Gingerbread Cottage

Try this Ideal Exercise

4/9/2018

"For me, there’s no better time to contemplate the world and my place in it than in the early morning. When the house is dark and quiet, with my family still sleeping, I sit for a few minutes in a comfortable chair with a warm cup of coffee, breathe, and just be."-Tom Rapsas, Wake Up Call, Patheos.com

Last week, I mentioned that before we dive into what a hygge spiritual practice is, I had an exercise I’d like for you to try first.

The hygge exercise: make yourself a cup of your favorite tea and grab your journal or a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. I have questions for you to answer…

If you could create an ideal spiritual practice, what would it be like?

What would you do each time?

How would it feel?

What would be the best thing about it, for you?

How to Do the Exercise Step by Step

Step One: Relax into Peace

Take a few minutes to relax, breathe deeply and slowly in between sips of tea and let yourself release any stress you brought with you to this moment.

Step Two: A Moment’s Meditation

Close your eyes for a moment as you consider those questions. Ask your mind & heart to offer up possibilities while you watch on your inner movie screen.

Your mind may be sneaky and offer up “wouldn’t likes” along with the “this would be goods,” so expect you might have to do a little sorting.

Step Three: Journaling

Open your eyes and continue the process by asking yourself which ideas you liked most and writing those down. Is there anything you are doing already and could tweak to make it into one of those possibilities?

Write that down, too, and choose something you could try in the next day or two as an experiment.

How Did it Go?

Were you able to come up with any ideas you might try or current practices you might tweak?

Let me know in a comment, okay? I’m hoping it went well for you.

But if you’re feeling like there might have been more & you can’t quite think of them, tomorrow, I’ll tell you what I came up with for my own ideal spiritual practice and you can see if it inspires any other ideas. I also have a surprise for you I can’t wait to share.

See you tomorrow!

Love, Jeanine

16 Comments

Lily Leung link

4/9/2018 03:59:56 pm

Hi Jeanine:

I do this every morning, except maybe for the journalling. I do it in the head though. It's a very restful practice, easing myself into the day. I don't like the thought of 'jump starting'. It sounds very harsh.
:-)

Lily

Jeanine Byers link

4/9/2018 07:11:07 pm

That's great, Lily, that you have it as a practice already. And I agree, I much prefer a gentler start.

Martha link

4/9/2018 05:30:15 pm

I actually have two parts, I do my meditation in the morning as soon as I wake up. Sometimes I don't even get out of bed because once I do that, my brain goes in rush mode. I pray, think and plan my day. Then I do this again as I walk quietly around my yard, heading to my mom's garden first. Even though she has been gone since 2000, I still feel her presence and this helps me start my day.

4/9/2018 07:13:23 pm

Oh, that's lovely, Martha!! Good for you. No wonder you have such wonderful blog posts! And I am so glad to hear that about feeling your mother's presence. I did, at first, but haven't felt much for the past few days, and I thought, "is it over? Already??" But you have reassured me that it must just be an ebb & flow kind of thing. Thx!

Elaine

4/9/2018 08:15:21 pm

These are great tips! If you're not doing this in the morning, you're missing out! I didn't know this was hygge style. I just started doing this to clear my mind before my day..

4/9/2018 11:08:15 pm

Oh, that's great, Elaine! Well, one of the things I hear and read a lot is that people were doing hygge before they knew what it was and when they found out, it sort of freed them to go all out with it. That is my story, too, actually!

Paul Taubman link

4/9/2018 08:44:36 pm

Unfortunately for me, if I try to meditate when I first wake up, I would end up falling back asleep! I have tried this several times and each time it doesn't work for me.

Sigh.

4/9/2018 11:10:39 pm

Paul, I totally understand. I sometimes try to do it when I first wake up, because I am more relaxed. But if I haven't had enough sleep, I end up asleep again. So once I'm up, I sometimes have to try again.

Jen link

4/9/2018 09:55:35 pm

It is too late in the evening to make myself a cup of tea, but I will do this tomorrow. This sounds like a great exercise that has the potential for some very good insight.

4/9/2018 11:12:55 pm

Thank you, Jen!! I know what you mean about the cup of tea. I used to try to have bookend cups - one in the morning and one near bedtime. But sometimes, I am so tired, I just can't make myself go through the process and then wash the cup, too. So now, I am out of the habit.

Alice Gerard link

4/9/2018 10:34:53 pm

I agree with Roy. A morning meditation session would put me right back to sleep, albeit with a sense of happiness and peace. I find a walk in the woods to be the best experience for me, when I want to explore my spirituality.
(mmmm, tea)

4/9/2018 11:15:08 pm

I can totally see that, Alice! Because taking a walk can be so peaceful, it's easy to think things through and explore possibilities. I feel that way when I am drinking a cup of tea but not doing anything else.

Christina Weigand link

4/10/2018 09:41:05 am

Sorry I didn't see this yesterday, and I will bookmark it for future practice. I feel as if I tried this right now I would fall asleep, but it looks like an exercise I am willing to try when I am in a different frame of mind and place.

4/10/2018 11:36:30 am

I know what you mean about falling asleep! Maybe after you have had a cup of tea or coffee?

Snehal Joshi link

4/10/2018 08:41:18 pm

Jeanine! for years journaling has been my way of connecting to myself. Lovely post. I would love to know how do you make these videos ? They are amazing.

4/11/2018 12:35:28 am

Hi Snehal! That's great. I used to journal for decades but have gotten out of the habit. For the videos, I use lumen5.com. Thx!

Try this Ideal Exercise

How to Do the Exercise Step by Step

How Did it Go?

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Hi, I'm Jeanine

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Try this Ideal Exercise

How to Do the Exercise Step by Step

How Did it Go?

Leave a Reply.

Hi, I'm Jeanine

Archives

Categories

PRIVACY POLICY:click here to read it

PRIVACY POLICY:
click here to read it