Every
night, it’s bedtime. If we are not in “social” or “weekend” mode, one wants to
rest properly and be ready for waking in the morning. The shavasana
position, or dead-body posture, with a low pillow or no pillow, is best for
settling down and “om-ing” oneself to sleep. We will talk about falling asleep
and sleeping another time…
The point here is the waking process.
Maybe we wake up at certain times during the night. There is a tradition of the
Brahma muhurta, one and a half hours before sunrise, ending 48 minutes
before that time. If waking happens “automatically” at this time or thereabouts
(it varies according to the sun, obviously), and one is not getting up at that
time for meditation or practises, adopting shavasana and mentally
chanting “om” will do the trick, and we will drop back into sleep. It is not a
time for thinking – only for bringing awareness to the body and mind. If
thoughts do happen, just be aware of them, watch patiently and allow them to
subside. At this time of night, the mind is naturally very quiet, so it is
traditionally a good time for practises, prayer or whatever you do. The
Benedictines woke at 5:40am for Matins at 6, and ended their day with Compline
around 9pm, and thereafter silence till the next morning. Some monks did
midnight prayers as well, giving themselves only a bare 6 hours of sleep.
We are not concerned about religions and believers,
either Hindus, Christians or fervent atheists. We are interested in the
functioning of the body and mind. Practises – whether mental exercises or
prayers or chants or whatever they may be – are a means of bringing awareness
into what we do. There is awareness of the body and it parts – even parts we do
not normally know, such as the so-called chakras; and there is awareness of
processes, such as breathing, inhalation and exhalation; or noticing (the five
sense); there is awareness of the operation of the senses and their inputs; and
there is awareness of the operation of the mind and its constituent parts, such
as memory, identification, intellect, and word processing (so-called “thinking”
or inner chatter). And then, if we’re lucky, there is awareness of inner calm
and silence, when roof-brain chatter has been reduced and we are left with the
welling up of energy, power and silence.
So when our waking time comes, whether it’s
5:40 or 6 or 6:30 am, the very first things we notice are the rising sparks of
awareness coming back into the mind and body, and prompting the mind to start
its “waking conscious” activities… But beware that it doesn’t instantaneously
review the lethargic condition of the body, and convince you that you should
snooze just a little longer – it is so pleasant just lying in bed, isn’t it?
That’s what it will say! But no, we are bent on waking and awakening deeper
parts of the mind and fuelling awareness for a new day, so our determination – and
simple habit – will assist us in opening up the covers and sitting up on the
bed. A quick check on the window and we know the kind of day we will have. And
another day means another day to live… perchance not to die. That also helps us
fuel awareness. A towel or bathrobe are nearby, so it’s off to the toilet and shower
at once. This is a chronometrically planned morning and everything should run
smoothly. Water first thing in the morning all over the body wakes and
cleanses. Hygiene is done, the body wiped dry and the special clothing for morning
practises is put on, after a drink of cool water, which is the only thing I
imbibe until much later. This first morning practise takes about 15-18 minutes.
The day it takes much longer and I am found still sitting crosslegged at noon will
be a major milestone, but that’s just probably a fancy of mine! This first practise
is followed by another 17-minute exercise to let the mind know that it shall be
subjugated to my will and determination this day as well. May it behave
properly! Then clothes are donned and it’s walk-time to get to a Bikram Yoga
class, either an hour or 1.5 hours, depending on the day.
After this entire process, the body floats
along nicely, the mind is tuned down (not up!) – but it is ready to be adroitly
applied to anything instantaneously. This is waking – bringing as much
awareness into the process as possible each working day. The work is bringing
greater awareness to the life process. It is a work against society, against
habit, against the status quo, against just about everything minimally conscious
or unconscious. But that’s life... at its best.
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