I keep waking up at four in the morning to my mind talking nonsense.  Sometimes I lie there too long trying to go back to sleep, this only makes matters worse.  When instead I can manage to get up and meditate I dedicate my practice to the benefit of all beings and this takes me from the small picture of being stuck in my mind, to the big picture, Life.  From contraction to expansion. This is my way of practicing Isvara Pranidhana.  The final precept in Patangalis Yoga Sutras. Isvara meaning, God, ultimate reality, supreme being, true self. Pranidhana meaning, to dedicate, devote or surrender.  

Sitting quietly, 

one minute, one hour, no matter, 

finding the quiet within

I find myself again and again.

Fidning myself, I offer the quiet light 

to those on the street, in the studio, 

all around me, 

To the lost and suffering beings, to the 

     bewildered

and questioning, 

even to the bare tree with its leafless branches filled with chirping sparrows. 

-Roshi Pat Enkoyo O'Hara-