Cardinal ritual
Cardinal ritual is a branch of ritual exercise that is regularly performed at a specific time during a single circadian cycle. Performing cardinal rituals at specific times leverages the circadian rhythm to increase benefits many fold. Certain biological functions occur at special times during a 24-hour cycle due to the circadian rhythm. These functions are triggered automatically but are heavily influenced by environmental factors such as light and darkness. There are 4 cardinal rituals with the following names matutinal, diurnal, vespertine and nocturnal. From the names, you can already guess what time these rituals are performed. The ritual times vary slightly each day because it's determined by the sun’s position in the sky and where you’re in the globe. On your local standard clock, ritual times vary over time because Earth’s rotational axis is tilted and the Earth follows an Elliptical path around the sun instead of a perfect circle. For example, solar noon occurs around 12:00 local standard time but changes by a few minutes. However if daylight saving time (DST) is applied, solar noon can be offset by an hour. Keeping track by observing the sun is tedious. The preferred method is using a dedicated app with an alarm that triggers at the exact time.
Each cardinal ritual has certain functions that aid in meditation and hair regrowth. It’s essential to complete all cardinal rituals, especially at solar noon (diurnal ritual). Let's go over each cardinal ritual below.
Matutinal Ritual
The matutinal period starts on the first appearance of light in the morning and ends when sun rises above the horizon and light is fully visible. The Matutinal period is basically morning twilight. During the matutinal period, the body has potential energy that is either channelled to sexuality or spirituality. The purpose of matutinal ritual is to divert the emerging potential energy as you wake that would have been used for sexuality to something constructive. Starting the day with matutinal ritual on this period spiritually prepares you for the long day ahead. Most men start off with a morning wood which is another name for waking up with an erection. The correct medical term is nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT). What contributes to NPT is sexual content stored up in the mind that is rehearsed in sleep. Healthy men commonly experience multiple NPTs per night, lasting beyond sleep. While in deep sleep, NPT can’t be stopped. Although, continuing to stay in bed while awake can prolong NPT, filling your penis with blood and draining your spiritual energy. However, if you get up from bed and do matutinal ritual instead, the potential energy will convert to spiritual energy. As you prostrate and bow during matutinal ritual, blood will flow to your brain and scalp where it’s needed for setting the day ahead. Physical activity in the morning is known to cause rapid increase in cerebral blood flow (CBF) that can last for several hours. Matutinal ritual is a physical activity in which blood temporarily flows to the head when done immediately after waking up. Like physical activity in the morning, the effects of matutinal ritual last several hours. In addition, focusing on meditating while prostrating and bowing further increases blood flow to the brain. Brain activity requires oxygen and glucose like skeletal muscle which in turn is supplied by blood. The period shortly after awakening, marks a perfect time to do matutinal ritual because for the past hour, the body has been lying flat on the bed. It's time to circulate blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) which hasn’t moved much since falling asleep. Furthermore, evoking ASMR using meditation in the morning is easier because your brain is well-rested. ASMR sensation regulates cortisol, a hormone associated with stress and also alertness. A rise in cortisol happens every morning shortly after waking up. Natural surge in cortisol boosts alertness needed for evoking ASMR through meditation. This highly alerted state is ideal for rehearsing scripture and gaining new insights before distraction adds up. Early morning hours provide a quiet environment along with an alerted internal state for meditation. ASMR sensation will also bring down cortisol levels once you’re deep into meditation after all cortisol is a stress hormone too.
