Chander Gupta
Homo sapiens exist alternately in two states: either asleep or awake. When we are asleep, our body and mind get rest and rejuvenation. At the same time while we are asleep, some stirrings at subconscious level manifest in dreams. These stirrings at subconscious level, at the time we are asleep, dilute the soundness of our slumber.
The quality of sleep is contaminated by dreams in which we are both an actor and the sole spectator. The dreams which sprout from our own subconscious must be having roots in our past and prejudices.
The way subconscious stirrings keep us a bit wakeful while we are asleep, the same way the subconscious buzz lulls us into sleep mode when we are awake. Our subconscious catches us unawares in both our states of being awake or asleep. Paradoxically, our subconscious is more dominant when we are in awake state.
Are we ‘awakened’ when we are awake? The answer will be ‘not always’. During much of the time when we are seemingly awake, we are actually in ‘sleep’ mode. This analogy with computer systems underlines the point that human brain tends to lapse into sleep mode when it is not in awakened mode. Awakening happens when we emerge from the depths of subconscious.
What happens when we are in ‘sleep’ mode i.e. when we are awake but not awakened? We fumble, falter, stumble, react, forget, and so on. Obviously there are pitfalls in acting, or rather reacting, from the sleep mode. We tend to forget things. After we are awakened by some jolt, we exclaim ‘oh! it did not occur to me’. If we are not in fully awakened state, we tend to over-react to situations that suddenly confront you. We commit mistakes. We fail to seize opportunities.
Who will awaken you? It will only be sparsely that someone else jolts you out of your slumber before it is too late. We have to ourselves cultivate in a sustainable manner the practice of awakening ourselves when we are awake.
A few simple tips illustrated here for awakening yourself, if practiced regularly, will further lead you to evolve on your own more such techniques. At the time when you access your email account, stop and correctly recall your login credentials. Don’t we often at first attempt enter wrong particulars because we are in sleep mode? Don’t we often at first attempt press the wrong button on the switch board? Switch to awakened mode by stopping and figuring out the correct button before your finger presses a button involuntarily. While moving the key in the keyhole of a lock for opening it, first think whether it is to be moved clock-wise or anti-clockwise. Like-wise while moving the cap of a bottle to open or close it, the anti-clock-wise and clockwise principle should be followed. Observe your surroundings and register details in your mind. Inhale deeply with your eyes closed for five minutes or so after every five- six hours. Listen carefully. You can keep awakening yourself if you follow practices like these a number of times in a day.
Evolve from just being awake to ‘awakened’. The more awakened you keep yourself, the less interfering will be your subconscious. The awakened state not only eradicates negativity from the subconscious but more decisively lets you take hold of the reins of the life in your own hands.