This is a reminder for me to restart my morning ritual – the Morning Pages. It has been one of the most life-changing exercises for me. It made me see things in my past and present like I had never done before. It opened up a lot of creativity within me.
I have struggled with it- off some days, on some days – and finally gave it up altogether last year.
A Morning Ritual
She sits quietly by the window
Taking in the morning air.
Enjoying the sounds of the birds.
Her coffee cools
As she recalls all she dreamed the night before.
Then she starts to write
Without thought or censor
Writing of her dreams, her prayers,
Her memories and her pain,
Her love, her gratitude
And everything that makes life rich and colorful.
The pen seems to take on a life of its own
The pages seem to absorb it all
Clearing her head
Helping her to move on
To focus on the day ahead.
The Morning Pages’ ritual is recommended by Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way.
Do you have a morning ritual that centers you and helps you face the rest of the day in a better way?
Would you like to take part in #MondayMusings?
Here’s how it works:
- Write a post sharing your thoughts with us – happy, sad, philosophical, ‘silly’ even. Make it as personal as possible.
- Use the hashtag #MondayMusings.
- Add your link to the linky below
- Use our #MondayMusings badge to encourage other bloggers join in too.
- Visit and comment on the posts of other bloggers linked here.
- Share the love.
Image Credits: Shutterstock
Ahh, I wish you start the ritual again. I don’t have any ritual as such w.r.t to writing because my early mornings are rushed. But does writing at work before anyone comes in, count? If yes, then maybe that’s my ritual which makes me happy and calms me down.
Oh yes, I’m certain it counts – a ritual is a ritual, no? 🙂
Thanks, I’m hoping your wishes and mine come true!
I got a lot out of that book too, and for a while did her morning writing ritual. Now I have my own. Every morning I spend the first minutes reading my bible and praying, then grab my laptop and do what I’m doing now: Posting comments on FaceBook posts and leaving links to my latest post. Then I’ll get out of bed. 🙂 !! Knowledge – Key to a Healthy Life – A to Z revisited
Ah love that you do this in bed, Shirely. Our dogs won’t let me do that! 😉
I do not have a morning ritual except from waking up and heading straight to the kitchen to prepare tiffins for usband and daughter. Having read a lot about mindfulness, I did try to practice it a bit. But failed to keep up. Your post reminded me of that and I guess I should re start.
Aesha – I’m guessing preparing tiffins is a ritual in itself – an act of love too! Do what works for you.
Thanks Corinne.. that certainly makes me feel better about myself
I wish I had the time to write in the morning. My mornings are rushed but I love Yoga and my ginger tea in the morning. You are right that whatever be our ritual, it grounds us. I wish you can get back to your ritual soon.
Yes, whatever works for us, as long as we stick to it!
Did my comment land in your spam queue?
No. It was held for moderation, Parul. 🙂
Loved the poem. Have been trying to get up and write first thing but health has become a priority and so my morning ritual focuses on physio, walking and preparing healthy meals for the day.
My mornings are like being shot out of a cannon, but once the dust settles, I take time for another cup of tea and time for quiet reading, thinking, prayer, writing. Gratitude is such an important discipline. Thanks for including us in your morning ritual.
I did morning pages for many years. It really helped to clear the cobwebs. Now I use that morning time to work on my blog because that’s when I feel the most energized and focused.
It occurred to me that I really don’t have a calming ritual. Well, not quite. I get up early and enter my hospital an hour early. Then I just sit there waiting for everyone to arrive. Don’t think that counts 🙁
The Artist’s way is a great eye opener into being creative. If it is a morning ritual of writing so be it, if it is something else that gets your creative juices flowing, great!
Now a days i do have a morning ritual of doing a little bit of reading, while sipping my chai and then plucking flowers from the plants on the terrace for mom’s puja. Sometimes i watch the pigeons flying from terrace to terrace picking on bird feed.
Coffee. That is my morning ritual. But thanks to your post, I wrote one and finished another, this morning, while enjoying my coffee.
I never really got into the “morning pages” for some reason – maybe it was Cameron’s insistence on hand-written pages, and I type so much faster. I don’t know why I felt compelled to follow the rules or abandon the whole idea. That’s not the usual “me,” is it?
I absolutely loved the poem, Corinne! I hope your wishes come true. Our morning rituals are so unique to us, aren’t they? I love Yoga and a little quiet time by my plants, sipping my morning tea by the window and catching the sunrise, if I have time or else, rushing through my to-do list for the day. Answering your question through my post, where I speak of how sometimes life has a way of springing surprises and making us discover other things that make our mornings nicer and more positive too!
Morning pages are game changers! Except I do mine in the evening 😉 I tried for a really long time to get them done in the morning, but no luck. I find the time + the flow of thoughts / brain dump works best for the me in the evenings, so I go with that. As for my morning ritual, it is currently just sipping on a hot cup of coffee as I look out the window at the huge tree outside and let my wander or just go blank for a while. A little bit of peace before the day starts!
What a wonderful ritual! I don’t really have a ritual but what really centers me is a morning walk. Even a brisk 15 minute stroll gives me time to think about the days before and what I plan on doing for the day.
I definitely have a morning ritual which keeps me anchored and sorted for the day. I wake up between 5 and 5.30, sit by the sunny spot near the window with a glass of warm water and let my mind loose while I sip the water. I go with it wherever it takes me to, giving it complete attention treating it as a separate entity. This wandering usually begins with gratitude for the big stuff in my life. Next thing I do is write my gratitude list for the everyday small stuff in the journal. 6.30 is the call time for kitchen. You can sense I love my morning ritual that I can’t stop talking about it 🙂
How very fascinating and I needed to read this as my mornings are usually rushed, on days I’m working out.
Corinne so do you write a dream journal or simply just write?
Agree, morning ritual is one of the most important things that set our mood for the day. whenever I get enough time, I do yoga and love to spend some quiet moments with nature. it gives me positivity and happiness to perform all my duties in rest of the day.
This morning ritual can be very empowering and helpful. A reminder that been a long time I haven’t read in my journal and every word is crafted in a superb manner.