After years of sleeping until 7:30 or 7:45 and breezing in to the office somewhere between 9:15 and 9:30, for the last two weeks I've been getting up at 5:00 and sitting at the zendo from 6:00 until 7:30. Ninety minutes of meditation to start the day, and then in to the office by 8:00, or at least 8:15.

It's quite a change, but a good way to start the day. After a few days, the calm, focused mind of zazen has managed to stay with me through the day much better than when I was doing my sitting only at night and then sleeping off the mindfulness that had arose. I still sit in the evenings, putting a matching cap on the beginning and the end of the day.

Someone had asked me how I felt with this new practice schedule.

"Tired," I replied.