“Trust and pure perception are two essentials…and when brought vividly alive in our personal experience, they open a door to direct recognition of the original wakefulness that is the nature of emptiness.”

- CHÖKYI NYIMA RINPOCHE

#buddhism #Wakefulness #vajranaya

Insomnia isn’t what you probably think it is. It isn’t going to bed in the late evening and trying to sleep but failing. Well, it may be that for some folks, but for me insomnia is waking up at 2:00 AM and then not being able to get back to sleep for another three hours.

Having insomnia does not mean I will be falling back to sleep at about 5:00 and then sleeping soundly until 8:00 or 9:00. It means I will be going back to bed at about 5:00 and then being woken up repeatedly by any sound. I can be woken by loud rain drops, or by the window blind in the breeze tapping the window frame, or by my phone in another room pinging the receipt of an email, or by my own snoring. In those hours, almost any sound can awaken me.

I have various remedies that work sometimes, but not all the time. I use them when I haven’t had a good sleep for several days, but mostly I just let the insomnia keep me awake. This may sound illogical, but not when you realize there are advantages to wakefulness. Primarily, insomnia gives me two or three hours of silence all to myself. I usually read, always play word games, sometimes sketch, occasionally walk along the waterfront and, during these early summer days, I regularly enjoy watching the sunrise.

Photographers call the last hour of daylight “the golden hour,” but for me the best hour is the hour before daybreak. I feel as though it is my own little secret personal time. I used to feel grumpy about it because I lacked sleep and that made me lethargic. Now, though, I don’t mind it so much. Quite often it is the best time of my day.

I have learned not to make appointments in the early mornings if I can avoid them, and I put my phone on “Do Not Disturb” so often I forget to let it disturb me again. Those middle-of-the-night hours often matter more to me than do the regular working day hours. I’m not failing to sleep . . . I’m IN SOMe NIght Action.

Please enjoy this slide show of some of the many, many photos I have taken during the early morning hours over the last couple of years. I recommend full-screen viewing.

https://snowbirdofparadise.com/2024/06/24/in-some-night-action/

#goldenHour #health #humour #insomnia #mentalHealth #nature #Photography #sleep #sunrise #wakefulness #wellness

🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:

SN 35.120 Sāriputtasaddhivihārikasutta: Sāriputta and the Pupil

“Reverend Sāriputta, a mendicant pupil of mine has resigned the training and returned to a lesser life.…”

Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/sn-35-120-sariputtasaddhiviharikasutta-sariputta-and-the-pupil/?=MDS

Get these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS

#food #meditation #SenseRestraint #wakefulness #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha

I feel like I should be able to stay awake without feeling tired for at least 16 hours a day but often I get tired after only at most 12, sometimes 10 or even 8 or less. I don't know how someone can manage working a full 8-hour shift somewhere not at home and not collapse by the end. Been like this for years and I don't know why.
1/2

#sleep #sleepy #wakefulness #tired #exhausted

A quotation from Colton, Charles Caleb:

«
Bed is a bundle of paradoxes; we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; and we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late.
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/colton-charles-caleb/27592/

#quote #quotes #quotation #awakening #bed #fatigue #sleep #sleepiness #wakeup #wakefulness

Scientists have identified the brain regions responsible for wakefulness, a key component of consciousness. The regions are clusters of nerve cells in the brainstem, thalamus, and hypothalamus, which form a network called the ascending arousal system. The network could be a target for new treatments for coma patients who may have impaired wakefulness due to brain damage or disease.

#Wakefulness #Consciousness #BrainNetwork

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2387732-consciousness-traced-to-specific-clusters-of-nerve-cells-in-the-brain/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=HariTulsidas%2Fmagazine%2FMind+and+Matter

I found this #dharma talk excellent and encouraging.

Blurb: “Sudden awakening is not a state of mind that is developed—it's the innate wakefulness of mind, it's the nature of mind that is free of delusion. When delusion is not present, there is the experience of awareness, of wakefulness.” – Joseph Goldstein

#buddhism #JosephGoldstein #mindfulness #mind #liberation #awakening #wakefulness

https://youtu.be/UQHhtg2ePSE

I think being #woke means trying to present an awakened idea, but failing to do so
To succeed in being awakened, it must but presented with care to the audience as a whole
In storytelling art, audience feedback is important to adjust your message for them
The smaller the audience they more tailored and careful you can make the delivery
Even fragile ideas will make it across in one piece to your loved ones

#wakefulness #wokeness #derogatory
#wokenessDefinition #defineWoke