Waking up in the morning is a metaphor for life -- a kind of daily microcosmic reenactment of our overall purpose for being in the world. That is, just about every religious tradition emphasizes spiritual growth. And the connection between "awakening" and spiritual growth can be found in practically all forms of spiritual teaching.


So if waking up in the morning really is a metaphor for our larger spiritual lives, this perspective might help us treat our morning ritual of getting out of bed as a kind of spiritual practice. Indeed, when approached in this way, how we wake up in the morning can make a larger difference in our lives overall.


Perhaps this is stretching the matter, but there are many people who do recognize that something as simple as waking up in the morning can be an authentic form of spiritual practice. For those who don't have to go to work or get the kids to school, waking up naturally, whenever their body feels like it, can be a wonderful version of this practice. Waking up without an alarm, whenever your body has had enough rest, is probably the healthiest option, and the one that will leave us feeling most refreshed and ready to start the day. However, there are few of us that have this luxury, especially during the week.


Fortunately, for those who want to wake up right, without being startled awake by an annoying alarm or some radio DJ, there is The Zen Alarm Clock. This clock was designed to make waking up a kind of spiritual practice. The Zen Clock wakes users with a built-in 10 minute gradual progression of acoustic chimes. And this gradual form of "progressive awakening" has been thoughtfully designed to include esoteric features that are fitting for a form of spiritual practice. For example, not only is the hardwood Zen Alarm Clock beautiful to see and hear, the clock's chime is tuned to produce the same frequencies as the tuning forks used by musical therapists in their healing work. Moreover, the Zen Clock's pre-programmed 10 minute chime progression sequence advances according to the "golden ratio," which reflects both the natural proportions of our own bodies and the patterns of growth used in the overall evolution of the universe.


Even those who care little about such esoteric details nevertheless report that they love waking up with the gentle chimes of a Zen Alarm Clock. And as the makers of the Zen Alarm Clock hope, we may eventually come to see many of the simple details of our lives as forms of authentic spiritual practice.