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2:47 a.m. Damn clock. Only about three more hours until I have to get up. Mind racing. Need to fix the gutter. Lose weight. I should have studied Medicine. How can Slash rip up a guitar but me, with multiple college degrees, can’t even whistle in tune? I hate Time Warner.
Ceiling fan spinning, frogs chirping their low, rhythmic drone in the yard, yet there’s no hypnotic effect that will help me fall back to sleep. I need an oil change. Christie Brinkley…still hot.
I can get up and take a belt of daddy juice. Or pop a melatonin. Of course, then I'll miss my 9 a.m. meeting. I hate that project. Stupid project. This is crazy…this is crazy…this is crazy...
Or I can dream with Jeff. Jeff Bridges. The Dude.
I stumbled across a solution for sleeplessness and general distractions during the 2015 Super Bowl. Great spot. Single shot, slow pull back showing Jeff sitting cross-legged, chanting an OM mantra, creating a soft ringing sound with a metal bowl of sorts. It was for web site software, but the co-op ad also pushed a pet project – Jeff’s Bridges Sleeping Tapes (www.dreamingwithjeff.com).
I’m hooked. And not just for sleeping. I’ve used this sound track to block out distractions when I’m writing, and as a calming addition to moments of meditation. Jeff’s quirky tracks take the edge off things. They really put me in a different space, one in which I imagine myself walking along side the Dude as he describes the smallest details of a beautiful world around us.
It’s so simple. But it’s very deep and it feeds kids, too. You can download the soundtrack here. However, Jeff does ask that you consider making a contribution to a very good cause, No Kid Hungry, helping feed kids right here at home.
It’s a win all the way around. You’ll feel better, and so will some hungry kids…thanks to full bellies.
Sleep well.
Timothy Condron
May 28, 2015
(Photo credit: Jeff Bridges Sleeping Tapes cover. Used without permission…but hopefully it’ll help spark a few more downloads and donations to No Kid Hungry, in which case Jeff’s attorneys will take pity on me.)