{"id":411,"date":"2014-08-27T14:24:17","date_gmt":"2014-08-27T21:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.reed.edu\/meditation\/?p=411"},"modified":"2014-08-27T14:24:17","modified_gmt":"2014-08-27T21:24:17","slug":"sleepwalking-wake-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.reed.edu\/meditation\/2014\/08\/27\/sleepwalking-wake-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Sleepwalking? Wake up!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I came across the phrase \u201csleepwalking through life\u201d<\/em> in a recent magazine article by Ezra Bayda (Tricycle, Fall 2014<\/a>). It spoke to me right away. First, the image it conjured up (no doubt enhanced by a zombie fad that just won\u2019t go away) of vast populations shuffling along, lost in thought, moving in a dream world, never seeing their thoughts for what they were, week after week and year after year, was extraordinarily powerful. And then I mulled it over. I realized that \u201csleepwalking\u201d has even deeper roots. \u201cBuddha\u201d means something like Awakened, and not Enlightened. So, if you aren\u2019t Buddha, you\u2019re sleepwalking, right?<\/p>\n

An intriguing line of reasoning, but one that can quickly set my mind spinning up more daydreams. “Waking up sounds good. I should get started right away.” If I catch myself sleepwalking, I might feel like a failure. More thoughts, “I should deepen my resolve, make a note in my diary to try harder, try to be more like someone who I think is more awake.” And on and on.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Being \u2018awake\u2019 24\/7 is a nice aspiration, but not available to me. I have to live with some moments of being awake interspersed with spans of sleepwalking. Which makes me wonder, “Is sleepwalking so bad, really?”<\/p>\n

Because I’m not often ‘awake,’ I’m reluctant to give an answer, but what I can see right now is this: sleepwalking isn\u2019t so bad, but it isn’t very rewarding either. The daydreams I weave through my daily life often seem like powerful tools for living (“I’m fat. I should get more exercise. I’m lonely. My children should call me on the phone.”) But, as Bayda explains, many daydreams are just well-concealed prisons. Each thought constructs a rigid formulation of who I am, who you are, how we should relate to each other, and what possibilities can be found in this life. Sitting still with awareness, even for only a few minutes, let\u2019s me break free. Daydreams are seen for what they are: ephemeral prison bars. Waking up just a little to what my life is truly like – a vast unknown – frees me to live with enormous possibility.<\/p>\n

Links:<\/p>\n