The Mystery and Magic of Sleep

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Assuming that we get at least 8 hours of sleep each night, that means around one-third of our lives is spent in la-la land. Most people take sleep for granted but there are many instances when we wish we had more of it (just ask any parent with a new-born baby). Although sleep takes up a huge chunk of our time, sleep is still barely understood by science.

We commonly assume that we need to sleep in order to "rest" the body. But just lying down on the bed for an extended amount of time is hardly restful unless it leads to sleep; just ask any insomniac. From a purely physiological perspective, sleep doesn't seem necessary because all bodily processes that occur during the day still continue even in the night when the body is asleep (once an organ stops working, whether in the day or in the night, what we have is a medical emergency). All we know for sure is that sleep is important and that a lack of sleep negatively impacts the body. No one can definitively say why the body needs sleep in order to produce certain chemicals, hormones or undergo other processes that are important for physical health.

For the mystic, sleep takes on even more significance. According to the ancient rishis and sages, we are all swimming in the delusion of maya, a mental projection that is anything but permanent. It is through the Light of the Creator that we get our true sustenance (life force) and for most people, a reconnection with this pervasive life force only occurs unconsciously during sleep. As Paramahansa Yogananda wrote in Autobiography of a Yogi:

The rejuvenating effects of sleep are due to man's temporary unawareness of body and breathing. The sleeping man becomes a yogi; each night he unconciously performs the yogic rite of releasing himself from bodily identification, and of merging the life force with healing currents in the main brain region and the six sub-dynamos of his spinal centers. The sleeper thus dips unknowingly into the reservoir of cosmic energy which sustains all life.

The above words do call to mind the scriptural verses: "God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. 'For in Him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are His offspring.'" (Acts 17:27-28, New International Version)

Yogis and saints consciously connect with this Divine Light through meditation. Since meditation is supposed to consciously connect us with this regenerative cosmic life force, it comes as no surprise that the practice of meditation also has many physical health benefits such as calmness, reduced inflammation and more energy. There are even indications that meditation helps prevent heart disease.

With the many health benefits of meditation, it is no wonder that we often hear of legendary feats and tales of robust physical health at advanced ages that are attributed to yogis, monks and different ascetics. There are even tales of great yogis who do not need to sleep anymore, because they are in constant communion with the Divine Light that sustains all; they can stay in the state of samadhi at will.

The branch of the Rosicrucian Order founded by Max Heindel has a slightly different take on the need for sleep. As detailed in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, the physical body needs sleep because it cannot continuously (without rest) house the higher vibrations of divine energy radiating out from the divine spark that animates and controls the physical body. This is why the soul temporarily withdraws itself during sleep in order to allow the body to regenerate itself so that it may properly house the soul upon its return to the body. In this case, sleep is sort of like taking the car to the shop for tune up and change oil after every few thousand miles except that it happens every night.

According to the Rosicrucians, this is the reason why The Christ had to retire frequently to the mountains, so that the body being used by the Christ could be regenerated with the help of initiates of the Essene Order. Furthermore, the body that the Christ was using had to be a specially prepared one (that of a high initiate) so that it could withstand, albeit temporarily, the ultra high spiritual vibrations that the Christ was emanating. Any less spiritually developed and prepared body would otherwise have been obliterated.

Aside from meditation, there are also other sacred rites that are used to connect to the Cosmic Light. One of this is a process by which one may maintain consciousness while in the dream state. This whole art is expounded in the book The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. According to the author, mastering the art of dreaming is important because "If we cannot carry our practice into sleep, if we lose ourselves every night, what chance do we have to be aware when death comes? Look to your experience in dreams to know how you will fare in death. Look to your experience of sleep to discover whether or not you are truly awake."

The above statement may explain why we hear stories of earthbound souls who are not even aware that they are dead and need the help of another party, usually a psychic, to "find the Light." I even read of one account where the psychic released a Roman soldier who was still standing guard at Hadrian's Wall!

Going back to Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, he recommends that men sleep on their right side while women sleep on their left side in order to progress towards achieving dream consciousness. This is not explained in the book, but sleeping on one's right side activates the moon breath, coming out of the left nostril. Sleeping on one's left side activates the sun breath, coming out of the right nostril. To understand the roles of the sun and moon breaths, we need to go on a slight tangent.

The sun breath (HA) is positive, active and electric while the moon breath (TA) is negative, passive and magnetic. As you may have guessed from the terminologies used, HA-TA (Hatha) Yoga refers to the achievement of divine union through controlling the sun and moon breaths. The sun breath (right nostril) uses the pingala channel; the moon breath (left nostril) uses the ida channel.

The ida and pingala twirl around the spine from the base until they almost meet again at the top. When these two channels (breaths) are balanced, a third channel called the sushumna is activated. The relationship of

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these three channels can be found in the symbolism of the caduceus (see image at right). An activated sushumna channel allows the kundalini to rise up from the base of the spine to hit the center of the head and allow cosmic consciousness. The sphere with two wings at the top of the caduceus symbolizes the consciousness taking flight. This is why some meditations are preceded by the so-called balancing breathing exercise in order to activate and balance both the ida and pingala.

If you would like to find out more about the relationship of the sun and moon breaths as well as more on the symbolism of the caduceus, you can read Kosher Yoga by Albert Schutz & Hilda de Schaps, A System of Caucasian Yoga by Count Stefan Colonna Walewski and Achieving Oneness with the Higher Soul by Master Choa Kok Sui.

Now, what do all of the above have to do with the Tibetan yoga of dream and sleep? In Franz Bardon's system of hermetics, it's interesting that Bardon attributes the head area of males to be magnetic (passive) while the head area of females to be electric (active). This seems to run counter to the popular view that males are more aggressive and louder, hence active (electric) while females are more passive and quiet (magnetic). However, in the genital region, the polarities are reversed. Where in males the head is magnetic, the genitals are electric. In females, while the head is electric, the genitals are magnetic.

I'm just theorizing at this point, but perhaps in the case of the male, by lying down on the right side and activating the moon (magnetic) breath, it increases the magnetic vibrations of the head and through reciprocity, the sex region (electric in males) also increase in activation. With the increased current in both head and sex regions, the kundalini is subtly activated enough to propel the consciousness to awareness in the dream state. The same process, except with the polarities reversed, would also apply to females. Whatever the case, the process is supposed to allow one to maintain consciousness in the dream world.

As we have seen, sleep is much, much more than what we think it is. But although we may not fully understand it, the importance of sleep is not in doubt. So always try to get the right amount of it. On the other hand, in the eyes of the mystics we are all actually asleep right now, and what we call the little death of sleep is the joyous repast of the soul as it temporarily rests in the true light of the Creator, and death is the actual joyous waking up into the realness of eternity. Whatever our level of development may be, the message is the same. Sleep well, and sleep wisely!