Every Day is a New Beginning

Photo by Neve, Arizona Sunrise

At the start of each New Year in January, many people make resolutions and decide to make healthy lifestyle changes.  Time flies, and it is already mid-February.  While many may have followed through on their resolutions and might be progressing nicely, some might have fallen off the bandwagon, or maybe never even jumped on.  No worries!  Every day is a new beginning, and if you haven’t lived up to your original expectations, don’t beat yourself up or feel guiltyabout it.  Instead decide that today would be a good day to start over and begin anew.

Yesterday was the start of the Chinese New Year, and in ancient Celtic spiritual tradition, Imbolc or the spring festival (February 1^st) marked the beginning of the New Year.  The Iranian New Year starts in March.  If you want a fresh beginning, why not make today the start of your New Year?  Or for that matter, any day you choose can be the start of your New Year!

Celtic spirituality had a great sense of the significance of each new day, how the new day is sacred.  The Celts never entered the day with a repetitious deadening perspective; they took each day as a new beginning.   ~  John O’Donohue, Irish Poet and Scholar

Each day truly is a gift and some people don’t even wake up to see the light of a new day!  When most people do wake up and hear the alarm, they hit the snooze button and turn over to catch a few more z’s.  Before they even get out of bed, they are avoiding the gift of the new day.  Don’t take the day for granted, and even this in itself will give you a new perspective.

How we start our day in the morning can set the tone for the rest of the day.  If you “get out of the wrong side of the bed”, have a negative attitude, grumble and complain while getting ready in the morning, and don’t eat a healthy breakfast, don’t be surprised if the rest of your day is less than satisfactory.

If you already have a great morning routine that works well for you – fantastic!  Keep at it!  However if you usually hit the snooze button, are always rushing around in a frenzy and don’t get a chance to eat breakfast before you leave the house, it would be worthwhile to experiment and try some new morning routines or rituals and see if your day progresses differently. 

I generally wake up before the alarm goes off (during the week anyway), and usually get up shortly thereafter.  Before I even get out of bed, I set the intention for a positive day.  If I wake up especially early, I will do life bliss meditation.  Otherwise, I will journal for a little while.  If I have time I throw in a few Surya Namaskars (yoga poses to greet the rising sun).   I always eat a healthy breakfast (usually a fruit smoothie at a minimum), and maybe some cereal or oatmeal and tea and toast.  On my drive to work I listen to soothing music, chants, or books on CD.  When I don’t follow my routine, I notice that my day flows differently and not as smoothly. 

A good starting point for getting your day off to a positive start would be getting up when the alarm goes off, or whenever you naturally wake up, whichever occurs first.  Actually, if you intend to introduce some new habits in the beginning of your day, you might even need to set your alarm a little earlier.  Once you decide what new practice you would like to kick off your morning routine, try getting up at least a half hour before your normal wake up time. This will give you plenty of time to fit in your new habits.   Experiment and see what works for you.  Keep reading for some other suggestions on creating morning rituals.

Morning Makeover Ideas:

Positive Intention:  Before you even get out of bed, say something like “Today I am going to have a beautiful, serene day” or whatever is your idea of a wonderful day.

Get Moving:  Get out of bed right away and don’t avoid your day. Exercise is a great way to increase endorphins (the “feel good” chemicals) in your body.  So apart from keeping fit and healthy, exercise will help combat depression.   Try some yoga poses to gently stretch your body.  I recommend Surya Namaskar, since it is the king of all postures, and works on all organs and chakras.  Maybe you love to take an early morning run or hit the am classes at the gym.  Find something that works for you!

Affirmations:   If you have already written a list of affirmations, take it out and read it before you leave the house.  Other ideas are to post it somewhere visible that you can’t miss such as the refrigerator door or bathroom mirror.

Write in a journal: Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, suggests writing three longhand stream-of-consciousness pages each morning.  This will help you process hidden “stuff” and also helps enhance your creativity.

Meditate:  Find a meditation technique that works for you – there are tons of different techniques to suit each type of person.  If you have never meditated before, start with a 5 minute practice, and you can gradually lengthen it over time if you so desire.

Connect with Nature:  If you are lucky enough to have a beautiful view from your home, look at and merge with the beautiful scenery.  Maybe take a jog in the local park.  Do some Surya Namaskars to connect with the sun’s energy.  Go water the plants in your garden, or tend to your house plants.  Find some small way to connect with nature. 

For the Celtic person the new day was lived amidst nature.  It is easy to have a creative sense of the day when you live in the presence of the great divinity called Nature.  For the Celtic people, nature was not matter, rather it was a luminous and numinous presence which had depth, possibility, and beauty.    ~  John O’Donohue, Irish Poet and Scholar

Read Inspiring Books:  Pick up your favorite inspirational book, whether it is religious, spiritual, motivational etc.  Open the pages at random and read a short excerpt to get your day off on the right track.

Eat Healthy:  Don’t skip breakfast since it is the most important meal of the day.  Remember the old adage “you are what you eat”.  Start your day off with a healthy breakfast.  Try wholewheat cereals, fresh fruit or a smoothie.  You will feel wonderful and it is great for your body too! 

Mantra Chanting:  According to Paramahamsa Nithyananda “A mantra (chant) is a composition of syllables, words, phrases or sentences that, when repeated with awareness, has a very powerful and penetrating influence on the mind and body.”  Dr. Masaru Emoto, famous for his scientific studies on water has proven that sound vibration dramatically influences the composition of water crystals.  Our bodies are composed mostly of water, so positive musical vibrations and mantras have a very powerful effect on our system. 

Instead of singing along to some negative, edgy lyrics, or listening to morning talk show nonsense while driving to work or dropping the kids off to school, maybe try listening to some Vedic mantras instead.  You can find some beautiful soothing, inspirational mantras geared for the western audience.   There are many westerners who produce beautiful music based on ancient Vedic chants.  Find something that suits your musical taste.

The notion of the day as a sacred place offers a lovely frame for the creativity which a day can bring.  Your life becomes the shape of the days you inhabit.  Days enter us.  ~  John O’Donohue, Irish Poet and Scholar

If you’re like most people, your mornings are busy and you might be wondering how you can fit anything else in.  It really is worthwhile to create a morning routine that works for you, and create some healthy habits and start your day off on a positive note.  Your habits create your destiny.  Start small and select one or two ideas from this list, or make up your own to include in your morning ritual.  Consider your day as sacred and cherish the gift of each day as a new beginning!

What new morning habits would you be willing to try?

Do you eat a healthy, nutritious breakfast each day?  If not, why not?

Book Resources: 

Anam Cara:  Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World, by John O’Donohue

Living Enlightenment by Paramahamsa Nithyananda

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