falling asleep

As a child, I always had trouble sleeping. In some sort of sleep/wake phase, I was almost sure that I saw shadows which freaked the shit out of me. I remember the first time I was able to sleep-through was when I was 11. Surprisingly, it was thanks to Leonardo Dicaprio. The movie Romeo and Juliet just came out, and my parents bought me a ton of posters and we re-arranged my room into a Dicaprio haven. His vibes soothed me, and I was happy to fall asleep in his presence…

Having kids definitely brought me back to those times. Although during “those times” I was the one struggling to sleep, and now, I am the one struggling to put the kids to sleep. Struggling to be there for them, and struggling to stay calm when they are jiggling around in their bed every minute. Usually during the jiggly phase, I am not calm at all- but instead I am going NUTS.

That “struggle” that I had falling asleep as a child, to the struggle I have now (as a parent putting the kids to sleep) planted the seed of GOMM SAHA.

I want to find ways of giving them my “DiCaprio”. Giving them (and me as a matter of fact) different tools for the ritual of sleep. Giving them tools to help them connect to their imagination, and giving me the tools to guide them.

I am making something that I would have wanted as a child: duvet covers that are filled with symbols that help guide us to sleep.

Today, I want to talk about the first symbol: the shape of the Lynx.

Why did I choose to draw this shape? Because of the Tibetan Tiger rugs/carpets.

As you all know, I grew up in Nepal, and you could find these carpets/rugs, in every single carpet shop (Nepal has a lot of carpet shops). This carpet always reminded me of a flying carpet (yes, maybe I watched too much Aladdin as a child, but look at the image, don’t you see it too?). I love this idea of falling asleep with a flying carpet. Having a carpet to “hop on” that will carry me to places that I can’t reach while I’m awake.

The other reason this shape was so inspiring, is because the tiger rugs are meditation rugs. You meditate on the rug, and it is said that the tiger protects you while you are in an “altered” state.

So the duvet cover will have a huge protective flying Lynx on it (among other things).

So… when falling asleep, you are always reminded that the Lynx will fly to dreamland with you, and protect you during your night time adventures…

*Image from: The Guardian

** Image of tiger rug from: karmas.ch