Is the invention of artificial light responsible for decline of spirituality?

[David Pinnegar]

Hi!

Over dinner this evening my middle son remarked upon some recent research he had heard about on the radio.

Frequently I enjoy working in the middle of the night when my head is clear, or contemplating on deep things. Falling asleep with the dogs, or perhaps listening to Radio 3 may be followed by a period of wakefulness before retiring upstairs for the second sleep. . . . and this, apparently may not be unusual.

http://www.history.vt.edu/Ekirch/sleepcommentary.html suggests that this is an ancient pattern, the period of wakefulness providing the opportunity for all sorts of things including prayer.

Is the introduction of gas and electric light responsible for removing from us this time of importance, particularly for the purposes of prayer?

Best wishes,

David P

[MusingMuso]

Hi!

Over dinner this evening my middle son remarked upon some recent research he had heard about on the radio.

Frequently I enjoy working in the middle of the night when my head is clear, or contemplating on deep things. Falling asleep with the dogs, or perhaps listening to Radio 3 may be followed by a period of wakefulness before retiring upstairs for the second sleep. . . . and this, apparently may not be unusual.

http://www.history.vt.edu/Ekirch/sleepcommentary.html suggests that this is an ancient pattern, the period of wakefulness providing the opportunity for all sorts of things including prayer.

Is the introduction of gas and electric light responsible for removing from us this time of importance, particularly for the purposes of prayer?

Best wishes,

David P

Dear David,

It's interesting to be confronted by a challenging thought first thing in the morning; especially on a Bank Holiday weekend.

More interesting, (perhaps intriguing), are the implications of varied patterns of sleep and waking, but on balance, I wouldn't blame modern lighting as tantamount to a conspiracy, whereas I would lean more towards the clock-watching mentality of modern life as being the next best thing. We are completely ruled by time rather than by the natural rhythms of sleeping, waking, hunting, feeding and hiding ourselves away from hostile or predatory forces.

I've never understood what sleep is all about, and even to many experts, it remain a mystery.

Is it a physiological thing, whereby the body can repair itself, or is it a brain-related thing, whereby the brain processes information, dumps irrelevant peripheral detail and commits things to memory; unencumbered by the constant stimuli of new information?

Currently, the jury seems to be out, and no-one seems to have a tangible explanation for the purpose of sleep. However, all seem to agree that sleep deprivation is bad, and results in a catching up process afterwards.

I'm not even sure that I could usefully explore my own experience of sleep and waking, because I don't seem to have the slightest difficulty swapping from day-work to night-work, sleeping at anytime of day or night as I feel necessary and even power-napping in very short bursts, which have the effect of boosting whatever sleep boosts in a matter of minutes. I don't even like sleeping, because I always feel that I'm going to miss something important.

Nevertheless, I think I can understand the link between primary sleep, secondary sleep and the waking-state periods in between. I do, for instance, notice that I think best in the wee small hours; which has nothing to do with the relative peace of the environment. I find that I can write music while listening to completely unrelated music, and write words easily even when, as now, I have "Family Guy" on TV, it is 00.45 and the cat is trying to help me by jumping onto my knees. I know that I can think much better late at night than at any other time, and what's more, it's a different type of thinking...more spiritual and altogether more creative.

As a completely useless, anecdotal piece of "non-evidence," I think I can share my love of night time lightning. I re-assured my cat when it was a kitten, and kept it close when lightning lit up the night sky. Now, when there is a summer night time storm, the cat sits with me on the doorstep and looks heavenwards waiting for the flashes. When the flash arrives, the cat licks its lips nervously and then flattens its ears, anticipating the thunder which follows!

So whilst I could not agree or perhaps even disagree with the proposition, I think I can go along with different types of awake states, and the differences in thinking which are possible at different times.

MM

[David Pinnegar]

Dear MM

Interesting thoughts.

Perhaps clock-watching however became possible only as a result of our control over light, enforcing a mechanical override to the natural rhythm.

