"This Week"
by the
Bahrain Meditation Centre

4th February, 2006

If you snooze, you lose

If you snooze, you lose is a common phenomenon we all face at some point in our life. The choice remains to what degree we allow sleep to comfort us or is it a tool to avoid our trials and tribulations!

Last year, the American National Sleep Foundation released results of a poll conducted in 2001 which revealed some disturbing trends: America is increasingly becoming a society that lives to work, not works to live; 40% of adults get so little sleep that it results in daytime drowsiness. This interferes with productivity several days in a month and almost 70% report having one or more sleep problems several times a week: physical, mental or emotional.

Although the survey was conducted in America, this is a worldwide phenomenon we can all relate to. Physical, mental or emotional stresses are top of the list of factors that can rob you of sleep, while pain and physiological circumstances contribute to inadequate or poor quality sleep. Without a doubt, sleep is important to our physical, mental and emotional well-being. However, it is not necessarily the number of hours of sleep but the quality of sleep. Quality in the sense of how much it "rejuvenates" us, physically, mentally and spiritually.

Meditation is another method to rejuvenate the mind and body. A yogi would say that a few minutes of meditation are equal to a few hours of sleep. While sleep is a state of unawareness, meditation requires that we remain conscious and aware. We know of meditators who survive on very little sleep; living long and healthy lives, some use the technique of Hatha Yoga, the path of disciplining the body, focusing on the physical sense organs. In the Raja Yoga of the Brahma Kumaris, the focus is on mastery of the mind. It is said, "If you conquer the mind, you conquer the world!"

Raja Yoga emphasizes slowing down the number of thoughts, and living a "balanced" life. This focus on the number of thoughts or fewer thoughts is directly linked with "rejuvenation" of our body, mind and revealing our inner self. Getting sleep is indeed important, but we encourage you to incorporate meditation during your day as the reduction of thoughts will allow you to find a point of focus and experience deep relaxation. The simple act of taking deep breaths or sitting in silence for a few moments does wonders for the body and mind.

Another advantage to meditation is the fact that you maintain a level of consciousness. Some people use sleep as a means of evading problems, only to wake to the problem multiplied or in a different guise. Meditation allows you to break the problem down into manageable bits and work to a solution or alternatives.

As we practice meditation we learn to discriminate between thoughts that are wasteful and those that are valuable, as well as how to regain control over our thoughts and, consequently, well-being. As we learn to manage our stress by managing our "reactions" and emotions, we find our sleep pattern more rewarding and move to a state where we are "balanced" and in which we are once again working to live!

Om Shanti
(I am a peaceful soul)

 Tel: +973-17-712 545, meditate@batelco.com.bh, www.bahrainmeditationcentre.org
Bahrain Meditation Centre is administered by B.K.W.S.U. (visit: www.bkwsu.org.uk)