In our daily lives, we often don't face darkness until we turn out the bedside lamp and hunker down. In those moments before we fall ito sleep state, our minds whirl with what happened that day, what might happen tomorrow, worry over bills, children, friends, family, the future.... It is truly the only time we weren't distracted that day and can finally check in. Here it is, days away from Halloween, and perhaps the best therapy for us is to, well, be alone in the dark. 

Indoors or outdoors, sitting alone in the dark is a fantastic way to tap your inner world. 

As a ghost investigator, I get asked, "do ghosts only come out at night?" The phenomenon happens all the time, but daytime there is foot traffic in the building, noisy cars outside, and light makes it harder to see what's really going on. It's interesting that light makes you blind to subtle changes, but helps you to read fine writing on a box. When the lights are out, the eyes adjust to any bits of light it can find. Contrasting shapes moving about can be seen as they move through that faint light. 

Darkness brings on release of melatonin too. Most of us are on our lit screens, i.e. tv, computer, tablet, phone up until bedtime. Your optic system is waiting for darkness to know it's nighttime and time to rest by releasing melatonin. Part of difficulty sleeping these days is purely the lack of darkness to signal the body to rest. In the olden days, folks went to bed when it got dark. They woke up when it got light.

When I was busy parenting and working, volunteering, managing family events, a household, homemade meals nightly, running a self-help group, etc., I had a really hard time falling asleep. I came to realize that the only time I checked in with myself was when I laid down and legitimately was allowed to push the world away and just be instead of do.

I thought about it and realized I needed to check in with myself before bedtime, get all that junk in my head and fast paced thought proess out of my system. I began to go out back and get in the pool under the moonlight or new moon darkness and think about life and all its aspects. 

Why am I here? 
What's out there in space? 
What am I cooking for family get together?
Did I wear my new outfit to work yet?
Why is my boss ignoring me? 
 

And somehow, it always came around to - 

Am I happy?

Choose to sit indoors or outdoors in the dark. No distractions. No music. No phone. No other people. Simply - alone in the dark. 

Like in meditation, let the buzzing thoughts go through but don't anchor one down and chew on it, just let it come and go in one door in your head and out the other. Eventually, you adjust to the lack of distraction and begin to focus on the other senses; smells, temperature, sounds....

A broader awareness occurs because of lack of visual stimulation. You are aware of the air around you, any feelings of not being alone, the weight of objects nearby, and your complete singularity. 

This kind of nightly ceremony before bed is a fantastic weight lifted from the falling asleep battle. You get the buzzing fast thoughts transition and self check-in complete so that when you lie down to sleep, you are in the mode of forming dream futures and events, goals, hope, and inspiration. Your consciousness and your body begin to relent and go to places of peace and tranquility. 

As I mentioned above, darkness is a place to discern things that are ignored or not seen in the light. There are some fun activities for nighttime exploration -

Bigfoot studies, UFO watching, ghost investiations, camping, bonfires, spelunking, storytelling, photographing the moon, star watching, flashlight tag.

When you start partipating in the dark, you get to a very primitive level of being, in that you forget technology, lights, distractions, and you "feel" the night. Your instincts are sharpened. Your vision gets relief from bright screens and begins to see things you never notice before. The sounds in the nighttime are different. You actually note the weather around you. The temperatures are cooler. 

Here's some ideas to expand on your time in the dark. Nightvision IR goggles that can photograph and record are a really fun "toy" to have. You can use them in the woods to see your way without a flashlight, but my favorite activity is to sit outside or lie on a lounge chair and study the sky. These goggles are the way researchers see more in the sky than our eyes can see, as humans don't visualize the infrared spectrum. 

Like the fun uses for the IR camera above, there are FLIR cameras that look at heat signatures. If there is something living and breathing, it will show up in various intensity on the scope. If you're looking for hidden creatures, people, or even UFOs, this is your toy.

Sitting in front of a warm fire with darkness all around is a primitive kind of scrying. We stare into the flames and see shapes, triggering the imagination. The contrast of light in front of us and darkness behind creates feelings of not being alone. This is also a great setting for storytelling, sharing the dark with others. 

There is nothing that makes you ponder the universe and your place in it than stargazing.

Ultimately, the best way to experience an inward experience and true darkness is a sleep mask. Our bodies still have trouble sleeping through light, even a bit of sunrise coming through the curtains. A sleep mask produces the ideal setting.