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“The highest form of intelligence is the ability to observe without evaluating.”   -Jiddu Krishnamurti

One of my Living in the Present attendees recently wrote me about how to overcome the habit of sleeping through his alarm. When the clock is close, he hits the snooze button. When it’s far away, he just covers his ears and ignores it. Even a chorus of multiple alarm clocks won’t get him up. When he finally does arise, he plays on his computer; checking Facebook and the like. How, he wonders, can he get motivated to get out of bed?

We strategized a little, including the invention of a “bed jack” to throw him out…but what I wondered was, why set an alarm at all? If there’s no place to be, why start the day with a useless fight with your own willpower? Here’s someone who probably has something to discover by staying in bed a little longer. Not that I’d advocate that as a lifestyle, but if you have the freedom, why not play with it, see what your body has in mind, and build your life around your natural rhythms?

Building structure into your life definitely has a place, but so does observation. Watch yourself and see where you go when you’re not on a leash. That’s what I do with Woody, rather than over-disciplining him every minute. I want him to roam while I observe his natural habits in a safe environment, so I’ll know when to worry and when to relax. We can all do the same thing with ourselves!

PS. I FOUND A COOL IPHONE APP. IT MONITORS YOUR SLEEP CYCLE AND WAKES YOU UP WHEN YOU’RE AT THE MOST CONDUCIVE POINT FOR AN EASY WAKE UP BASED ON YOUR DEPTH OF SLEEP IN THAT MOMENT. IT’S APTLY CALLED SLEEP CYCLE. CHECK IT OUT!

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