Start Your Day More Gently!

The first half hour may be the most important time of your day; how you spend it may change your life.

Most of us find ourselves each morning in a scenario similarly to the following: The alarm goes off, mostly with a less than pleasant sound. It takes a second or so before the noise reaches our consciousness. It then takes three to four seconds before we are halfway willing to open our eyes, just wide enough to catch a glimpse on the perpetrator. It feels, of course, far too early to get up. We hit the snooze button in a vague hope that this swift action delivers us from all evil of the day. It certainly does not. A few minutes later, the alarm goes off a second time with relentless precision. If we hit the snooze button again, we run the risk to make everything worse. And we know it.

So we rush out of bed, do what ever we have to do in the bathroom, rush off to the closet to get dressed, and dash into the kitchen for coffee and cereal. If we share our living space with crying babies, moaning teenagers, or furry pets, we tend to them as soon as a time gap of five seconds opens up.

We do all this with a higher or lesser degree of resentment, tension in the muscles, shallow breathing, and - most of all – with deep unconsciousness.

In this mental and physical condition we leave home to drop off the kids and to rush to work. Utterly stressed out we arrive at the office.

We have successfully set the stage for another day of merciless busyness. We probably will eat the wrong stuff, get mad easily, and are unaware of the voice in our head that constantly urges us to do this or that quickly and that bombards us with “you should,” “you ought to,” and “why haven’t you!”

Can it be otherwise?

Yes. Get up at least half an hour earlier and start your day gently.

Then what?

Here are a few suggestions:

Begin your day with . . .

Inspirational reading
What about some poems by Rumi? Or a book by Eckhart Tolle?

Inspirational listening
Listen to a CD with relaxing music or to an audio program of your favorite spiritual teacher

Gentle yoga stretches
Be sure to let go of any competitiveness

Meditation
Just sit quietly for five minutes or so and listen to your breath

Autogenic Training or another relaxation technique
Visit my website to learn more about Autogenics

Journaling
Make sure that you use a nice journal

Spending time outdoors
Do you have a quiet patio, porch, or garden? Watch the day break, listen to birds, and feel the cool air on your skin!

You may need to experiment to find the best method that fits to your personality and your current condition of consciousness.

Do not underestimate the importance of how you begin the day! Regardless of what you choose for a gentler start, you will connect to a deeper realm that lies beyond the necessities of daily life. You will develop heightened awareness, thus creating space within you.

It is this inner spaciousness that will allow you to maintain serenity and inner freedom.

Not necessarily for the entire rest of the day. The effect of a gentler start may last one to two hours. This, however, will increase over time and with consistency.

Of course, the alarm will still go off and its sound may still be unpleasant. Now, however, you have something to look forward to: half an hour just for yourself and your Self.