Certainly the research demonstrating a formerly different pattern, and the opportunities for celebral activity in the wakeful period of darkness for prayer, examination of dreams or sorcery brings a new dimension to that historic wording we hear at evensong relating to protection from the perils and dangers of this night.

Time to retire for "second sleep" . . . !

Best wishes

David P

[MusingMuso]

Dear MM

Interesting thoughts.

Perhaps clock-watching however became possible only as a result of our control over light, enforcing a mechanical override to the natural rhythm.

Certainly the research demonstrating a formerly different pattern, and the opportunities for celebral activity in the wakeful period of darkness for prayer, examination of dreams or sorcery brings a new dimension to that historic wording we hear at evensong relating to protection from the perils and dangers of this night.

Time to retire for "second sleep" . . . !

Best wishes

David P

======================

Dear David,

I'm sure you have a point, because we often forget that during the night, the world was a very dark place prior to street-lighting. Believe it or not, I can actually recall very dark streets at night, because keeping the street lights lit throughout the night in my town, was a decision made when I was about eleven years of age. We often forget that Bach and Mozart, (for instance), along with agricultural workers, would have worked around the natural light cycles of the seasons; meaning that much more was done in summer than in winter, even allowing for candles.

With budget cuts, it is now nice to see that motorway lights are being switched off after 10pm in certain areas, which, (when it isn't foggy), is so pleasant; assuming that one has decent lights.

Of course, the wording in the prayer-book is concurrent with many beliefs and fears concerned with the practice of witch-craft, which people always associated with the "dark arts" and things which go bump in the night. Even a large cathedral has the capacity to scare us a little, with its hidden corners, cavernous acoustic, alcoves and limited perspectives. It's all part of the theatre.

Actually, I put a roof over the head of someone who claimed to be a witch, who in reality, was quite bonkers. The only time I could breathe a sigh of relief was when he placed his broom against the wall and sloped off to bed clutching his grotesquely large spell-book, which made a Bible look like a common phrase-book. I don't know what became of him, but I expect the spirits of the North, South, East and West will have carried him somewhere and protected him.

But going back to the night time spirituality thing, I often feel that a good "Midnight Mass" is a very special thing, which brings people together in worship at an unusual time. There is always a special "feel" to such services, which is very hard to fathom in logical terms. Also, the monks often rose very early or during the night, to pray together or recite religious words. The Muslims still do this during the long fast of the summer months.

With the budget cuts and electricity price increases, I think it's time someone invented a sun-dial which glows in the dark!

Best,

MM

[David Pinnegar]

Dear MM

As you say, darkness was such a power of reality. Perhaps a further pointer in this might come in the form of those strange words of Psalm 23 referring to travelling through the valley of death. The good lady of the local house of God this morning reminded her congregation that the real translation of this is "the valley of deep darkness". There is just such a valley to the north of the precipice on which is situated Gréolieres les Nieges in the Alps into which the sun can never reach. There's an abandoned hilltop village down in the valley that one finds hard to imagine anyone minded voluntarily to live there.

Without the experience of the physical manifestation of darkness from which light leads the way, without the infusion of the biblical symbolisms, I believe that people are less equipped to find their way out of the mental darknesses with which we all share but with which many have to grapple more than others.

Is this not the image that we receive from Messaien on the organ?

Best wishes

David P

[revtonynewnham]

Hi

A bit of an aside - but there is one Biblical example of the use of artificial light for a church service that included a rather unexpected incident for one of the participants!

See Acts 20:7-12 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2020:7-12&version=NIV)

Every Blessing

Tony

[MusingMuso]

Dear David,

I'm never quite sure what Messaien was trying to say, but I agree with the fact that light leads us out of darkness, if only because I used to do quite a lot of pot-holing in my hideously mis-spent, but thoroughly enjoyable youth.

The alternative also struck home while taking part in a car-rally through the Yorshire Dales, when the main fuse blew on the battery isolation switch, and I was plunged into sudden darkness at 90mph. If you've never tried to find the next corner with a navigator shining a torch out of the side-window, you haven't lived.

The fact that I'm still alive testifies to the fact that faith in something or someone, is not always misplaced; good brakes included.

MM