--- In [email protected], "John Davis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi, > > >Well put -- this sounds a lot like a form of "sleep-witnessing," > >when the Self, pure consciousness, the Witness, begins to shine > >forth so strongly that we feel as if we're always awake, even > >while the body is actually sleeping. It's generally considered to > >be a Good Thing, one of the signposts of growing Enlightenment -- > >even if it does take a little getting used to! :-) > > I'm not sure even the most ardent supporter of TM would > suggest that this could happen after, what, nine months > or so of meditation, would they? It's a nice thought though!
It would be unusual, certainly, but theoretically not impossible. Doesn't necessarily mean you're on the brink of enlightenment, though. Experiences can come and go, sometimes even very advanced experiences, right from the start and at any point along the way. But sleep witnessing is what I was thinking of when I asked whether you were tired during the day. When I had my spell of seeming insomnia, I'm pretty sure there was some component of witnessing involved, although it wasn't at all a clear experience of it. And after a while, it went away completely. ;-) Sleep deprivation can be hard to gauge, however. You may be more sleep-deprived than you realize. On the other hand, that time seems to go by quickly isn't like "normal" insomnia, so it's hard to say. I don't think you said whether you tend to get drowsy or fall asleep during meditation. If not, that would also suggest you're maybe having some aspect of sleep witnessing at night. Bottom line, if it isn't causing you major problems, you probably shouldn't worry about it. Somebody else suggested a physical checkup, which wouldn't be a bad idea just on general principles. And if there's a sleep lab anywhere near you, and your doctor would prescribe a test (and your insurance would cover it), it might be kind of fun to see what the lab folks think is going on. The TM researchers have done a bunch of studies on sleep witnessing. You might want to see if you can look them up, maybe find them in a library. They probably mostly deal with highly technical EEG-type data, but they may also include subjects' reports on what the experience feels like, which could give you a clue.
