My Grandma tricks against the insomnia

[♥Dany♥]

This is not an article of a psychologist, nor a doctor, even less than an adept of Feng Shui, or other matter related to the sleep disorder.

I speak about my own experiment. Thus I cannot assert scientific facts. Each one will experiment and confirm or not the observations of my Ancestors.

According to the Malagasy habits the house was to be traditionally directed north/south with the open window towards the east and the principal main door towards the west.

Symbols underlain in this architecture (I speak about the traditions, this is described such as it is, without any intention to shock somebody) :

- the north, represents the power : the king, the leader, the elder, the men ;
- the south, is for the servants : the commoner, the women, the children, the slaves... ;
- the east, by which the sun rises, is source of light, life, purity,… ;
- the west, where the sun sets is symbol of death and impurity. The deceased is carried by the door of the west… The household refuse are burned and buried at the west of the house.

Any house and every village had to respect this hierarchy

In the house the bed is directed with the head northward or eastward. Never southward or westward. My grandmother told us that sleeping with the head turned to the not advised cardinal points will imply a bad sleep with nightmares :

- Southward : dream of quarrels, persecutions or invasions by enemies
- Westward : apparition of missing persons, death announced for a close relation, monstrous creatures (dragons, snakes, devils,...).

Grandma (always she, what I would be without her?) never told us dreadful tales after sunset. For her the parents who do that were imbeciles. Why launch horrors which should cause nightmares?

She prohibited us to sleep on the left side, if not the heart would be crushed and could cause a heart disease. She was not a Doctor nor a Shaman but she knew well her subject.

For her the bed was not to be stuck to the wall, not radio nor other household appliances in the bedroom. At dinner prohibition to eat chocolate and other heavy food. My mother who was too young to understand all that at this time always contradicted her. Now she does exactly like her mother-in-law. Sometimes to tease her I remember her the good old days where she claimed that "Mamie is stupid". A trick on which she prefers to keep silence. And especially not in front of her daughter-in-law. If not it would be the disaster and the parental authority which takes a blow.

It's not nasty from me, the children have better vibrations with their grandparents than with the parents. I think that it is universal. Though I had an appalling fear of my grandfather, so much he was severe.

To summarize for sleeping well what it was necessary to do ?

- A good bed (neither too hard, nor too soft)
- a good pillow,
- the head turned towards north or east,
- a light meal,
- not nightmarish tales, nor anger after sunset,
- no noise, (lol tell that to your neighbor with a brush, a hard good like argument
- no animals in the room
- not sleeping too early, i.e. before 09 pm to be able to awake fresh and dynamic at 5 am or 6 a.m.

And never to forget thanksgiving God before sleeping.

These councils of grandmother help me always so far.

Phew I have done it. I am sleepy.... wooooaaa

[baholy]

Love the beautiful painting of mother and child, would like to know the artist, thanks.

[Mika Leuck]

This is a very interesting post. Japan has similar rules about the way doors and windows should face.