WAKING UP
There are so many connotations these days to the words waking up, but at the moment, I'm literally talking about waking up in the morning.
Why?
Because how you wake up—and the thoughts you direct yourself toward—can set the tone for the rest of your day.
Learning to harness those first thoughts, and training yourself to return to them each morning during that twilight phase before the mind is fully conscious and being barraged by the day's demands and other people's thoughts and needs, can make a remarkable difference in how you experience your day.
Like anything else, it takes practice, patience with yourself, and repetition before it becomes a habit—an inner program that begins to run almost by itself.
And once you get it down, it's actually very simple.
Ready?
How Did You Wake Up This Morning?
Take a moment and recall how you woke up today.
Was it abrupt? Did you quickly hop out of bed and rush to get the day started?
Perhaps you woke later than you planned. Or maybe the weight of yesterday—with its unfinished tasks or difficult interactions—that became your first conscious thoughts.
Maybe today's usual routines already felt heavy and pressing, demanding your immediate attention. Perhaps you didn't feel as well or as refreshed as you'd hoped because of physical discomfort or a restless night's sleep.
Or perhaps you had a young child crying for their own care needs—which is decidedly difficult, and generally not something I recommend setting aside!
Or...
Did you awaken, take a deep, intentional breath, and exhale slowly?
Did you stop the day's agenda from immediately owning your mind? Maybe you acknowledged the familiar aches or lingering fatigue from a restless night without allowing them to become the entire focus of your morning.
Perhaps, for just a moment, you took ownership of you.
Breathing slowly in...and even more slowly out.
Intentionally greeting the day.
Acknowledging any discomfort or fatigue quietly and without attachment. Reminding yourself that you are inherently strong and capable of what you choose to accomplish.
And then setting an intention for how you choose to present yourself throughout the day.
What word would you assign to that state?
Calm? Grounded? Productive? Focused? Joyful? Loving?
You get the idea.
Did you visualize your day and set a focus for it?
If so, fabulous! You're off to a great start.
If not, perhaps I can help you change that.
Start By Simply Noticing
Very few of us—if any—are perfect at this. And I doubt any of us started that way, even if we've been on a consistently “perfect” streak lately.
Think about your days and how they generally unfold. Can you remember your first consciously acknowledged thoughts before you got up this morning? Yesterday morning? What about mornings that preceded a decidedly wonderful day—or a difficult, irritated, scattered, nothing-is-flowing-the-way-I-want-it-to kind of day?
This can be surprisingly difficult.
Our lives are so busy that those first waking thoughts are often lost almost immediately beneath the tasks and responsibilities already calling for us.
So rather than trying to remember everything, simply begin becoming aware of how you wake up.
What thoughts are you allowing yourself to think?
How are you moving your body?
How are you breathing yourself into the day?
For a few days, jot down a few words about how you woke up, while you're having breakfast or your morning cup of whatever, or whenever you have a moment before you forget.
Then, at the end of the day, notice your overall mood and how the day flowed.
Were you fairly focused, calm, positive, and productive? Were you able to stay—at least relatively—on track with your intentions?
Or was the day scattered, frustrating, fatigued, irritable...?
Keep your notes simple if you like:
Great day. Rough day. Easy flow. Slogged through.
Or write more if that's your thing.
You do you!
I recommend noting something, because most of us simply don't have enough available brain space to keep track of all these little details. After several days, you may begin noticing patterns.
What is working for you?
What isn't?
With time, you may discover a correlation between how you bring the day to yourself—and yourself to the day—and how you experience what follows.
Tomorrow Morning, Try This
As you first become aware that you're waking up...
Don't think. Breathe intentionally instead.
(It's okay. Those necessary thoughts will still be there in 15 seconds.)
1. Breathe
Take a slow, deep breath in, gently filling your lungs to a count of about four.
Then exhale slowly to a count of six—or perhaps eight—letting your breath out more slowly than you took it in.
Repeat once or twice, or for as long as it feels good and circumstances allow.
Yes, even 15 seconds counts should the little one be calling for you!
A slow, intentional exhale can help signal safety to your nervous system and encourage a calmer physiological state. It tells your system you are not actually running from a tiger at the moment.
This simple pause can help create a little more internal grounding and mental clarity before the demands of the day begin.
And feel free to return to this breathing technique throughout the day whenever you need—or simply want—it.
Try this when you wake up tomorrow and as often as you can every day thereafter (even if for only 15 seconds should the little one be calling for you):
2. Choose Your Feeling Tone
When you're ready, feel into your center and decide what feeling tone you want to carry through the day.
