An Open Letter to Sleep Professionals
My name is and I am an
insomniac. I am not your garden variety insomniac, mind you. I
am world-class. My insomnia has ruined 1000's of night of rest,
destroyed relationships, had me sedated for years with every
kind of sleeping pill, caused me to depend on alcohol to
'pass out' , had me treated for depression, and forced me into
innumerable trips to physicians. Finally in frustration I came
up with the concept of Virtual Dreaming. You see, my problem was
falling asleep. I simply could not. There was something holding
back the process. Whenever sleep was near I would become alert
again as if hearing a kind of internal fire alarm.
Through my own research (trust me, no one
else was going to do it) I found that certain old radio shows
had a calming effect on my sleep state. Old time radio obviously
utilized visualization to get its story across. Through trial
and error I discovered that 'stories without words' could help
me sleep. This is not hypnosis. There is nothing subliminal
going on. Virtual Dreams' are easily visualized scenarios using
naturally relaxing sounds. By simple visualization on my part
sleep could be attained so easily that I was profoundly changed.
I no longer dread thought of going to bed. But, if you take away
the 'virtual dreams' the problem comes back. Why? I don't know.
That's what I was hoping you, the sleep professional,
could tell me.
Now, I have a layman's knowledge of Alpha,
Theta and Delta brainwave states. I have read many books
and articles about REM and transitional sleep patterns. Recently
I have been reading about the Primary and Secondary Visual
Cortex.... all interesting stuff. But I don't have EEG machines,
a sleep lab, or any of the bells and whistles that you, the
sleep professional, have at your disposal.
Here is my offer: I will provide any or all
of my 'virtual dreams'
sleep sounds to any sleep professional or sleep
laboratory worldwide at no charge. These are to be used
for the study of sleep onset. All I ask is that your insomnia
patients visualize.
The Virtual Dreams sleep sounds become more potent and
relaxing with
each listen. I assume that is because the visualizations become
easier to anticipate. There is also the interesting (and quite
exhilarating) side-effect of occasional lucid dreams.
Why? You tell me.
Simply contact me via
email or at
256-886-5094
Brad McBride
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to Sleep
Thoughts
