Have a great Morning | A Monk’s perspective, reduced for the common folk

From my experience at a Tushita meditation centre in 2018, I overheard a few things that made me sit up and notice. These were random thoughts from conversations with monks and fellow meditators.

In no particular order, I found these 3 things that anyone can do to feel better, every morning, everyday. <Rising early is not one of them>

1. Centre yourself and think of death: After you wake up, avoid interaction with others. Sit up, find a spot and breathe. Close your eyes gently and take a deep breath.

Yes, this may sound morbid, but you don’t have to judge the good or bad of it, but pause and reflect on Death. No judgements yet; take a moment to recognise that today is not guaranteed. This day is a gift, nothing is guaranteed. So see things as they are, in the moment. What a wonderful opportunity to be alive today.

Everyday as we get older, we get more set in our ways and can get to a point of rigidity as we start to take things for granted. So, as you get on with your day, start with a realization that today is not promised and the time you have, truly is a gift.

2. Make your bed: This simple act of making your bed sounds like a boring cliche and insignificant at first, but doing this trivial task trains you on how to follow through. It gives you a win in the morning, with a simple way to practise your mind to tidy up. Do it neatly and nicely, fold your linens gently and without hurry.

When we take care of our bed, our room and our surroundings, we subconsciously practice simplifying things and our minds.

3. Chanting and meditation: It is not easy. I confess, it perhaps is the most difficult thing to do, and it took me months to get a single minute of feeling-free meditation to do. I tried to habit stack it with my cup of tea but it didn’t work, because by the time I got my cuppa I had had too much interaction anyway. The best way to start the practise is to begin early in the day when our mind has not interacted with the outside world yet, to catch it while it is still. Slowly when you practise everyday, when you will get into the rhythm, you will see how it slows your mind and brings serenity to the day.

I have to acknowledge some barriers to starting meditation, they are: I have a lot of work to do, I went to bed late last night, I have a chatty monkey mind today, why is this annoying me and so on.The heaviness- the drama in our mind, the chatter, the thoughts and the stories would feel too overwhelming at first, but when you are finished after that 1 minute or 5, you will feel more grounded, you will have new energy, new inspiration. It’s like your car has just been fueled to tke you places, and now you are not flustered anymore like you perhaps were in the beginning.

Stillness is the key to success. We think we should wake up and get going, go fast, do this and do that, tick things off our checklist. But, practise to ground yourself first, slow down and prepare yourself to see yourself, others and the situation more clearly. Meditation helps to bring clarity to the mind, so trust in the process and begin somewhere, anywhere.

Bonus:

Read a few pages everyday. Not on your phone, and no, not the news. Pick up a book the old fashioned way and read it for a few minutes without distraction. Start by setting an intention to read 10pages OR for 10minutes everyday and slowly take it up a notch without feeling the pressure or the need to do more. Give your mind the freedom to act, but within the constraint of ‘no distraction’.

My personal woe in the way we operate, comes from the space of pretentious productivity that we increasingly believe in. The internal goalposts of going x to 10x, 100x, 1000x without a sense of peace may feel heavy over a period of time. Instead, cultivate the wisdom within by making your mind brighter, clearer, cleaner. Then apply this wisdom to help yourself feel content with yourself.

The purpose is to get our mind still, not to wake up early to start racing again!

Hope this routine was a good read for you. Share your routine or anything else that makes your day brighter.