I love the start of the day. That first moment when you open your eyes, awakening from your sleep, gently stretching open your body…it has so much magical potency to it! Do you realise that? What do you do in that moment?
How easy is it to immediately get caught up in the endless ‘things to do list’ for the day or get trapped in the perpetual cycle of anxiety, tension and negative thoughts of events that have not even happened!
I have found that if you take a moment when you first awaken you can become aware of another possibility. In that moment, if you listen carefully you can experience a deeper connection with yourself. But all too often we bypass this moment only to be swamped by our ‘story’, negative self talk and limiting beliefs.
One of my favourite quotes is “What you focus on expands.” If we allow the negative thoughts to take root first thing the more time spent on those thoughts will give them momentum, fuelling more of those thoughts & with increased power.Those negative thoughts will soon be jostling for attention in a very busy and clogged up mind. After just 90 seconds those disempowering thoughts and beliefs gain enough momentum to affect your whole day.
In that brief moment you will switch from deep inner connection with yourself to being completely disconnected and caught up in a disrupting cycle of disempowering thoughts.
My journey is to live each day with authenticity. To continually strip away the ego and conditioning and to discover my own truth. To live with purpose, connection and love. Of course this is no easy quest! For me it is a continual daily practice. Each day is the beginning of another journey starting from within. Each morning I wake up to a completely fresh start. It is a gift where we can choose whether to live with connection with ourselves or be lost in the murky depths of the ego and conditioning.
It is useful to understand that one will lead you to growth and inner peace and the other will keep you trapped in the disempowering and limiting perceptions that have stopped you from expressing your true self up till now.
I’ll always remember listening to the famous violinist Maxim Vengerov giving a masterclass. Whilst coaching a young student how to begin playing he said, “You must always start from nothingness…all great things start from nothingness. Then the purity, good intention, your soul can come through when you absolutely relax. Then you build this incredible line (musical story) and this increases. This energy accumulates within you. The music must start not from outside but from within you. Then your soul will sing.”
In Tai Chi practice the very first preparation posture is called Wuji. This is often translated as Nothingness. It is the moment of settling within and deepening the connection with yourself. Allowing the expansion of that place of peace within you that can be experienced with deep listening. It is the moment where you let go of your thoughts and ego and enter a different reality. A reality that is an expression of your soul.
So take a moment tomorrow morning and pause for a minute as you wake up, notice the space from which your awareness arises and practice resting in it. Pay attention to any thoughts that start flying in. Ask yourself “Are these thoughts empowering or disempowering.” Acknowledge the disempowering ones, recognise them for what they are but try not to join in with them. Rather start to practise letting them go! Turn them around and create new empowering ones and keep repeating these. Allow these to gain momentum for your day. Remember what you focus on, expands.
Set your intention to focus on what is going to serve you, allow more growth and bring you more peace.
The difference in how you feel will be obvious and this new energy will carry you through the day and bear fruit in all that you do.
In this way all that you do will become an expression of your soul and the world will be a better place for it.
Have a wonderful day
Rob
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