Sleep is the realm of the unconscious mind which is vast and contains much wisdom.
Sleep deprivation is a big problem today.
People's minds are so overworked, and bodies so under worked that when they hit the bed, sleeping becomes an effort.
And deep sleep is something like a distant dream.
How would one practice the sutra given by patanjali? The sutra is:Meditate on the knowledge that comes through sleep.
It can be practiced if you change the gestalt of looking at sleep.
That sleep is also a natural state of mind, just like the waking state.
These two states are complimentary to each other, not opposite.
They both exist in their own right.
Sleep is the realm of the unconscious mind which is vast and contains much wisdom.
Osho has given a cue how you can draw knowledge from your sleep.
He says, if you bring awareness to your sleep you can use it for getting messages through your vast unconscious mind.
But the first effort has to be made in the daytime.
While you are awake be more awake.
Walking on the street, walk mindfully, as if you are doing something very important.
Each step should be taken in full awareness.
If you can do that, only then you can enter sleep with awareness.
You have to bring more energy to it, so much energy that when the conscious mind goes off, awareness continues on its own-and you fall asleep with awareness.
The whole day, whatsoever you are doing, it should become an excuse for the inner training of mindfulness.
So the activity becomes secondary;awareness through that activity becomes primary.
When by the night you drop all activity and you do to sleep, that awareness continues.
Even while you are falling asleep the awareness becomes a watcher that the body is falling asleep.
By and by, the body is relaxing.
By and by,thoughts are disappearing.
You watch the gaps.
By and by, the world is very, very distant.
You are moving into the basement of your being, the unconscious.
If you can fall down asleep with awareness, only then the continuity will be there in the night.