Rest Rituals: Meditations and Practices for Restorative Sleep

This unmemorable program by meditation instructor Oula (A Little Bit of Reiki) offers “energy practices to help make better sleep possible.” The author contends that “when we are able to invite balance into our system, we can sleep more soundly,” and to that end she details rituals to help one feel more balanced, less stressed, and better able to sleep. To “clear extraneous energy,” she recommends brushing one’s hair while envisioning unwanted thoughts and stressors getting groomed out. Oula provides personal anecdotes about growing up Catholic with a Buddhist grandmother; her advice draws on a correspondingly broad range of traditions and features Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, and secular prayers and mantras for falling asleep if one wakes up during the night. The author also discusses floral tapping, which involves tapping a container of flower essence eight times against one’s palm and placing two drops on one’s tongue to enhance the power of other rituals. The personal stories add little to the guidance and readers will find many of the meditations bland (“Hear the hum of cicadas or crickets. Feel a light cool breeze on your skin”). Unimaginative and disjointed, this is a letdown. (Apr.)