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Q: I find sometimes less sleep in the night because of the consciousness. I try to sleep but my mind is so fresh. It leads up till to morning. Can you please explain this!

A: A luminous sort of restlessness can happen at night when energy is moving through our purifying nervous system. That kind of interruption in sleep will not last. Make sure you do your practices in the early evening before dinner, and then have some good activity (physical, mental or social) in the evening before bed. This will help smooth it out - it helps integrate the inner energies before bedtime. If we meditate right before bed, it can lead to that kind of restlessness, like a "buzz" going on inside, because meditation is a preparation for activity. Activity after meditation is an essential part of integrating and stabilizing pure bliss consciousness in our nervous system.

Another kind of wakefulness that can happen during sleep is "witnessing," which is the normal rise of inner silence from practices. This is part of the first stage of enlightenment, introduced early in the lessons (#35, "enlightenment milestones"), and is a permanent condition that will not disrupt our sleep, even though we may feel awake inside. The first stage of enlightenment is the rise of uninterrupted inner silence, which we find to be our unshakable inner silent self, present throughout waking, dreaming and deep sleep. It is the proverbial "rock" of pure bliss consciousness in us that cannot be washed away by any storm. Continuous inner silence is a good thing. It is the quiet foundation of all the glamorous later stages of enlightenment. It is also the source of our increasing peace and stability in daily life.

The way to tell if it is the first or second experience occurring during sleep is in how rested we feel the next day. If we are a bit tired, then it is likely the first experience of excess energy running around inside, and that will pass as we regulate our practices to keep balance between the cultivation of inner silence and our daily activities. On the other hand, if we feel rested after a night of conscious sleep, then we will know it is the rise of inner silence, which is our normal enlightenment coming up.

It can also be a mixture of both of these experiences, in which case we just do our practices in the early evening to keep our sleep time smooth, and then enjoy being peacefully aware while we are sleeping. That's life on the road to enlightenment. Good things are happening!

The guru is in you.

PS: Also see Lesson 157 on inner silence/witness (turiya - "the 4th state") in relation to waking, dreaming sleep and deep sleep states of consciousness.

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Q: I have been doing yoga practices (pranayama, meditation, mudras) for 8 years and I have been reading AYP site content since last few years. I get answers to all my questions and doubts on practices and concepts by reading the site and I am immensely benefitted and grateful about it.

I have a busy working schedule and practice twice a day one hour each time. I am in my 40s and normally manage with 7 hours of sleep at night. I wish to increase my practice to dive deeper into stillness and blissful state. I have tried with 6 hours sleep and I get tired during my office work. Could you please suggest if it fine with 6 hours of sleep? Can I adjust myself over the time with less amount of sleep that I am used to now or will it cause any harm to my physical and mental health? Is there any means to increase time for practices?


A: Happy to hear you have been finding the AYP writings helpful. You almost answered your own question when you said that you felt tired during the day with only 6 hours of sleep at night. In that case, you obviously need more sleep. There really isn't a way around it. It is best to honor the needs of the body/mind. If we push too much against it, it can lead to an imbalance and difficulties with our effectiveness and health.

On a related subject, I have been asked in the past about "sleep techniques," practices that can be performed while we are sleeping. These can lead to sleep deprivation, and I do not recommend them. We need our sleep. It is an important part of our daily cycle, just as important as spiritual practices. If the neurobiology is going out of balance, then all the spiritual practices in the world will not be working well for us. Obviously, our need for sleep may vary over time, and some people will require more or less sleep than others.

We have to find our own balance for practices, good daily activity and sleep. If we keep these three in balance and are consistent in our daily practice over the long term, we will have more progress than if we are overdoing with practices and ignoring our rest and not engaging in good daily activity. As we often say in AYP, especially when there is a tendency toward overdoing practices. "Less can be more."

It should be mentioned that, with the AYP approach, certain energy practices (like mudras and bandhas) can occur at the same time as spinal breathing pranayama, adding very little or no time to the practice session. Later on these may come up spontaneously during deep meditation and even during the day in very refined ways, overlapping the time with other things we are doing, making our development more efficient time-wise. So, it is not only about having a longer practice routine.

Also, with a busy schedule, there will be times when we may have little time for practice. In that case, the suggestions in Lesson 209 are provided for consideration.

In time, all of life becomes practice as we have increasing abiding inner silence and ecstatic conductivity. Then we are finding a natural flow of divine love coming through us at all times. While we will certainly continue with structured daily practices according to our inclination, we will also be radiating outward throughout the day. One way to look at this is to consider that for some time (years) we have been chasing the divine with practices. Then as things develop, we come to realize that the divine is chasing us in many ways around the clock. In the end it all merges into one continuous flow of unity. Our job is to keep things in balance. It is not so difficult. Ordinary life can continue without much fanfare, even as we are living it with more freedom from suffering and an increasing ability to be of service to others.

Wishing you all the best on your continuing path. Practice wisely and enjoy, honoring whatever need for rest your body may signal (if you are tired, sleep!). This is what self-pacing is all about -- making necessary adjustments in our practices and lifestyle for good progress with comfort and safety. A balanced path is the fastest path.

The guru is in you.

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