If you’d like to have more personal power and clarity of vision, then I recommend three daily practices.
The benefits of these efforts are subtle at first, but they compound over time. Try them, if you aren’t doing them already, and let me know if you notice a difference in your life.
- Meditate
- Write morning pages
- Exercise every day
Meditation: In meditation, you enter receptive mode. You sit quietly without trying to do anything. You change the frequency of your brain waves when you do this. And you’ll begin to notice that ideas and inspiration come to you over time.
To begin, practice sitting quietly, first thing in the morning and last thing at night, for five minutes at a time. Set a timer on your phone. You don’t want to have to worry about the time.
You’ll want to sit in a place that feels good to you. There should be objects around you that help you to feel peaceful and calm.
Light a candle or some incense if this helps.
Then, get comfortable, and breathe quietly, in and out.
I like to count in-breaths and out-breaths from 1-5, and then start again.
That’s it. Just one through five. Feel the air as it flows in and out, and count.
This is a hard practice to sell to folks. It seems like you’re sitting there, doing nothing. But the truth lies in the paradox in life. Sometimes nothing is a powerful something. That’s the case with meditation.
Meditation is a time when you can rest, and pause. It’s different from sleep, because in meditation, you are consciously providing stillness for yourself. Practicing like this, morning and evening, will give a solid foundation to and respectful closure for your day. You can add time to your practice as you become comfortable with it, working up to 10-20 minutes, twice a day.
Beginnings and endings are very important in life. This practice honors the beginning and ending of your day.
Morning pages: This practice is recommended by Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way. Every morning, when you wake up, and after your period of meditation, write three pages of long-hand text in a journal or notebook.
You must write by hand. Typing won’t have the same effect.
Write without editing yourself at all. If you have nothing to say, say that. If an impulse or idea comes to you and you’re afraid of it, write it anyway. These morning pages are yours alone. No one else can see them. They’re the place where anything goes. Let yourself be free.
Julia Cameron describes this process as ‘skimming the cream’ off of your thinking for the day. Or, think of a faucet that’s not been opened in awhile. You turn it on, and the water flows rusty at first. Only after you’ve had it running for awhile is the water clear.
The morning pages are your way of turning on your mental tap. You’re letting ideas flow and getting in touch with your inner voice. As Cameron points out, you’ll notice that certain themes emerge that you won’t be able to ignore. Cameron recommends you don’t read your pages for the first eight weeks. Just write them. Then, you can begin to review them to learn from your thinking.
Exercise every day: We’re made mostly of water. Stagnant water is not healthy water. Freshly flowing water is beautiful. You’ve got to move every single day so that you don’t stagnate. Neither your lymphatic fluid nor your spinal fluid have the benefit of a heart-pump like your blood does. Only by your daily motion do these inner waters flow freely. So move every day.
Even better, if you can, move outside in nature. There’s energy and aliveness outside. Indoor environments aren’t usually very good for people. We all need more fresh air and sunlight.
It’s of further benefit that if you choose to walk, or run, the repetitive movement and rhythm of the side-to-side forward motion helps to align your left and right brain. All forms of exercise also entrain your organs and systems to one strong, steady internal rhythm. This is very good for your overall wellbeing.
If you’re able to incorporate these daily practices, I guarantee you’ll notice a shift in your life. All you need in order to get started is curiosity. These practices are free. They don’t require any equipment beyond a notebook and a pen, nor any special training. You can start tomorrow. And I know you will see that daily meditation, writing, and exercise will help you to become a more grounded, aware, and powerful version of yourself.
Are you already incorporating these routines into your life? I’d love to hear about it in the comments. Likewise, if you’re just starting out: what do you think?
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