am not going to get past the cars next to me before I have to pull over so I just pull over. Just as I pull over the guy in front of me stops. Immediately my brain goes off... I say to myself,you idiot, what is the matter with people, doesn't anyone know how to drive. Well that was my initial reation, then I calmed down and realized that the car in front of him was turning right and he was just doing what he needed to do. It was then that I realized that I was so focused on getting from point A to point B that I was forgetting to enjoy the journey. I forgot that I was on that journey with many other people who are just trying to get from point A to point B. Sometimes I think that is how our lives are. We are so busy trying to get to the next place we say to ourselves; when I get that promotion, when I graduate from college, when I lose 10 pounds, when I...you fill in the blank. We are so busy trying to get to the next place, point B that we forget to enjoy today. Life is a journey not a destination. Remember to enjoy each moment and savor the times that bring you in contact with other human beings. They are on the same road you are and maybe they could use your smile, or a kind word. I know I could. So I want to make each moment count and try to remember to be kind, change that initial reaction to, Oh I wonder what is in front of that truck, I hope everything is alright; or just smile and wait patiently.

Looking Back

So I'm sitting on my couch feeling sick. I got some kind of stomach flu. I look out and there are pictures of my grandson Joseph and next to it a picture of my son Gene.(his dad) A few years ago when Gene was getting married I looked through all my pictures and couldn't find any baby pictures of him. I figured that his Dad must have them. I couldn't remember how we divided up pictures when we split up 21 years ago. Well, last month I went to help my sister clean out my dad's house; and I found a baby picture of Gene that I had sent to my dad when Gene was born. I brought it back to my house and put it next to a baby picure of Joseph. I was really shocked because I didn't think Joe looked anything like his Dad. Now that I see them side by side I see how much Joe does look like his dad. Well this got me thinking about how disconnected my life has been. I feel like my adult life has been a series of little one act plays. There is the one titled "Happily Ever After, I Wish", well to be honest this one seems to have several sequils; another play called "Who are you Who Who Who Who? I really wanna know!"; then there is the current play which has not been completed yet, what should I title it hmmm... "Ever learning and finally coming to a knowledge of the truth?"...that sounds good for now. Anyway putting all of the parts of myself together to make a whole person is a lifetime commitment. I'm just beginning to enjoy the person that I am. If you don't believe me look at my previous post.

Blessings

A familiar Hymn relates this message; "When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed. When you are discouraged thinking all is lost. Count your many blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done." Some of my ramblings so far have been about what is missing in my life or in my environment. A friend recently reminded me that we have so much to be thankful for. I in particular have so many blessing in my life that they would take up too much space to name them all here. Just a few are; a wonderful marriage, peace and happiness, adult children who are on the path to happiness in their own lives,grandchildren, and so many more. One of my most treasured blessings is a testimony of Jesus Christ, and his atonement, and the knowledge that I can pray and receive answers to life's most challenging questions. I can even receive answers for life's simple questions. This understanding and the use of this principle in my life is what allows me to have peace. I don't have peace because of a lack of trials, tribulations and obstacles in my life. I have peace because I choose to tap into the source of all peace, "the Prince of Peace" Jesus Christ. I am indeed blessed. Gratitude is a priciple of happiness that I am learning to employ also. I hope that if I loose sight of this that others will remind me like my friend did today. Thank you dear friend, which by the way is another of my many blessings, wonderful dear friends.

This Blog Thing

Ok here is the thing about a blog. You write your thoughts, they are rough it is not like an article that you write, read, edit rewrite, etc. Maybe they are not gramatically correct. Maybe they are not completely thought out. They are thoughts that are real and here and now. If you take them that way you won't be disappointed. I sometimes worry about offending people, but I don't really try to do that I just write what is my reality at the moment. Writing helps me to sort thing out. It gets the crazies out of me. I can think way too much and writing makes it much less worrisome. My thoughts don't rumble around in my head so much so I can get on with the important stuff. If you are a Harry Potter Fan you know about the sieve, that thing where Dumbledore puts his memories to unclutter his mind. I guess that is sort of what I am doing here. Don't read too much into them, just enjoy them or not. Someone out there might relate to what I am doing here. If you do great! Hope it helps to find a soul with a like mind. If you don't great! If we were all the same this would be a really boring world.

The Financial Part

Do you ever look at other peoples lives and wonder why everyone seems to have it all together and you are left behind? I wonder that all the time. I came from a good middle class home, my sisters (all 6 of them) seem to have husbands that are able to make a living for their families and they don't have to work. Well I should qualify that my younger sister is the bread winner in her home she is a School teacher and her husband is out of work for health reasons, so I feel for her; but the rest seem to have it easy. I have friends who are able to be stay at home mom's and their husbands bring in a good living. My oldest sister's husband is retired. They have two homes. They live in one home for six months and the other for six months. But they don't really live in them so much as you would think because they are traveling quite a bit. They just bought a new van too. I wonder how do some people seem to have the financial department of their life so in order and I am so behind? It seems that all of my adult life has been spent wondering if I will be able to pay all my bills. I am constantly robbing Peter to pay Paul. Sometimes are better than others and I do live a pretty good life but if I could only get this financial part figured out I think things would be wonderful! I am still young, as my Dad would put it I am in my 50th year. I don't think I am that old but my birth date seems to verify that I am. Lately I dream of buying an RV and becoming a fulltimer. That means living in it full time. My husband works seasonal so we could live in SD for the summer and AZ for the winter. That sounds pretty good if we could just get the financial part figured out.

Picture

My son went to Samoa on a Church Mission. This sign is from there. I loved it. We have stupid signs in Rapid City about sober driving; something about the dinasours. They don't even make sense. We should get some clever people to work on our signs out here. Rapid City is a small city you can drive from one end to the other in about 30 minutes. Driving down one of the main streets you can pass 10 to 15 billboards. I have never seen so many billboards in by life. Now we have those electronic billbords that change advertisements every few seconds. I think these billboard are a hazard. When they first came out I used to sit at the red light and try to read them. Now I am so used to them that I just ignore them. Sometimes though they are so annoying because you can't ignore them they are just flashing all the time and they are distracting. If all the billboards were as clever as this one I wouldn't mind them so much.

Insomnia

Do you ever lay awake at night tossing and turning but not able to shut off your brain? This has been my steady stream of nights for a few weeks now. Either I go to sleep and wake up at 1:00 AM and can't go back to sleep or I cant sleep and so I am up until 1 or 2 before I go to sleep. Last night was such a night. I woke up at 1:00AM and went upstairs to try to sleep on the couch.(sometimes this works) I lay awake thinking about life. I had so many deep thought that I want to share so, I decided to start a blog. I've always loved to write and this should be a great outlet. I hope someone out there in gets some enjoyment out of my writings. If not that is ok because I enjoy it.
Here is a tip for you insomniacs out there. Put a pillow up against the wall. Put your butt on the pillow and your feet on the wall above you. Lay there upsidedown for 30 minutes, breathe and relax. Focus on your breathing and release your thoughts. Then go back to bed and sleep like a cat. I would say like a baby but anyone who has kids knows that waking up in the middle of the night IS sleeping like a baby. This method works for me when I use it.