The WHY Behind My Morning Practice

Unique Perspectives: The WHY Behind My Morning Practice

By Kim Stevens

In A Religion of One’s Own, Thomas Moore says, “To be religious even in a personal way, you have to wake up and find your own portals to wonder and transcendence.”

So each morning, that’s exactly what I do. Every day, I wake up, get down on my knees and pray to God, make coffee, light a candle and my favorite incense to keep me in that dreamy state (and NOT thinking about my to-do list). Then I go up to my sacred space, my loft, read a couple of my favorite meditation books, meditate for 15-20 minutes and write in this really cool journal from Danielle LaPorte, where I articulate how I want to feel that day and whatever inspiration I’ve gotten during my meditation.

My morning always begins with these habits, although I hesitate to call them “habits” because they’re more like practices, not habits. (I do love John Di Lemme’s famous “The Habit Poem,” which starts: “I am your constant companion, I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden, I will push you onward or drag you down to failure, I am completely at your command …”)

For me, “habits” is too harsh a word to describe my morning activities. “Practices” sounds gentler, softer and reminds me that these are things I don’t HAVE to do, but GET to do – and practice – every day.

I started my morning practice because of my aunt, who was my godmother and someone I absolutely adored. Around 1999, she gave me a book called Take Time for Your Life by Cheryl Richardson and WOW! It was such an eye-opener. “Self-care is the greatest act of kindness you can offer yourself,” Richardson writes. Among the many wise things on the many, many enlightening pages of this book, Richardson says you shouldn’t let life get in the way of your spiritual well-being. You must create a personal practice, which was the start of a morning practice for me.

Over the years, this practice has definitely evolved but what hasn’t changed is that every morning, without fail, I do it. My morning practice is non-negotiable. It keeps me above all the stuff going on, the whirlwind of the everyday threatening to take me out of that magical mindset before I’m ready, before I’ve had a chance to meditate, prepare, think, dream. I simply don’t let life get in the way of my spirit, and this practice keeps me on the spiritual plane I desire, embracing a higher level of thinking and creativity. It clears the path for intuition and provides greater clarity around knowing which way to go.

The practice affects how I feel as I go about my day — how I interact with people, and how I feel more deeply connected with myself, my Higher Power, and my own portals of wonder.