Hugs and blessings dear friends and welcome to today’s post ‘The Secret To A Powerful Creative Day’ which is the first in our mini-series of video blogs looking at specific activities you can do at home to have a powerful, creative day.
At the beginning of this year, I received several requests from readers and friends asking for advice to set up a “morning routine” as a way to kickstart their day. It has taken me a while to get my act together as I wasn’t sure of the best way to respond to everyones needs. Rather than continue to procrastinate, I thought I would share my daily morning routine as a way of giving you ideas about what you can do. In the video blog below, I share the first segment of my early morning routine.
Click here to watch this video over on my YouTube Channel
Here’s My Secret Weapon For A Powerful And Creative Start To My Day
As I mentioned in the above video, my daily morning practice of prayers, meditation and yoga helps me have a joyful, powerful creative day. The more time I commit to prayer and meditation, the more I spiritually evolve, practice self forgiveness and self-love.
What’s Your View About Prayer? Do You Pray?
Is prayer something you do on an ad hoc basis as a last resort to solving a problem; maybe you pray at weddings and funerals? Or is prayer part and parcel of your life and something you regularly do?
I believe prayer and meditation are powerful ways of learning to listen to your heart, find relief, guidance to achieve your goals and work through limiting beliefs which hinder your growth.
My Mum Taught Me To Pray
My mum taught me the Lord’s Prayer and sent me to weekly Sunday School. As a child I remember saying my prayers before going to bed and on special family gatherings we would bless the food before eating and say prayers of gratitude during the meal. At the time, it was all very automatic and rote for me and I didn’t really give much thought to why we said prayers and impact it had on our life.
As I grew up, I left Sunday School, drifted away from the church and formal religious organisations and only prayed at family gatherings or my annual visit to Church at Christmas and Easter.
It wasn’t until my dear cousin Sherry passed away in 1995 and my brother John in 1997 that prayer re-entered my life. I began to question the whole meaning of “God” “faith” “religion” “the meaning of life” and in my search for answers to why they died; prayer found me, and opened the door to healing
If you are interested and would like to know more about how I made sense of this period in my life, you can get a glimpse of my healing journey in the Kindle ebook book I wrote Healing After Loss: 28 Devotional Poems For Healing And Peace.
In the video I mentioned two prayers which form the core of my daily practice. They are The Message From Babaji and A Prayer For Guidance by my spiritual teacher, Shola Arewa. You can find a copy of A Prayer For Guidance in Shola’s iconic book Opening To Spirit: Connecting The Healing Power Of The Chakras And Honouring African Spirituality
For your convenience, I have written these two prayers out below.
Two Morning Prayers For A Powerful And Creative Day
Morning Prayer #1: The Message from Babaji
Love and serve all humanity.
Assist everyone
Be happy, be courteous.
Be a dynamo of irrepressible joy
Recognise God and goodness in every face
There is no saint without a past and no sinner without a future.
Praise everyone. If you cannot praise someone, let them out of your life.
Be original, be inventive.
Be courageous. Take courage again and again.
Do not imitate; be strong, be upright.
Do not lean on the crutches of others.
Think with your own head.
Be yourself.
All perfection and every divine virtue are hidden within you. Reveal them to the world.
Wisdom, too, is already within you. Let it shine forth.
Let the Lord’s grace set you free.
Let your life be that of the rose; in silence, it speaks the language of fragrance.
I am always with you
Babaji
Morning Prayer #2: Prayer A Call For Guidance by Shola Arewa
I give thanks and praise to the Creator who has given me this day.
I call on the Goddess to be with me.
I ask for her peace, love and guidance
I ask for the presence of heavenly messengers to guide me and for the protection and wisdom of my Ancestors
Let the elements and gatekeepers of the four directions light my way.
As I open to Spirit this day show me a way to receive the abundant gifts and blessings that are bestowed upon me.
As I open to Spirit this day show me a way to be of service to the greater good of all beings.
Ase Ase Ase
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Once I say these two prayers, my GPS is set for the day. Things may crop up during the day, yet my daily prayers (and other spiritual practices) help to bring me back to centre, keep me strong, focused on what’s really important and ground my energy.
Other Prayers And Resources You Can Use
Over the years, I have written my own prayers which I tend to share with friends, on my blog or over on Fab after Fifty where I publish a weekly guest blog post – Monday Moment of Calm. Here’s a recent Morning Prayer For Health And Vitality I recently wrote for Fab After Fifty.
I’ve also gained a lot of insight, hope and understanding from reading The Prayer of Jabez For Women which my dear friend Jacqui brought for me and, The Universal Prayer by Swami Sivananda, which I learnt as part of my Yoga Teacher Training Course.
Here’s The Universal Prayer
Universal Prayer
O Adorable Lord of Mercy and Love !
Salutations and prostrations unto Thee.
Thou art Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient.
Thou art Sat-Chid-Ananda.
Thou art Existence, Knowledge and Bliss Absolute.
Thou art the Indweller of all beings.
Grant us an understanding heart,
Equal vision, balanced mind,
Faith, devotion and wisdom.
Grant us inner spiritual strength
To resist temptation and to control the mind.
Free us from egoism, lust, anger, greed, hatred and jealousy.
Fill our hearts with divine virtues.
Let us behold Thee in all these names and forms.
Let us serve Thee in all these names and forms.
Let us ever remember Thee.
Let us ever sing Thy glories.
Let Thy Name be ever on our lips.
Let us abide in Thee forever and ever.
Swami Sivananda
There are so many wonderful prayers out there to offer guidance and encouragement in all life situations. I encourage you to take a wander around your local bookstore or check out the Religion and Spirituality books over on Amazon and see what takes your fancy. Maybe you’ll find something which you might like to say when you wake up as the first step in creating a powerful start to your day.
I’d love to know what prayers you use on a regular basis. Do drop me a note and let me know.
Closing Thoughts
In the video, I mentioned I also say Affirmations and have a cup of hot water and slice of lemon as part of my daily morning routine. In the next blog, I will share the variety of Affirmations I use and also look at the benefits of drinking hot water with a slice of lemon at the beginning of your day.
Till then, I’d love to hear your views about prayer. Is it something you do, and if so, what difference does prayer make to your day? Share your thoughts in the comment box below or you can email me if that’s easier.
In the meantime, stay blessed, stay happy and be well
Ntathu
PS. Be sure to check out my Amazon Kindle book Healing After Loss, 28 Devotional Poems For Healing And Peace. You can buy your copy by clicking here.
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