The sun breaks through the window first thing in the morning.  We open ourselves up to the day, and we begin with a deep inhale, followed by an even deeper exhale.  Well, in truth… we often dash out of the bed to the sound of a screeching alarm, trip over everything we can on the way out the door to a full work day.  How we start our day can determine how we move through the day.  Starting the day doing a devotional practice can keep us connected to our divine self as we move through the day.  We live in a world that constantly makes demands of us.  We move into those moments, and often times we move unconsciously through these experiences.  We seldom take time to be with spirit unless something forces us to stop and slow down.  Recently I got laryngitis.  I very rarely get sick, but often I find myself rushing through life, giving my energy away constantly.  Having no voice forced me to slow down and take into account where I was giving my energy away.  It also made me take a deeper look at my personal spiritual practice.  They say never run faster than your guardian angel can fly, and in a world full of distractions and temptations this can be valuable advice.

A great way to start the morning can simply be sitting in silence and taking a few deep breaths.  If we have a particular tradition, we can sit in front of our altars, connect to the divine, and open ourselves up to guidance.  There are many ways to connect and ground into the day. Even talking a walk before work connecting to nature, or simply looking up as you make that morning walk to the office.  Consistency is also important in ground ourselves in our divine nature.  When we have a steady practice we have a way to connect into our day and to detox from a stressful day through positive release.  We only need to do a little each day to have a profound effect throughout the day and into our lives.  This allows us to be fully engaged in our spiritual work.  Here are a few ways to do daily devotional work:

• Yoga
• Affirmation work
• Morning tarot or general reading for the day
• Prayer work
• Chanting or working with a mantra
• Singing
• Dancing around the room while the sun rises
• Going for a brief walk in the AM/PM and being conscious while you are in that space.
• Contemplative reading from a sacred text
• Holding a stone and connecting into its energy
• Doing a healing practice like Reiki, energy healing, or stretching
• Breathing.  Focusing on the inhale and the exhale fully.

All of these can be done with just a little bit of time.  Getting up just a little earlier, or coming home and immediately going into your practice can give you a little bit of structure in that spiritual place.  Your daily devotional work can be complex or simple.  It can last 30 seconds or several hours.  Get into a practice of daily divine connection.  You’ll feel more grounded, more connected and more centered.

Mahayogi Das CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com