Waking up in the middle of the night and talking to the ceiling gods:— This refers to those moments when you come out of sleep filled with thoughts of all the problems you have to face, at least some of which are probably unsolvable. You lie there in bed, your mind turning those problems around, and you can’t get back to sleep for a long time. This is talking to the ceiling gods. (I think I first heard Wynne using this phrase.)
I suspect the ceiling gods are descendants of the old Roman household gods, the Lares. We have tried to replace the old household gods with the altars of personal computers, and portable shrines of tablets and smartphones. But for every problem my laptop solves, it dumps three more problems in my lap via email; I’m not sure our replacements for the Lares are really doing us any favors. The ceiling gods seem more effective. Perhaps I will start pouring them libations, and leaving them small offerings.
I laughed just at reading the title to this because it reminded me of my elementary school spelling tests. I think in pictures, and when I try to remember using this method, it helps to look at a blank, white surface. In an overstimulating elementary school classroom, the only option is often the ceiling, and my teacher would always gripe at me, “The answers are not on the ceiling!” I hadn’t ever considered it praying, but in a way, it was!