***HOW TO HAVE A WONDER FULL DAY

I saw a sign that read, “Wake up every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen that day”. As a spiritual teacher and healer, I thought that was one of the most profound things I have ever read for several reasons. First, it acknowledges that most of what we experience in our lives is manifested from our thoughts, although many times it comes from our subconscious thoughts. Second, I am convinced that how we start our day dictates what kind of day we will have. “Start our day” means what is going through our minds when we first wake up.

Most people wake up in a fog of retreating dreams and fear of what the day will bring. It is from this fog that we set the tone and content of our day. If the first thought and feelings we experience after waking is fear-based, that is what we focus on and what we will notice during the day. It is a subconscious marker that determines what we will perceive. If we begin the day with the thought that something wonderful will happen, then we will focus on that, rather than a fear-based event. It is kind of like buying a yellow VW. Once you start driving it you start noticing how many there are on the road.

It is best to sit for ten minutes in silence after thinking that something wonderful will happen. If we do that before we “do” anything, we also start the day with calmness and stability. We can have at least ten minutes of peace before the world comes to our door and we become overwhelmed. Again these ten minutes of space do nothing more than set the tone for the day, and we don’t start with a bad attitude based in fear.

The one thing I notice about most people is that they don’t breathe properly. I just joined a gym and a fitness class and the first thing I realized is how poorly I breathe. Anytime I want to accomplish more than I have before, I have to breathe properly. I also remember the time someone said in a AA meeting “It is hard to think when you are gasping for breath.” The number one cause of death is lack of breath. Try it sometime. See how long you can go without breathing. Especially notice how you are feeling after about 30 seconds. Terror is a common experience.

There is also a physiological response that everyone experiences from lack of oxygen that is a genetic survival trait. When we don’t breathe properly and suffer from lack of oxygen, our frontal lobe shuts down and we begin functioning from the rear of our brains known as the “Reptilian brain.” This is where fear and anger live that arise when that part of our brain is activated from lack of oxygen. Holding our breath is a common reaction to perceived threat, whether it is a saber-tooth tiger or an angry spouse. The most basic human response is to start functioning with the Reptilian brain that only has two choices, fight or flight. Neither choice is good in a work or relationship setting. So you have to breathe properly to survive any perceived attack with grace.

Another physical issue many people have that interferes with having a wonder full day is their posture. It is a stereotypical statement that many people either look like winners or losers. Winners have their heads up, back straight and strong posture. Losers have their own body language that involves slumped shoulders and bowed heads. Winners look like they don’t have a care in the world while losers look like they are carrying the world on their backs.

Most healing techniques I have studied require that the healer stand or sit up straight with the top of their heads (also known as the crown chakra) pointing up. Alternative healers can speak volumes about the energy flow of the body, meridians, nadis and charkas. When these are lined up, energy flows smoothly and we function at peak efficiency. When we bend over and these energy lines are not aligned, we can become sick or weak. Try this experiment. Sit or stand straight, with your head held high. How do you feel? Then try sitting or standing slumped over. How do you feel? Most people will say that they feel stronger with everything lined up properly.

The next suggestion for a wonder full day is to have a kind heart. What I mean by that is to be kind to people, respond with kindness and grace to everything that happens in your day. It takes a large amount of love to have a kind hearth, both for yourself and others. When we can be kind to others, both in our thoughts, words and deeds, the word becomes a much more fun and easy place to live. When we live in fear, judgment, blame and shame life is not so easy. So if something happens that normally would make you angry or uncomfortable, have some kindness for yourself and others. This is also called grace.

The last recommendation for a wonder full day is to accept everything that happens as a gift. Some clever writer once said that “every moment in life is a gift, that is why they call it the present.” No matter what happens, no matter what you get, it is a gift. Consider the traditional fruitcake that no one likes. Many people get them for Christmas mainly because people are lazy and go out and get something that is easy to buy. If all of the fruitcakes were “regifted” back to the people that gave them maybe that consciousness would stop. Just because we don’t like the gift doesn’t mean that the giving of the gift is less meaningful. Many people who believe in God would say that every day is a gift from God. Just because we don’t like it doesn’t mean it isn’t a really excellent gift.

To an enlightened person, death is just as much a gift as life. An enemy is just as much a gift as a friend. Illness is just as much as a gift as health. Everything is a gift and treasured equally. Buddhists believe that there is no difference between pleasure and pain; the difference is only a matter of perception. The same is true for everything that happens in our life. We may not be getting what we want in life, but there aren’t any alternatives to life worth talking about. So we can either enjoy it or suffer.

So we have come full circle. If we wake up with the thought that something wonder full will happen each day, it will. If anything happens, it is a gift. So be quiet, breathe, sit up straight and be kind. Maybe Mom was right.