Don't Go Back to Sleep!

Said Rumi

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you
Don’t go back to sleep!

You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep!

People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch, The door is round and open

Don’t go back to sleep!

–Rumi (translation by Coleman Barks)

It’s no surprise that I heard the words “Don’t go back to sleep!” when I bolted awake early one morning. The Rumi poem had drifted into my consciousness.

I don’t keep a clock or phone in the bedroom but with my internal clock and judging by the darkness I guessed that it was sometime between 2:00 and 6:00 a.m.

Morning Vata hours.

The ambrosial hours.

Before dawn.

Before sunrise.

In the yogic tradition, Brahma Muhurta, also referred to as the ambrosial hours, is the period of night nearest to morning, beginning around 90 minutes before sunrise.

Anyone who has learned meditation knows that these hours are a magical time to drop into that liminal space between states of consciousness.

Brahma Muhurta literally means, The Creator's Time! The Creator or Brahma is the ultimate knowledge and Muhurta means time period. Brahma Muhurta is the time period, perfect to perceive the ultimate knowledge. Brahma muhurta time is the early morning period between 3.30 a.m. and 5.30 a.m.
—The Art of Living

I learned about these magical hours not only when I began to meditate but also when I studied Ayurveda.

When we wake up during Vata hours of the morning (approximately 2:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m.) there is an ethereal, light, creative energy. A lightness that doesn’t leave us feeling groggy and dense, as we often do when we wake after sunrise (Kapha time.) Kapha energy is slow, heavy, and dense.

I say “approximately” because these hours fluctuate with the seasons and also annoying unhealthy time changes like Daylight Saving Time that mess with our circadian rhythms.

Basically, the sweet spot of ambrosial hours begins anywhere around 2 1/2 hours or 90 minutes before sunrise. Depends on who you ask. I think you can be the best judge of it.

While most people are not awake at this time, especially if they’re night owls, when you give it a try - heading to bed earlier - you might find those wee hours can be magical.

Obviously, not everyone is going to bed by 8:00 like I’ve been doing lately. Some of you need to wake up for work with an alarm, and/or have children to care for.

If you look up the meaning of “ambrosia” you’ll see:

Food of the gods.

Immortality.

Divine hours of the morning.

Divine to the palate.

I remember ambrosia as a delicious creamy dessert with pineapple, coconut, strawberries, or cherries. My mother made a frozen version.

It was Divine.

I’ll often have someone asking what they can do to stop from waking up in the wee hours of the morning. I explain what is happening (Vata hours) and suggest that instead of getting frustrated they sit up and try to meditate. Or if they don’t want to meditate, then just close their eyes and follow their breath.

If I wake during these hours fully alert, I’m thrilled and I first try to meditate. Sometimes meditation eventually leads me back into a delicious sleep and all is well.

Then there are the times when I wake during these hours and I’m gripped with anxiety, or worry about my life. I try to breathe through it. Let some tears flow if necessary. The unbalanced state of Vata is fear or anxiety and so it makes perfect sense.

With a Vata constitution, in the Vata time of life, during Vata Season, it can be full of creativity but also crippling anxiety.

Vata-type dreams are almost always of the anxiety/fearful type and I’ve noticed that these dreams almost always happen during the Vata hours of the morning.

But lately, more often than not, my meditation is interrupted by creative ideas. Usually a title for a post (like this one.)

I start writing in my head. While journaling is not my cup of tea, I do keep this notebook at my bedside, ready to write down my ideas, because I know how fleeting they are. If I fall back asleep, they will be gone. My muse will have gone back to sleep too.

I often wonder, were I to hop out of bed, open my laptop, and start writing before the sun came up, would I get more writing done? Probably, but there are so many other elements of my morning routine.

Ayurveda loves routine.

And I love Ayurveda.

So, I make my bed, hit the bathroom, brush my teeth, make ginger tea, do some gentle movement exercises, eat breakfast, and watch the sun come up.

I’ve never lived somewhere where I had such a “room with a view.” Some mornings I just stand still and watch it change. If I go running off to do something else I can miss this:

Or this:

The ambrosial hours are also the perfect time for gentle yoga, qigong, t’ai chi, dance, or whatever else your body likes or needs.

So, if I’m not writing first thing in the morning when is my best writing time?

Morning/afternoon Pitta hours are from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. when productivity is high (think organized Pitta energy!) I find that these are the hours when I’m best able to put together my thoughts. The morning Vata hours feel creative and dreamy. The Pitta hours allow me to organize my thoughts and get them down onto paper (or computer.)

And yet, here I am right now, writing away during afternoon Vata hours (2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.) I’m struggling but determined to get this post out today.

Now is a perfect time to mention that if you struggle to embrace the concept of meditation or anything other than sleep during the morning Vata ambrosial hours, then you get a second chance during the Vata afternoon hours.

In fact, most of my deepest meditations have happened between these hours. My sweet spot seems to be 4:00 p.m.

I’d be lying if I told you that I wake up every morning during the ambrosial hours, soak in creativity, meditate, get up, and watch the sunrise.

After all, Vata is also the dosha famous for being irregular. Like how erratic my postings are…

My latest issue is that while I want to sit down and write by 10:00 every morning, I am also seduced into the woods and visiting Gone-Away Pond. I head out there, fully expecting to be rejuvenated and back at my computer writing.

But, before I know it, hours have gone by. I’m writing in my head as I meander.

And then it’s lunchtime!

My friend says not to worry, soon I will be a little more housebound when the big snowstorms arrive. And then I’ll have more time to write.

We had our first real snowfall last week.

Although winter is not officially here yet, I can feel the energy of it.

The darkness. The cold. The limited palette in Nature.

I was a December baby (which means I was also born during Vata season) and with each passing year, I seem to love the darkness as much as the light.

It’s fully dark here on the East Coast by 4:30 p.m. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person who’s okay with this.

The light is spectacular on the mountains before the sun goes down. Or as it hits the trees surrounding the nearly frozen Pond.

On Thanksgiving, I had an ambrosial early morning. A sweet meditation, with some creative thoughts worth writing down. When I looked out my window I saw the light just barely coming up behind the mountains so I rushed downstairs to take a photo for you. It’s the one at the top of this post.

Of course, Rumi’s poem has been interpreted to mean many different things. Whatever the meaning behind his poem, I have to believe that he knew how significant the ambrosial hours are. Perhaps he woke up during these hours with the idea for his poem.

“Don’t go back to sleep!”

Much Love,
Barbara

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