First Light
How First Light worksTuesday 27 October·
- Sunrise
- 07:55
- Quiet hour
- 06:19–07:07
- Brahma Muhurta
- Moon
- Waning gibbous
- Next full moon: Tue 24 Nov
Autumn
The quiet hour (Brahma Muhurta) is the traditional time for practice, just before sunrise.
सत्त्वपुरुषयोरत्यन्तासङ्कीर्णयोः प्रत्ययाविशेषो भोगः परार्थत्वात्स्वार्थसंयमात्पुरुषज्ञानम्
sattva-puruṣayor atyantāsaṅkīrṇayoḥ pratyayāviśeṣo bhogaḥ parārthatvāt svārtha-saṁyamāt puruṣa-jñānam
Experience comes from failing to tell apart the clearest mind and the Self, which are utterly distinct. The mind exists for another; through saṁyama on what exists for itself comes knowledge of the Self.
Yoga Sutras 3.36 · verse 142 of 196
Unfolding the thread
Even the clearest, most luminous mind is not the Self. It's an instrument that exists for something else. Because we can't tell them apart, we think we are our experiences. Attend to that which exists for its own sake, the seer, and you know it.
Try today
When you feel especially clear today, remind yourself: even this clarity is something I'm aware of.
The Echo
The same truth, heard in another tradition
“The soul knows only the soul.”
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