The early hours of the morning, for me, are meditation time. The quiet between 3 and 5 is so conducive. This was brought home to me 3.30 on Wednesday morning. I was about 20 minutes in when there was a power cut – the whole village went out. And suddenly I go deep into a quiet unlike the usual – more akin to desert quiet or the peace of Sinai. After about 30 minutes the power came back on with a bang: the light in the bathroom, the fridge, modem, printer all whirred into action, the overhead fan started its insistent rhythm. And I was pulled out of my depths. It made me realise that the environment we have created for ourselves constantly conspires to maintain our superficiality, our nervous anxiety, and deny us any deep peace.