Advanced Mindfulness Skills 113 Sleepiness means just that—feeling sleepy, heavy, and dull. It is important to note
that the causes of sleepiness can include physical fatigue, but, also, a second kind
of sleepiness is actually a resistance to something happening in mind and body
that may be frightening or painful. Learning to distinguish between these two is
very helpful. Restlessness is the opposite of sleepy. It can be very uncomfortable. It is a “storm”
of thoughts, feelings, and sensations that demand movement and are quite
distracting. Doubt is that inner voice that says, “I can’t handle this. I don’t know how to do it.
What good is this? This definitely is not for me.” Doubt is often expressed as words
in your mind and feelings of fear and resistance to what is happening.working wisely with the Hindrances
The first and most potent way to handle any of the hindrances is to make the experience of
the hindrance itself a focus for your mindfulness. Acknowledge what is happening without fighting
it. Gently place attention on desire, aversion, sleepiness, restlessness, or doubt, and look deeply,
allowing the energy to reveal itself in all of its forms. Patiently return your soft and curious atten-
tion time and again, as often as necessary, to the hindrance energy, naming it and learning what
it has to teach you. The lessons can come in many ways, including thoughts, memories, feelings,
and body sensations.
In addition, you may find benefits in the following specific suggestions for each hindrance:
For desire, recall that no matter how many times you get what you desire, you always
want more. Let this wisdom empower you to resist the temptation of desire and
learn from it instead. Keep noticing and naming desire without acting on it. For aversion, recognize anger and ill will as some of your strongest teachers. Resolve
to learn from them. At times, it also helps if you can work to balance them by
developing thoughts of compassion, kindness, and forgiveness. For sleepiness, know it as a powerful condition that demands your full attention. It can
help to sit up straight, even stand. Splash water on your face. Take a break and do
something active, walking mindfully, for example. For restlessness, besides making it the object of mindfulness, it can be very helpful to
sharpen your concentration. Take a more narrow or smaller focus, for example,
placing attention at the tip of your nose for practicing mindful breathing, or relax-
ing and counting your breaths from one to ten and back to one until the restless-
ness subsides.