We can wake up in the morning and sleep walk through the first hour or more. Yawning, tired and irritable, a lifeless, zombie. we drift from one thing to another.
Why waste a chunk of your life in such a way?
Ten Mindful Tips for the Start of your Day.
- Welcome the New Day
- Stretch like a cat.
- Meditate like a monk
- Listen like a lover
- Watch like an owl
- Breathe like a Buddha
- Renounce like a Yogi
- Talk like a Master
- Pray like a Saint
- Move like a Dancer
A Few Words on Each Tip
- Welcome the new day. Millions in your time zone arise to the new day. Birds rise too. You might hear the dawn chorus.
- Cats wake up and stretch out. Remember to stretch out every limb of your body. Learn from cats. Release energy, unlock tightness and feel expanded. Formal stretch includes yoga, tai chi, resistance bands etc. Formless means stretching in all directions.
- Be still, sit tall such as in the chair before you take your morning drink, hot or cold. Remember one of the most important movements of your life occurs when the hand takes food or drink to the mouth. Your happiness and health depend on it, as well as the Earth.
- Listen with loving presence. Listen to the silence. Listen to music. Listen to every note. Listen with your whole being. Then apply to other times.
- Be alert as an owl. Use your eyes to notice the colours/shapes getting out of bed, in the bathroom, kitchen etc. Ring a gong or use a whistle for your children rather than shout at them to get up. You will end up getting stressed out with your shouting. Be playful rather than punching words at them.
- Breathe like a Buddha. Give minutes to mindful breathing. Long breaths, short breaths or between the two. Be mindful of oxygen going into the lungs, expanding them and strengthening them against infection
- Renounce the screen. End addiction at start of the day to mobile phone, tablet, television. Experience the new day without the screen getting in the way. Use screen later when necessary
- Like a Master of Clarity, talk firmly to yourself. Use your name. State what you need to be clear about today
- Read aloud a prayer, a poem, a few lines of wisdom. Write your own prayer. Be grateful. Be thankful. Accept and work with the major and minor challenges. This is life. It is far from being an eternal picnic.
- Move with grace in your caravan, room, flat or house. Move soundlessly to enhance mindfulness. Walk to your place of work at home or elsewhere ready, invigorated and set for the challenges of the day.