Today is a new, magnificent day!
Thank you, God. Thank you. Universe.
What kind of thoughts do I want to think and harness?
Where do I want to focus my attention and energy?
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| Lovers' Sunrise in Seychelles |
Rituals....
If you think about it, our daily life and existence is composed of recurring rituals. They come in various spans of time, at different points in the day, week, month year, and can take on a life of their own. The more you do it and the more consistent you become, that ritual becomes ingrained in our self as automatic behavior(s).For instance, there are rituals such as: how you start your day, how you prepare yourself before you go to work, the things you say or do before a presentation, the way you prepare for bedtime, ritual of going to the gym/exercising and this one encompasses the sub-ritual of how you prepare yourself pre-workout and post-workout (i.e. warm-up and cool-down).
One of the most profound rituals that has transformed my life is my Morning Ritual - the things I do when I wake up and the way my mornings unfold.
In fact, Google "Morning rituals" and you will get 2+ Million results!
Evidently, Morning Rituals are important enough that many famous and successful people have outlined their own processes:
- Huffington Post on Morning Rituals - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/morning-rituals/
- Famous and successful people with morning routines (e.g. Barack Obama, Franz Kafka, Winston Churchill, Steve Jobs, etc) - http://morning-routine.com/famous-and-successful-people-with-morning-routines/
Magnificent Morning Ritual/Routine
I gave birth to my morning ritual 2 years ago when I joined the gym and started weight training. Committing to a healthier and fitter life meant, for me, waking up early, preparing my awesomely delicious coffee, healthy food in the morning and going to the gym before work.
It has evolved over these past 2 years from a bare-bones minimum to a more evolved [dare I say 'enlightened' :-) ] approach, now including meditations, prayer, affirmations, listening to motivational speakers, music, podcasts & making my own motivational videos on social media.
Today's Morning Ritual (25 Mar 2015):
I started my day by saying "Thank You, God. Thank you, Universe. Thank you, Source. Thank you for all that I am and all that I have. Thank you for the magnificent blessings and flowing abundance; the well-being, love and peace in my life. Thank you for my family and friends, and my work, my home, my life, everything that surrounds me. Thank you for blessing us all."
Then I meditate.
Today I tried a new one (Youtube) to tap into a universal consciousness meant to give generate more serenity, ease and empowerment - it was wonderful.Meditation time is part of my daily awakening; I can't go a day without it, in fact.I feel so good and ready for my day after meditating, 5min, 10min, or even 15min if I am feeling more time-flexibility.
Some mornings I also listen to or record my own spoken affirmations - a rampage of appreciation, if you will. Inspired by and in the spirit of Abraham Hicks. I love you so much, Abraham! Thank you for coming alive in my life and everything that we've become.
I enjoy varied meditations - it can be on gratitude, feeling happy, peace, love, abundance, enhancing creativity, imagination, past lives - there are hundreds, thousands and probably millions on YouTube. Thank you, YouTube!
Then I Affirm.
Powerful Affirmations! The power of Affirming.
I listened to a 6-minute recording of my own spoken affirmations which I recorded yesterday. I've started recording my own since last month and I find it very empowering, uplifting, love-generating and positive. It is also fun!Some mornings, if I am particularly inspired, I will record a new set of affirmations. I've noticed that they have been improving in terms of scope, strength, empowerment and joy that comes through me and my voice. It feels great to laugh at yourself in a positive way listening to your voice saying happy things to yourself.
If you want to record your own affirmations, you can simply use your phone and I recommend doing them in the morning when you are fresh, mind is clear, and you are overall energized for the new day. If, however, you are not at your best in the morning and rather have a great mood later in the day, record your affirmations at that time - the point is to do so when you are in your 'zone' and feeling awesome about yourself and about life.
I added Affirmations since January 2015, this year, after reading Louise Hay's "You Can Heal Your Life". I love that woman & I am deeply grateful for her contribution to our world community :-).
She has changed and improved millions of lives by generating positive messages of self-love, self-appreciation and self-esteem. What a marvelously beautiful life mission and accomplishment. If you yourself are or have ever struggled with self-esteem, low confidence,self-love and inner struggles, it is worth visiting her site: http://www.louisehay.com/.
I discovered Louise Hay 1.5 years ago and she led me to beloved spiritual teacher, Abraham Hicks. Connecting with AH has helped me improve the quality of my thoughts, my relationships, my appreciation for the world, self-love, and consequently my life has improved dramatically.
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After praying, meditating, & affirming (all this only takes 15-20 minutes overall) I can start my day feeling spiritually and emotionally positioned to make the best of my life today. It is worth the time invested in meditating, affirming and most certainly praying and thanking God for all the goodness of life.
Sometimes I also listen to an uplifting song of praise that really touches my heart and raises my soul's vibration.
Music is extremely powerful and it can totally get you feeling wonderful!
Time is our most valuable commodity - a non-renewable resource - so use it wisely, lovingly and reap the returns of time well invested in your self-improvement.
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Morning Kitchen Ritual
After this awakening process I am really eager to proceed with the Kitchen Ritual - making the coffee, boiling the water for my lemon water + sea salt + herbs (Rhodiola, Gotu Kola, Gingko Biloba + others if required such as for Immunity). The lemon water gets the digestive juices flowing.
I take a scoop of Raw Greens powder which is Alkalizing and very beneficial as the first thing to take into your colon. If it has pro-biotics that is especially good as the healthy gut bacteria will be beneficial to your intestines and colon on an empty stomach.
I cook the egg whites, veggies (if I don't have pre-prepared from the weekend or night before).
Recently I've been focused on going to the gym on a somewhat empty stomach with the aim to optimize fat burning...It is an ongoing process.
While I am cooking and preparing I listen to Motivational podcasts and videos on Youtube to get my mind right, raise my vibration and nourish thinking positively.
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Journaling Intentions
Some days I write down my intentions for the day.
For instance:
"It is my powerful intention to live today with an open heart, to release old fears, let go of criticism and judgments, and embrace the love in my existing relationships."
Or:
"It is my dominant intent to focus on feeling good, to care about how I feel, and to take the path of least resistance."
Once you get started you sort of have this willingness and desire to keep writing more beautiful, empowering intentions. Indeed, it is an enriching experience because you start thinking more about what you want, how you want to behave, the kind of life you want, the way you want to feel, and the awesome day you can experience.
If you look back on your morning intentions at night you may discover that you lived your day actually fulfilling many of your intentions!
The spoken and written word is magical and magnetic.
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Video Blogging/Motivational Vids
Finally, I've recently been feeling super inspired to make videos with a motivational message. I infuse them with the most inspired message I'm feeling from the Universe and then I share it with my beautiful community on social media - Facebook and Instagram (for now). I'm keen to make my own Youtube channel soon.
And then I'm off for the gym to build muscle, burn fat, get sexier and have fun!!! My Fun Zone. :-)
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Closing Words
- So, do you have a Morning Ritual? What is your routine?
- How does it make you feel, and could it be improved upon in a pleasing way?
Ultimately, RITUAL is synonymous with HABIT.
Habits make up our character and yield our life experience.
If you are what you do, then what does your Ritual say about you and how you like to live?
Food for thought :-).
Wishing you boatloads of blessings and sunshine.
Love, Jen
xx
