How we start the day sets the tone for the rest of it. If we jump out of bed after hitting the snooze button three times on the alarm clock, rush around trying to get dressed, and then fly out the door to make it on time to the office, we often feel frustration, panic and worry. And it doesn’t even have to be that dramatic.
Maybe you wake up and immediately start worrying about all the problems from yesterday and what you will face today. The negative thoughts start to flow, and you sabotage yourself before you even get out of the house!
I’m familiar with these scenarios because I have lived them in the past. I have been there, done that. But this year I established a routine that makes a big difference in my day. In fact, I’ve noticed that spending a little extra time in the morning actually equals more productivity for the rest of the day – whether its work, cleaning the house or spending time with friends.
Best-selling author Louise Hay starts her day by snuggling into her bed and thanking it for a good nights rest. She practices gratitude from the moment she wakes up! Both Dr. Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra have shared that meditation is the way they start each day because that is when the mind is most quiet and open. And on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday recently, Marianne Williamson said “The Course in Miracles says if you spend five minutes with the spirit of love, the spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, whatever the words are, five minutes in the morning will guarantee that he will be in charge of your thought forms throughout the day.”
I want to share my routine with you, which combines meditation, gratitude, self-care and more! Feel free to take what resonates with you to create your own routine. I promise it will be worth it, and you will see the difference from the very first day you start!
MY MORNING ROUTINE
1. I hit the kitchen and squeeze one half of a lemon into warm water and drink it down. Not only does it cleanse the system, but also offers alkalizing benefits. (For more on drinking lemon water, read our contributing editor Cathi Stack’s article, “How and Why to Add Lemon Water to Your Daily Routine.”)
2. I meditate anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes, practicing Primordial Sound Meditation, which is a mantra-based method I learned from attending a program at The Chopra Center in 2007. (For more on this and other meditation techniques see our free article “Finding the Right Meditation for You.”)
3. Upon ending my meditation, I say a prayer asking my guides, angels and all those in what my friend and author Dr. Laurie Ann Levin calls my “soul community” for protection and guidance, and I thank them. My prayer varies each day, but it is usually something like this:
“Dear God, I call on my angels, spirit guides, loved ones who have passed on, and all those in my soul community – only those of the highest vibration – to be with me today. I ask that you please open my mind, eyes, ears and heart to what I need to know and be aware of today, including any signs and synchronicities sent my way to direct me where I need to go, and please keep me in a place of love.
Archangel Michael, I ask that you surround me with light and protect me from any negativity from outside of me or within. May I not absorb the negativity of others, or take on emotions that are not mine today. Archangel Raphael, I ask that you continue to heal my body so it returns to a perfect state of health, and send me to those who can help me accomplish this.
[Here is where I enter in specific requests that I might need help with, and call in certain angels who might be able to help.]
In gratitude for all that you have done and helped with in the past, all that you will do and help with today, and all that you will do and help with in the future, thank you, thank you, thank you. Namaste.”
4. Lately, I’ve added the practice of listing 10 things I am grateful for in my life. It’s a little experiment I am trying, and will share more with you soon!
5. I head back to the kitchen and to my juicer where I make myself a morning glass of fresh green juice. (For more on this, see my editor’s advice entry, “Embarking on an Anti-Inflammatory Diet.”)
Then I’m ready to get dressed and start my day! It may seem like a lot, but honestly it doesn’t take more than an hour or so, start to finish (including juicing and cleaning up the juicer!)
Again, take what resonates with you and start your own morning routine! And please share your ideas below in the comment section below! I love to hear from you all!
Blessings and love,
Tammy Mastroberte
Founder, Publisher & Editorial Director
Elevated Existence Magazine
www.elevatedexistence.com