The magic of a morning routine

Yesterday was a wonderful day. I felt productive, connected, and easeful. I accomplished work I was proud of. I liked myself. I focused on what mattered to me and honored my energy ebbs and flows. When I went to bed, I felt good-tired.

The day before yesterday sucked. I wandered around in a fog. I watched a lot of television. I felt bad about myself. I half-did countless tasks. I was unsure about who and what I was. I had so much self-doubt. When I went to bed, I felt bad-tired: weary, sad, depleted.

Both days were spent in my office, working (or pretending to). What made the difference?

Yesterday, I honored my morning routine. The day before yesterday, I did not.

This may sound like an exaggeration, but, I promise you, it is not. There is something potent, magnetizing, calming, and even magical about a morning routine. It almost doesn’t matter what it is composed of because what invokes the magic is the ritual of it: Beginning at around the same time each day. Revisiting the same steps, techniques, or practices over and over. Repetition is key, as are consistency and sameness. A morning routine (or evening, if you are a night owl) is like setting up a receiving station. Whatever is trying to communicate with you can find you. It is like a Pledge of Allegiance to your own personal nation. When you recite it, all the inhabitants of the kingdom (i.e. all the mysterious, beautiful, crazy, and brilliant parts of mysterious, beautiful, crazy, brilliant you) snap to. The forces are mobilized. The King and/or Queen has taken his/her seat and the kingdom rejoices…

Yes, this sounds dramatic and grand (and it is, truly). However, the magic is usually established by extremely ordinary means, including but not limited to: Making tea or coffee. Journaling. Practicing meditation. Praying. Drawing. Contemplating. Expressing gratitude. Moving the body. Drinking water.

For some people, the morning routine takes a few hours while for others, it is accomplished in a few minutes. The duration is not as important as the consistency.

Good days flow from the morning routine. Bad days flow from its absence. Yet many of us (me! me!) have difficulty actually doing it. I think there are two reasons for this:

One, you may not be sure what to do, exactly.

Two, you have not given yourself permission to hold the morning routine as sacred and inviolate.

The first is an issue of confusion. The second, of accountability.

Let’s solve these problems together, my friends! To help us, I’ve created a program called Invoking Magic: Develop a Morning Routine. In it, we will review the components of a morning routine, explore what is important for you to include, establish the right time of day (and how much time to include), and then DO our routines as a community. Depending on time zones, we will establish online meeting times that you can drop into and out of while you do your routine.

I am very, very excited about this and hope you’ll join in. I know that the magic is right there, waiting to talk to you.

categorized in: creativity, dharma, open heart project