With a peaceful smile, name that feeling in a positive, present-tense statement, either silently or out loud.
Perhaps yesterday held more irritability or reactivity than you—or those around you—would have liked.
Your statement might simply be:
“Today I choose to proceed with peace and calm.”
Then feel what it's like to be in that state, right now.
Breathe gently into it for a moment and let it register within you.
Years ago, I had an experience that taught me just how powerful one feeling word could become.
I was driving down the highway early one morning, trying to maintain a meditative, “quiet” mind and set my intention for the day. But my proverbial monkey mind kept interrupting.
Finally, in frustration, I voiced a question to the universe about how I was supposed to quiet my monkey mind.
Immediately, one word presented itself:
Equanimity.
Now, I had probably used that word three times in my entire life—and certainly not recently. I actually had to ask Google for the definition to make sure I was remembering it correctly.
It was exactly what I was seeking.
When I arrived at the office, I wrote EQUANIMITY on a sticky note and stuck it to the top of my computer screen.
There it was each time I stepped out of a patient exam room. And there it was again before I walked into the next appointment.
After one particularly difficult interaction that morning, I glanced at my screen before entering another patient's room. I saw the word.
Equanimity.
I breathed into it—and felt the emotional charge from the previous interaction begin to dissolve as I returned to the intention I'd set that morning.
That sticky note was still attached to my computer screen years later when I retired.
Seeing it again and again helped that emotional state become part of my daily practice. Eventually, one little word became a reminder of how I wanted to show up in my work and in my interactions with others.
So yes—I highly recommend sticky notes!
Write on your mirror. Put a reminder on your phone. Make the word your computer wallpaper.
Give yourself cues while a new habit becomes part of you.
3. Set Your Intention for the Day
From the feeling state you've just established, set your focus for the day's activities—your manifestation intention.
Perhaps there's a task you need to complete or a project you'd like to move forward.
Maybe you simply want a smooth, joy-filled, restful day with the youngsters.
Perhaps you'd like your day at the office to feel enjoyable, with positive and supportive interactions with the other humans you encounter.
Or maybe you want to keep the day free and easy and actually focus on caring for yourself.
Stay with your chosen feeling state and visualize the day ahead.
See it as you would like it to unfold—as though you're experiencing it right now—and allow yourself to enjoy that feeling of accomplishment now, as if it has already happened.
4. Give Thanks, allow Gratitude
Allow yourself to feel gratitude for the day you've just envisioned, as though it has already occurred.
Take another deep breath in and exhale slowly, reinforcing your intention.
Return to that vision whenever you need it throughout the day.
5. Gently Wake Your Body
While you're still lying in bed, gently and intentionally stretch your body this way and that—whatever feels good to you.
If someone is still asleep beside you, you may certainly slip quietly out of bed first and stretch somewhere else!
6. Carry It With You through your day
As you begin your morning and your days starts to unfold, try to maintain some connection with you, and with the feeling tone and intention you just established.
Go snuggle that kiddo and take care of their needs.
Make your coffee—or what have you.
Take a shower or bath. Exercise. Enjoy a morning walk. Or simply step outside, look up at the sky, and appreciate this brand-new, never-before-seen day for a few moments.
And if you need to make breakfast, pack lunches, get dressed, and fly out the door as hastily as possible?
That's okay too.
Just try to approach those ordinary tasks from the emotional state and intention you established before leaving your bed.
...And even on a rushed morning, 5 seconds of acknowledging the arrival of a brand new beautiful day isn't going to derail the rest of the day.
You might be surprised by how different, in a positive way, those same daily tasks can feel.
And When the Day Goes Sideways...
Because sometimes it will.
If you notice that you've wandered away from the path you intended for yourself, ask:
What's one small thing I can do right now to move back toward my intention?
Do you need 60 seconds of slow breathing? Even 30 seconds of mindful slow breathing can help reset your inner state and calm your nervous system.
Is there a five-minute task or communication that would move something in the right direction?
Do you simply need to close your eyes, stretch, drink some water, have a quick snack, or step outside into the daylight for a moment?
You'll discover what works for you--if you give yourself the time and allow the patience to play with this, to be imperfect, and to discover.
Tomorrow morning, give it a try.
Not perfectly.
Not for an hour.
Just begin with a breath.
And see what follows.
May this day and those that follow hold joy, delightful discovery, and just what it is that you seek. May each of you find peace and balance in whatever way serves you best....
Mori
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