Night Watch
On meditating at 3 a.m. instead of trying to fall asleep
To hear the related 5-minute audio file that I uploaded today as my Morning Journal flash briefing for Alexa devices, please click on the play button:
A Medieval Sleep Hack
In the Middle Ages, I’ve read, people didn’t assume you had to sleep all through the night.
They practiced segmented sleep—first sleep and second sleep—with a period of wakefulness or “the watch” in between. The interval was devoted to quiet activities like reading, prayer, and meditation.
I thought of this a few nights ago when I couldn’t get back to sleep around 3 a.m. Instead of tossing and turning, I put on my robe and walked to my Lab, where the closet serves as a very small meditation room.
I sat for about 20 minutes.
When done, I steered clear of my MacBook Air. But I did jot a few notes down on a pad of paper. They were thoughts that had arisen at the corners of my attention, the kind of thoughts which metastasize into an endless stream of worry when I am sleepless in bed.
My mind thus cleared, I returned to the bedroom for a Second Sleep of two hours or so.
This time of meditation reminds me of retreats I used to take 30 years ago at St. Benedict’s, a Trappist Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado.
I stayed in a guest house that was a five-minute walk from the chapel. I set my alarm for 3 a.m. and walked under the stars, listening to coyotes. I made sure to be seated before the monks arrived for their Night Office, or Vigil.
The brothers walked in from their living quarters in long robes with hoods. They might have just arrived from the Middle Ages. Their intoning of the psalms was timeless and healing.
In looking up the monastery just now, I was saddened to see that after 70 years in Snowmass the Trappists are closing St. Benedict’s. No more retreats, no lay people walking the driveway at 3 a.m. to Vigil.
I have a shorter walk to Vigil here at our home in Sanibel. The devotion of the Trappists left a lasting impression on me, for which I am grateful.
I am not sure my Night Watch habit will take hold, but the early results are promising. Last night was not a fair test. I wrestled with my tripod in order to take the photo above, and that resulted in less time meditating.
I still woke up rested enough to join Darlene and Deb for walk on the beach in time to see the sun rise. I also collected some new shells for the glass container I have next to my candle in the closet.
