There is a school of thought that warns to be careful with lying down practice. One can fall asleep, and then that's the end (of the meditation).
This morning, I decided to take a chance, and stay in bed a little longer, and do my morning practice right there. Sure, there was sleepiness present from a night cut short and maybe I would doze off? It would be interesting to see.
Lying down, I put my hands on my belly, and watched the ebbs and flows of breath being received, and leaving. Sleepiness, yes, to be recognized. And a host of other phenomena. The sounds of sirens, dogs yapping, neighbors' door slammed, plane passing, . . . Thoughts about work. Suffering from long held constriction in the throat, and the stomach. And back to focusing on the experience of breath caressing the hands, in and out, gently.
Another time, I might have decided to sleep in some more, and bypass morning sitting altogether. Or I would have gone with the brutal awakening of the alarm clock, forcing myself to take place on my seat.
This morning, I discovered another more gentle way to start the day.
Awakening.
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We create tension for ourselves because we are unwilling to think, to take the time to reflect upon the situation for what it is and move on with appreciation. As a nation, we are not great thinkers. We certainly have a lot of intelligent people, but we are not great thinkers. We rush through life. We have numerous routines that keep us from thinking and we have countless machines that think for us. Studies show that nearly 90% of our lives is spent in routine. Being mindful is the goal. Being in the moment leads to awareness and awareness leads to enlightenment. Thanks for the reminder not to get up and jump into the routine every morning.
ReplyDeleteYes, and the difference between awareness and discursive thinking.
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