My Morning Ritual

My favorite part of the day is when I "do" my devotions. I find that if I don't partake in this special time each morning then my day is just not right. Things are not in sync and I miss it more than I can explain.

Doing my devotions is more than reading a few passages in a book or the Bible. It is sacred time that I spend with God. First I light some candles. Doing this sets the tone and centers me. I begin each day with an Irish prayer. Then I spend about five minutes praying for my family and friends. I spend another five minutes or so reading from a spiritual book. Right now I'm reading Be Still and Get Going by Rabbi Alan Lew. It is a lesson on meditating and I'm learning so much. Finally I spend my last five minutes writing in a journal five things I am grateful for from the day before. I also write on a small piece of paper a prayer of affirmation on the healing of my nephew's wife who is fighting breast cancer. I take each piece of paper and place them in a prayer box afterwards. The last fifteen minutes is writing in my journal things that call to me from the four or five devotionals I read each day.

What amazes me is that these devotionals all come from many different sources and yet somehow they all connect each day. For example, today several of the readings focused on the light of God and the paths we choose to take. I blow my candles out and then set the timer to fifteen more minutes. I pick a spot and close my eyes and meditate until the buzzer goes off. I found that if I didn't put the timer on, I spent too much time worrying about how long it had been or if I'd meditated enough. Sometimes I spend more time praying for family and friends and special needs and sometimes I spend time writing poems or prayers that come to me at this time.

I leave refreshed; inspired and enlightened. God is life and life is good!