Diurnal Ritual
The diurnal period starts after the sun reaches its apparent highest point in the sky and ends at an unknown time before sunset. The exact length of diurnal period isn’t known so it is best to do diurnal ritual as soon as the sun is at its highest point or some time later if you’re busy. The purpose of diurnal ritual is to reverse the fall in energy, occurring as the sun declines. During the diurnal period, the body’s energy drops just as the sun drops in a phenomenon called afternoon slump. This phenomenon is part of the circadian rhythm and usually occurs between 1-3pm. The afternoon slump is a very real, biological reality rather than just a lack of motivation. Those who experience it suffer from a period of low energy resulting in long procrastination, sleepiness and tendency to make mistakes. Research has shown that people often make errors around 1-3pm. It is well documented that this window of error is responsible for many catastrophes, plaguing humanity, be it a simple error or life changing error. To overcome this hurdle, restart your willpower with a diurnal ritual which will physically, mentally and emotionally recharge you until the evening time. The usual remedy people opt for is enjoying leisure or taking a short nap which doesn’t really address the underlying problem. In fact all remedies apart from spiritual ones could make matters worse. For example, taking a break just to eat a snack after you’ve already eaten lunch can shift the nervous system to a parasympathetic state responsible for rest and digestion diverting your energy downwards. To negate the parasympathetic state, its counterpart the sympathetic state should be activated. ASMR activates both states, setting a balance. Instead of a conventional remedy, a seated or standing meditation using ASMR works to address the problem however this isn’t nearly as productive as diurnal ritual. Blood flow to the head generally peaks around midday to late afternoon. Diurnal ritual capitalizes on this surge of blood to the brain, recharging your cognitive abilities. Prostrating and bowing while evoking ASMR through meditation at this critical time is highly beneficial both for mental health and hair regrowth as blood to the head region increases. Cerebrospinal fluid responsible for brain detoxification drops to a minimum at around 6pm but has been declining since entering diurnal period. For this reason, alternating between prostration and bowing followed by ASMR can circulate CSF to make use of what little production of CSF is available for detoxification. It can even jumpstart CSF production.
Vespertine Ritual
The vespertine period starts when the sun falls below the horizon in the evening and ends at the last appearance of light. The vespertine period is basically the evening twilight. During the vespertine period, the body shifts balance to a more parasympathetic state responsible for sleep and digestion. All food you’ve consumed since waking up has accumulated in the digestive system, throwing you off balance. Too many resources like blood are diverted to the digestive system to extract nutrients when there is already sufficient nutrients in the body. Furthermore as night approaches, there is a rise in melatonin, a hormone responsible for sleep. The body feels drowsy even though your bedtime isn’t exactly when it’s dark outside. Bedtime is a fixed time socially constructed unrelated to your internal biological state. Your chosen bedtime is based on standard time divided into uniform hours, minutes with strict time zones arbitrarily set up by humans for coordination. Due to earth tilting towards and away from the sun, darkness approaches at different times during a single 24-hour day. For most people there is a mismatch between their internal state and their chosen bedtime shown on a standard clock. Many people still continue about their day as if it's normal when it's dark outside for various reasons related to lifestyle schedules like work, however their internal state is out of sync, making them sluggish. To take the internal state from parasympathetic status to a more balanced state, a vespertine ritual is prescribed at the vespertine period. Alternating between prostration and bowing while evoking ASMR activates both sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, setting a balance. Alternating between positions helps to circulate CSF that has been recovering since its lowest production at around 6pm.
Nocturnal Ritual
The nocturnal period starts when the last light disappears in the evening and ends when the first light appears in the morning. The nocturnal period is basically the whole night. During the nocturnal period the body is in a more parasympathetic state and prepares to sleep as melatonin levels rise. However it's the perfect time to engage in nocturnal ritual as there aren't any distractions like work. Some think you need to save yourself the time for a longer period in bed to prepare for the day ahead but research has shown efficient sleep is better than just lying in bed. Nocturnal ritual prepares you for a good sleep in addition to the long day ahead. Nocturnal ritual will suppress the drowsiness that comes with every night. Alternation of prostration and bowing ensures you stay awake by circulating blood and cerebrospinal fluid. In fact, it’s believed melatonin is distributed through CSF circulation. At night CSF production increases, reaching peak level at 2:00am, allowing for easier circulation. The melatonin that would have resided in the brain to induce sleep is distributed instead to lessen its ability to cause sleep. Emerging research suggests melatonin may support conditions where circadian rhythms are disrupted. Beyond the brain melatonin’s secondary benefits start to operate, acting as a powerful antioxidant. When you’re done with nocturnal ritual, you need to shift the balance to a more parasympathetic state to fall asleep. Stop alternating between prostration and bowing but continue evoking ASMR sensation while in bed. ASMR heals insomnia by inducing deep relaxation. It lowers your heart rate and calms the mind, making it easier to fall asleep. Finally, nocturnal rituals make nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) less likely to occur because you’ve rehearsed spiritual content just before sleeping. NPT is sexual content that is rehearsed unconsciously while sleeping and lasts up to when you wake up in the morning.