Artists have a different level of sensitivity. They reach out to certain questions not relevant to their art, too often. Subjects they themselves be least interested in. Perhaps the energy is overwhelming. Now the question is:

When are we awoke?

The answer can be simple. We are awake when we are not sleeping. But the problem is that if we were sleeping, who was dreaming? How is it possible to be sleep and awake at the same time? It appears that the question may be approached from other end.

What is a dream?

Before reaching to any answer we need to intro-inspect few facts. Do we dream often or sometimes?

Most people tell that they don’t dream at all or rarely dream. A friend once told me that he dreams when he over-sleeps. The last one has a key. We all have our views or speculative reasons as to why and when we dream. Any answer posted here would be my answer therefore while ignoring the temptation for quick answer, we may consider few mare things.

What is thought?

Thoughts are like clouds on the sky. Few make it a beauty but too much ruins the picture. Best illustration is from a garden. A few school going boys, who obviously had bunked the school were sitting and standing around a bench near the western gate of a Garden, in their school dress. A beautiful lady with an adolescent daughter was coming from the eastern gate. I was coming from south and saw the din of students turning into silence while their jaws dropped and eyes focused on two ladies. The ladies went by but stare of boys continue to follow them. Since I had reached past the boys, I told them to close the mouth, lest fly may enter.
Now this is the mesmerism of thought. The body blindly follow the thought. What do we do whole day? We get up have a coffee or brush up the teeth and what our mind is doing? Mind is processing the thoughts. Analyzing, comparing and evaluating (ACE for short). We are driving and what the mind is doing. Same, ACE. Now we are in office, phone rings and we pick up phone while mind is in ACE, the speaker asks ‘what are …….?’ we retort ‘WHAT?’ Not because we had not heard it but because mind was processing something else and is now put on the job of finding the answer. This overlapping continue. We keep bumping into people who were walking straight ahead to us but we missed seeing them due to ACE. We drive and like everyday take same road and miss the turn to Florist, as it was Anniversary. We recall later and reverse. Life goes on normally. With age backlog of ACE increase and everyone has pity for our fragile memory. Why is ACE important? It is not. It is a habit. A compulsion.
Coming back to scope of thought. While we are thinking, can we relax and close our eyes without interrupting the thought? Just rest the head, continue to think. What is happening? If same chain of thought continues its logical journey, what happens?
What we see? To have the correct answer body must be fully rested otherwise the answer will be sleep and snore. But that is the question which answers who dreams and who sleeps. Keep asking and answer will come.

When is awake?

Now this part is relatively easy. Awakening has nothing to do with sleep. A mind which is not thinking/dreaming is awake!
So what were we talking? Oh yes. When were we awake last time? Try it many times. Ask everyday.
The next question is most difficult. ‘Who is awake?’ It will also arise and shall be explored when it is the time.

© Sandeep Bhalla