12 Jan The Magic of Morning Habits
Our lives are steeped in habits – for better or for worse. And no single habit holds more authority over our quality of life than a morning habit.
Mornings are the single most powerful time of day.
Whether we choose to be aware of it or not — waking action shapes the trajectory, not only of our day, but of our entire life. Chaotic mornings make for a chaotic life, just as empowering mornings make for an empowered life.
By being deliberate with your morning routine, you have the opportunity to direct precious energy and intention to the things you most want to manifest in your life. This not only magnetizes you toward your aspirations… it ignites an internal flame and gives you a renewed sense of energy and spirit. Morning routines have the power to create a positive, upward-spiraling energy loop in your life.
Daybreak is a remarkably abundant time – ripe with consciousness, creativity, serenity and insight.
But most of us squander these golden moments. We trample all over them with obsessions of productivity and overwhelm — sprinting to our daily task list before we’ve hardly even opened our eyes.
The undeniable truth is — rushing to accomplish tasks in the morning is bad for the nervous system and the quality of our day.
By slowing down and plugging into ourselves first thing, we learn to tap into and expand the magic of the early morning state. We become trained in the art of Morning Creation, suspended in a world of absolute peace and purity.
These aren’t just flowery words. This experience is real, and it is available to you, if only you would reach out and touch it.
So tomorrow morning, instead of reaching for your phone, try creating a mindful morning ritual that aligns with what you want to create in your life. Open the door, and invite new energy to enter your world.
Here are some wonderful examples for tapping into the morning magic, to get your creative juices flowing:
Fitness and Wellbeing
If your most important goal is to become healthier or get in better shape, make the mornings a time to bond with your body. Create a ritual of connection with your physical being.
Start by simply being with yourself. Place your hands somewhere on your body that you feel unsupported or unloved, and just be there — hold a safe space, and meet yourself exactly where you are in this moment, without judgment, comparison, or distraction. Let yourself melt into a state of acceptance and peace with who you are. This is your point of origin. Know it. Feel it. Breathe into it.
“We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.”
-Carl Jung
Once you are centered, carry that sensation with you as you move into whatever practice will support your physical growth — yoga, running, dance, swim, whatever it is for you… all the while knowing and honoring your body as it moves, breathes, and flows through the rhythms of your life. Carry those rhythms with you through the rest of your day, checking in with your body again and again, holding that safe, loving, supportive internal space.
Creativity / Innovative Thinking
If deepening creativity is something you seek, whether for your own personal expression or for the betterment of your career, make the dawn your best friend. The unique state of your brain in the morning is highly favorable for creative energy and invention.
One of the most powerful practices for tapping into your creative essence are the Morning Pages – a concept used by many brilliant minds throughout history, but a phrase coined by author Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way.
The idea is simple: handwrite three pages of whatever comes to mind as soon as you wake up. Every day. That’s all.
Writing thoughts on paper makes the subtle thoughts tangible (these thoughts are ever-present and often stand in the way of our ability to freely express creativity). This helps put conscious attention on and purge what’s normally unconscious, making you more aware of what’s going on deep inside you, and clearing the path for higher insight.
The benefits of this are enormous, not the least of which is training your brain to let the flow of creative thinking and idea formation come to you at the same time each day, with a never-before-experienced sense of ease and flow.
Inner Peace and Spirituality
Just about everyone on the planet has the desire for a deeper spiritual connection. We all want that ecstatic, blissful, enlightened state of being that’s inherent within human beings. And the truth is, these states of being aren’t reserved for saints and gurus alone. They are available to all of us, through consistent spiritual practice — whatever that means for you.
There are countless approaches to spirituality, but the truly wise understand that they are all paths leading to the same place. So it’s essential that you discover what resonates with you at this time in your life. Meditation, yoga, walks in nature, Reiki and energy work, dance, singing… these are all spiritual practices that engage our entire being and raise our energy vibration.
If a spiritual practice has been calling your name, invite it into your morning routine and see where it takes you.
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Notice that each of these recommendations has a common thread…
Allowance.
Morning time is so potent that great insights and ideas will naturally stream through you. All you have to do is create a quiet, still, willing space for them to enter into.
Each and every morning is a new opportunity for us to reinvent ourselves and recreate our energies.
How will you greet the rising sun?