Zen Clocks by Now & Zen

It would be nice if we could wake up every morning without an alarm.  We fall asleep gradually, and it seems only natural that a gentle awakening is best for our physical and mental well-being.  Some people wake up naturally at the same time every morning without any outside stimulus.  But for most of us, an alarm clock is essential.  The natural desire for a gradual awakening accounts for the popularity of “snooze buttons” on alarm clocks.  But even the minimal effort required to push a snooze button can disrupt the experience of waking up gradually.

Gentle Awakening

The benefits of a more natural “progressive awakening” include better dream recall, prolonged alpha brain wave activity (in which you can make powerful suggestions to your preconscious mind), as well as a general feeling of being refreshed after a good night’s rest.

Well-being

The Zen Alarm Clock’s chime strikes become gradually more frequent over a ten minute period.  The chimes progress according to a “golden ratio progression,” which is an ancient formula of sacred geometry used as a formula for beauty and harmony.

entering silence, starry night in the wilderness

How one woman survived three days in the wilderness—alone.

I shivered in the pitch-black night as a steady rain showered my head. I sank deeper into a state of abject loneliness with every miserable drop. My saturated sleeping bag weighed me down as I searched blindly for my flashlight, all the while berating myself for not tying up the tarp before I fell asleep beneath a formerly clear, starry night.

Feeling panicky on the first night of my solo experience in the woods, I imagined the worst—three days of rainy, damp desolation. What am I doing here? I wondered. I could be home, snuggled up with my husband in our cozy bed!

And then it hit me. I realized that this moment was exactly why I had come here—to face my demons head-on, to ride out the fear of being alone in the dark and of being eaten, possibly, by a bear. Isn’t that what a vision quest is all about? Flinging oneself into the wilderness (in this case, a California state park on Labor Day weekend, but still) to test one’s inner strength and hopefully receive some sort of life guidance, perspective, and inspiration?

For the last 10 years, I had contemplated embarking on a quest like this with awe and trepidation. An extrovert by nature, I thrive on the company of others. I can’t be alone in my own house for five minutes without feeling anxious, so how could I endure three entire days by myself? I feared I would go crazy with no one to talk to, engulfed by the deafening silence of nature.

To my surprise, I discovered that nature is extremely loud. Have you ever heard throngs of blue jays chattering overhead at the crack of dawn? I was definitely not alone—from the disturbed gopher under my sleeping bag (was I camped on his house?) to the constant parade of insects, birds, and critters, I was in a forest teaming with life and endless entertainment.

Two days later as I packed my gear, I had a hard time believing the time had passed so quickly. Suddenly the power of facing and overcoming my deepest fears overwhelmed me, and I fell to my knees sobbing. A strength I never knew existed inside me welled up as I realized I could now be alone and unafraid.

I shouldered my backpack, danced a little jig to celebrate my emancipation, and walked out of the wilderness a changed woman.

adapted from Natural Solutions Magazine, Sept. 2009 by Laura Gates

Zen Alarm Clock, a natural chime sound alarm clock

 Now & Zen

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Garden of Kokedera Temple, Kyoto 1980, Tokuriki

Almost everyone has a cherished memory of sleeping outdoors.  A roof of stars, a cricket lullaby, the cool air on your face, awakening to the calls of birds and the first rays of the sun.  It’s a welcome relief from the confines of a square room, stale indoor smells, and noisy appliances. 

One particular outdoor sleeping experience made me a believer.  A friend and I were camping in late summer at the edge of a meadow in an oak woodland.  We kept it simple: sleeping bags rolled out on a tarp. The first night I remember thinking, Is nature always this noisy?  How am I supposed to sleep?  To my city-numbed senses, it was all new: the low moan of the wind in the tree branches, the crunching footfall of small animals on dried leaves, the hoot of owls, the distant howl of coyotes.  And that moon—won’t somebody turn out the light?

But by the second night, the living world had woven me into its tapestry.  I fell asleep easily, held by the earth, stroked by sweet breezes, reassured by the rustling of life all around me.  When we broke camp a few days later, I felt like I was being torn from maternal arms.  All my cells, newly accustomed to a deep sense of homecoming, told me that something precious was being left behind.

We were made for this stuff.  Our ancestors were sleeping outdoors long before there were doors to sleep out of.  Our senses, our psyches, our biological clocks are attuned to the rhythms of the sun and moon and the sounds, smells, and feel of the living web.  When we sleep, we renew ourselves; there is no more important time to breathe clean, cool air and hear the thrumming of nature.

Teahouse at Daitokuji Temple, Kyoto by Tokuriki, 1977

Try this at home

If you need a breath of fresh air tonight, you can start inexpensively: Pitch a tent in the yard or pull your bed onto the deck in fair weather. I f you enjoy the experience, you may want to build a permanent sleeping porch or pavilion with a table for your portable Bamboo Zen Alarm Clock.  Or you can alter an existing room to open up when the weather is pleasant; a wall of windows or doors that move aside can bring the outdoors to you.

adapted from Natural Home, July/August 2002 by Carol Venolia

Zen Alarm Clock, Ukiyo-e Hokusai Wave Dial Face

Now & Zen

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO 80302

A shakuhachi flute, traditionally made of bamboo

The shakuhachi, is a Japanese end-blown flute.  It is traditionally made of bamboo, but versions now exist hardwoods.  It was used by the monks of the Fuke of Zen Buddhism in the practice of suizen, blowing meditation). 

Suizen is a Zen practice consisting of playing the shakuhachi bamboo flute as a means of attaining self-realization.  The monks from the Fuke sect of Zen who practiced suizen were called komusō (“emptiness monks”).

adapted from wikipedia.org

B Tone Digital Zen Alarm Clock in a Bamboo Finish

Now & Zen

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

stillness of being

Geidō refers to the way of the traditional Japanese arts: Noh (theater), kadō (Japanese flower arrangement), shodō  (Japanese calligraphy), Sadō (Japanese tea ceremony), and yakimono (Japanese pottery).  All of these ways carry an ethical and aesthetic connotation and appreciate the process of creation.

To introduce discipline into their training, Japanese warriors followed the example of the arts that systematized practice through prescribed forms called kata – think of the tea ceremony.

adapted from wikipedia.org

Zen Timepiece, a bowl/gong alarm clock and timer in cherry finish

Now & Zen

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

Full Moon Sumida River, Hiroshige Ukiyo-e

while I walk on
the moon keeps pace beside me
friend in the water

-Masahide-

Bamboo Digital Chime Clock, a meditation timer and alarm clock

Now & Zen

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

Butterfly on Large Light Yellow Lilly, Kosan 1912

Bamboo Digital Chime Clock, a meditation timer and alarm clock

Now & Zen

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

moonviewing

Quite the contrary

to what I’d thought, passing clouds

are sometimes simply

the moon’s entertainment,

its lovely decoration.

-saigyo-

Zen Alarm Clock in Maple Finish, Japanese Leaves Dial Face

Now & Zen

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

lotus

How mysterious!

The lotus remains unstained by its muddy roots,

delivering shimmering

bright jewels from common dew.

-Henjo  (816- 890) was a Japanese waka poet and Buddhist priest.

Zen Chime Clock with Japanese Maple Leaves in Honey Finish

Now & Zen

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302