Hey Beautiful!
No matter how often we get the bonk on the head – “be intentional!” – sometimes it takes some time to commit to the practice of setting intentions. I’ll be honest here, anything that feels like homework, or rituals, or chores…ugh, I can’t do it! Or so I tell myself. But what I have found is when I spend about 10 minutes (I have these practices logged in my phone as an alarm to remind me to do my work!) in the morning, I have a much easier time staying in the zone, mentally and emotionally. Naturally, this will serve me better than allowing the day to just happen.
Here is the recipe for my mornings, and I have been known to repeat as necessary throughout the day. Because my human brain will kick in and I’ll totally forget who I truly am. See how this feels to you:
- I wake up. Yay! Waking up means I’m alive.
- I say “thank you” aloud, and I say it three times. First and only words that leave my mouth for a while.
- I call my power back to myself. I’ve written about a method for doing this previously, and you can read that here. You can also do a really quick visualization where you have magnets affixed to your body, and you call all your energy back to self ~ a simple visualization that brings all that stuff you left out there in the expansive Universe, right back to YOU. (It’s like the energetic way of “staying in your lane.”)
- Stay quiet, and just breathe for a few minutes, concentrate on my breathing. Just be.
- I say my own name aloud. Where do I feel it in my body? This practice will indicate to you what kind of energy you are leading with. (visualize the 7 chakras when determining where your energy is coming from.) Did you feel it in your throat? Your heart space? Your power center? Determine where you felt your energy and decide if you want to lead from that place, or if you want to call your energy to another area.
- Take a moment and say to the Universe “I am ready for you to delight me in amazing, fun, and magical ways. I am ready to receive!” (Be specific that you’re ready for fun surprises, trust me on that one!)
OK, that’s about 5 to 10 minutes of your morning gone. But what a great investment, right? You can also spend a moment grounding yourself. I mean, it’s your day, you put it together how you want to experience it.
Now, Buttercup…allow me to add one extra tool for your tool belt. Sometimes, regardless of how many rituals or self-care practices we put into place, it can feel like life is kicking us in the shins. It is a free-will Universe, and we don’t get to control others (thankfully!), and we are not always able to predict (no matter how psychic we are 😀 ) the size or arrival of the speed bumps on our paths. Keep in mind:
When you feel like you’re struggling and you can’t control what’s happening, challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what’s happening. That’s where your power exists, in ANY situation.
As you move through your day, try and practice the pause. This is particularly useful when your day is unfolding and thoughts are coming into your consciousness. Hit the pause button and OBSERVE your thought. Is this thought going to lead to feeling how I wish to feel? ADJUST AS NECESSARY.
A thought will create a feeling or emotion. Now you have a feeling. The feeling keeps you focused on the thought. The though reinforces the feeling. Do you see the vicious cycle here? If you can insert the PAUSE, and then just OBSERVE (without judgement) the thought, you can determine if you want to plant that seed and watch it bloom.
If you can make a commitment to a new morning routine, for just 7 days, I can guarantee you, you will start to experience so many more layers and textures and colors that you’ll enjoy. When you feel yourself sliding off course, head to your tool belt! Pause, Observe, Adjust. When you commit to wanting to feel good, and setting your energetic, emotional, and mental health as priorities ~ you will begin to experience shifts that you might not have even imagined were possible.
Remember, Gorgeous ~ in this infinite Universe, damn near everything is possible!