Start Your Day with Happiness
The alarm is going off, you’re blinking your eyes open, take a moment to hit “snooze” on the alarm. Now you have about 5 to 10 minutes to slowly reset your body and mind before you begin your day. Feel into your body first. Stretch and notice how it feels. As you do this physical check you will also become aware of your mental state. What are your first thoughts? Do you feel achy and tired which then leads to a grumpy–bear attitude before you’ve even gotten out of bed? Even if this is the case, it’s an option to put a stop to it before it gains any momentum! No matter what you are feeling or how well you slept, choose a positive mental state at this moment. Focus on how great the bed feels, how good breathing feels, how soft the bedsheets feel. Imagine you feel amazing! You are excited to see the sky, to move your joints and flex your muscles and feel vitality coiled within your body! Imagine yourself smiling as something unexpected and exhilarating has just happened and choose to get out of bed with that grin on your face. Yes, you might be faking it at first, but your attitude will change if you can bring your emotions into that state of bliss, exuberance and gratitude to be alive another day.
Drawing in Good Things
Most of us start our day with a cup of coffee or tea, this too can be a spiritual moment. Take notice of the smell of the coffee as it brews and consider the vast number of people, animals, plants, vehicles, factories, and processes that were involved to allow you to have these simple items in your cabinet and creamer in your refrigerator. Slowly stir your coffee counterclockwise with the thought that you are removing any unwanted negativity from your day. When you feel that has done, change direction and while stirring clockwise draw in abundance, pleasure, and fun! Now take your first sip and savor the richness of this decadent elixir.
Divination
Using forms of divination is an effortless way to open yourself up to receive messages from the Universe/Deity. One can use tarot cards, rune stones, a set of small crystals, bibliomancy, there are hundreds of forms of divination. There is no one better form of divination than another or you may even try many different forms. The point is to learn to listen and to receive intuitive messages and to learn to trust what you receive. The point is to draw one card or pick one stone at random each day. And be sure to clearly set your intention or state your question in your mind before your draw your card. If you practice your divination in the morning, you might want to receive information to prepare you for your day. If you are doing it at the end of the day it can be useful as a tool on how to handle/process whatever happened that day. Either way, choose to look at it as a message from the Divine, after all that is why it is called Divination.
Honor the Dead
Take a minute to light a candle for those who have passed. I work in an elder law office, and I often light a candle on the credenza next to my desk. I have clients’ photos, crystals and sometimes flowers adorning the space around the candle. It takes only a few seconds to light the candle and give my attention to those who have passed. I also use this time to acknowledge that one day I will join them. Perhaps if I am blessed, those in the office who watch my practice will continue to honor our Beloved Dead when I move on.
Give Back to Nature
When you take a break at work or walk to/from your car take a little something with you to leave outside for the benefit of the environment. As you walk and observe with reverence, feel the air and other elements of nature around you. Bring the birds a crust of bread, water a tree from your thermos, give hair from your brush or lint from the dryer for bird and squirrel nesting. Find a grassy corner or a tree that is planted next to the sidewalk to place your offering. Whatever it might be, place it with the intention to support and give thanks for the Natural World and all its creatures.
Mindful Minute
After the workday is over and you walk to your vehicle, take time to feel your feet touch the pavement, tune into the sounds they make, and hear your breathing. Turn your attention to listening to the sounds around surrounding you. Feel the air move over the skin on your face and through your hair. Look at the sky, clouds and birds soaring above.
Sometimes I even raise my hands and open my palms to the sun to soak up more of that blessed energy. Closing my eyes, I place my attention on the temperature outside and how my body feels within my clothes, then expanding outward I instantly focus on the farthest sounds from me such as cars, birds, voices talking down the street or dogs barking in the valley across the river, I may even become aware of the train coming or a plane overhead. Then I open my eyes, get in my car, and leave my work behind.
Clear Your Energy
Once you are home for the evening take a moment to clear your energy. One of my favorite ways is to immerse myself deeply in water by taking a hot soak or a refreshing shower. It is not uncommon to feel like you have been slimed by someone when you have had to deal with someone who does not mesh well with your energy. Bless the water by saying a prayer and sprinkling in sea salt and maybe your favorite essential oil, light a few candles and enjoy. Imagine all the gooey, muddy energy being washed off your body and down the drain. As you towel off imagine your skin shining brightly.
Align with Abundance and Gratitude
When I was a child, my mother gave each of her children a journal and had us write down 5 things that we were grateful for every single day. The trick here is that you cannot repeat anything on your list! This practice takes only about 5 minutes and can be done at any point in your day. Remembering all the things we are grateful for sounds easy but try doing it every day for 365 days. Let’s do the math, that will create a list of 1,825 blessings you have in your life! If you need help, I recommend the book Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
Honor Yourself
Congratulate yourself, you lived through another entire day. After your evening meal have a hot cup of homemade cacao or some other comforting beverage to treat yourself. Other options might be to anoint yourself with lotion or give yourself compliments out-loud with each brushstroke of your hair.
Some days are harder than others, often we are challenged physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Some days might feel like a failure and other days seems like we just went through the motions. Whatever your day was like, acknowledge that it was what it was. Do not judge yourself. Perhaps you didn’t accomplish all you expected or felt off all day. Acknowledge where you are and give yourself permission to be there. Honor yourself for your attempts, your accomplishments, and your failures. They are all equally important.
All these practices can become second nature. You can incorporate some or all of these into your life but do so with kindness. Feel free to modify them in any way as there is no wrong way to do them. These practices are meant to make you feel more open and more connected to Spirit in all its infinite forms.
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