Recently a neighbor asked if I wanted to do early morning walks with her. Wondering if I would fit into her schedule, she asked how long it takes and what I do to \u201cget going\u201d in the morning. Oh, boy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She is one of those spring-out-of-bed and dash-out-the-door people, while I take at least an hour to even consider full wakefulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But how to reply? Two answers popped into my mind: \u201cSpiritually, it takes me a while to shift from my inner being to my outer being and I want to pray and remember my dreams,\u201d or \u201cFrom a neuroscience perspective, I like to reap the benefits of my Default Mode Network before I fully enter my brain\u2019s waking state.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
RELATED: A Spiritual Guide to the Dream World<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hmmm, it didn\u2019t seem those were going to work \u2013 so I said, \u201cI\u2019m very slow. I have a pot of tea and stare out the window a long time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n All these statements are true. I do spend time slowly shifting from what the Baha\u2019i writings call my \u201cinner being.\u201d Mine is quite active during sleep, so I do try to become conscious of anything I might have learned while dreaming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In neuroscience, this is called shifting from my brain\u2019s Default Mode Network, which increases activity during sleep and passive states of self-reflection, to my brain\u2019s normal waking state, which operates during daily activity and problem-solving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the cognitive neurosciences have not yet directly linked their research with the spiritual concepts of the inner and outer being, I do find it interesting to look at the parallels and overlapping concepts within the two bodies of knowledge. From both perspectives, sleeping is very important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Each morning I read this Baha\u2019i prayer<\/a>, which contains these mysterious phrases:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I give praise to Thee, O my God, that Thou hast awakened me out of my sleep, and brought me forth after my disappearance \u2026<\/strong><\/p> I beseech Thee, by the potency of Thy will and the compelling power of Thy purpose, to make of what Thou Didst reveal unto me in my sleep the surest foundation for the mansions of Thy love that are within the hearts of Thy loved ones, and the best instrument for the revelation of the tokens of Thy grace and Thy loving-kindness.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The phrase \u201cWhat Thou Didst reveal unto me in my sleep\u201d certainly suggests that sleep is an active state \u2013 an alternative kind of consciousness, as opposed to wakefulness. It also suggests that in sleep, \u201crevelations\u201d can occur that can be very important. The knowledge acquired in sleep can become an \u201cinstrument\u201d and a \u201cfoundation\u201d for our daily lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In a passage in The Seven Valley\u2019s<\/em> Baha\u2019u\u2019llah wrote<\/a> directly about this: \u201cOne of the created phenomena is the dream. Behold how many secrets are deposited there in, how many wisdoms treasured up, how many worlds concealed \u2026<\/strong>\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n He also described<\/a> what we often refer to as \u201cdeja vu\u201d experiences \u2013 dreams that later come to pass in our waking state:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Observe, how thou art asleep in a dwelling, and its doors are barred; on a sudden thou findest thyself in a far-off city, which thou enterest without moving thy feet or wearying thy body; without using thine eyes, thou seest; without taxing thine ears, thou hearest; without a tongue, thou speakest. And perchance when ten years are gone, thou wilt witness in the outer world the very things thou hast dreamed tonight.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n RELATED: Why Do We Have Good and Bad Dreams?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In this same passage<\/a>, Baha\u2019u\u2019llah mentions \u201ctwo worlds<\/a>\u201d \u2013 the waking world or \u201couter world,\u201d and the \u201cinner world\u201d or the world of sleep and dreams:<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, what is this world, without eye and ear and hand and tongue a man puts all of these to use? Second, how is it that in the outer world thou seest the effect of the dream, when thou dids\u2019t envision it in the world of the dream some ten years past?<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n As the passage<\/a> continues, he does not solve the mystery, but rather encourages each of us to \u201cponder\u201d and: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider the difference between the two worlds and the mysteries which they conceal, that thou mayest attain to divine confirmations and heavenly discoveries and enter the regions of holiness.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n In neuroscience, differences between the brain\u2019s waking state versus sleep have long been documented. But for decades, assumptions were made that overall, the brain \u201crests\u201d during sleep, compared to its high rate of activity in a waking state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, in 1997 when researchers accidentally discovered a whole previously unknown network in the brain that is more active in quiet repose and sleep than in the awake state, they were shocked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since that time, literally thousands of research studies have documented the crucial importance of what is now called the \u201cDefault Mode Network.\u201d It is always active, but less so when exhibiting focused alert attention and more so during passive states of quiet reflection \u2013 like when drinking tea and staring out the window!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Default Mode Network studies show how the brain\u2019s intrinsic activity is linked to health and wellness. Its activity supports emotional processing, self-referential mental activity, memory processing and more. It allows us to reflect on ourselves, think through knotty emotional and relationship problems, and tap inner resources we may not know we possess. <\/p>\n\n\n\n