The phrase ‘Monday Morning Blues’ doesn’t come out of a vacuum. For most of us starting our day generally involves swearing at our alarm clocks and then dragging ourselves out of bed. ‘I’m not a morning person’ is a common refrain amongst a lot of people. But the reason behind all this bad press for the morning wake-up routine is because very few of us are actually looking forward to the day ahead.
Imagine if you could change that attitude? Getting out of bed would not have to be an ordeal anymore. The moment you start looking forward to your day, you will be excited to get out of bed.
The mornings will look the way they’re supposed to; bright and fresh and ready to take on the world. That’s the basic philosophy of what the Dalai Lama has to say about brightening your day.
Keeping a positive attitude and trying to be compassionate towards others could actually go a long way in helping you achieve more each day.
If you think about it looking at how a person behaves at the start of their day over a period of time is a good way of judging how that person is faring in life. If they hate having to wake up every day, the reason is they feel they’re caught in a rut in their lives. Existence tends to look meaningless and there is nothing to look forward to. In short, he might be completely unhappy with his life in general.
Here’s how the Dalai Lama believes you can fix this problem and try to brighten your day and change your personal outlook on life:
“Every day as you wake up, think that I am fortunate to be alive. I have a precious human life, and I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand myself out to others; to achieve enlightenment for all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”
This sound like His Holiness is on to something! Practising meditation is a good way of trying to imbibe this positive attitude in you.
Here are six easy steps to start meditating in the morning. Meditation will have massive changes in your overall health, starting in the brain.
A study conducted by a Harvard affiliated team out of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) came across surprising conclusions regarding the tangible effects of meditation on human brain structure. An 8 week program of mindfulness meditation produced MRI scans for the first time showing clear evidence that meditation produces “massive changes” in brain gray matter.
Study senior author Sara Lazar of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program stated that meditation practitioners aren’t just feeling better. They are literally undergoing changes in brain structure that create the associated sustained boosts in positive and relaxed feelings.
Making this a habit will automatically allow you to start becoming more productive and may just help you into maintain a more positive attitude about life overall.
1. Find a comfortable position, like a chair or a cushion.
2. Let go of the stress. Notice and feel the existence of your body. Take deep breaths and relax.
3. Notice your breathing pattern. Keep it normal and simply experience the act of breathing and be conscious about it.
4. Don’t be hard on yourself if your mind wanders and focus on your breathing.
5. Just do this for five to ten minutes.
6. After a few minutes of noticing your bodily sensations, relax and let the stress go.
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Image source: Yancho Sabev/Wikimedia
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