That is what one of my teachers called it, “Bookending”.
What he was referring to is the idea that what we do immediately upon waking and last thing before we drift off to sleep are two of the most important factors affecting our state of mind.
The Amazing Jeannette Maw, has a great recent blog post discussing how important her alignment practice is to start the day. I could not agree more.
If you have heard me on the Matt and Phil Show, I have discussed dozens of times how important it is for me to focus on gratitude first thing, it goes something like this:
“Oh yeah, another beautiful day of my life blessed by the grace of God, thank you, Lord, for this comfortable warm bed, this amazing pillow, the beautiful sun coming up, thank you. Thank you for my gorgeous loving wife, for my adorable healthy happy son, for my abundant exciting business. Thank you for my healthy, youthful body, thank you for this powerful energy coursing through my being. Thank you, God. You are so good to me. May I be good to others today, Lord, help and guide me to be loving, generous, thoughtful and compassionate. Thank you for these abundant, uplifting thoughts, thank you for these loving feelings. I am so grateful and appreciative for my life.”
It takes all of a minute or two, but it really starts me off right. As I am putting my feet on the floor, I am grateful, centered, connected and ready to start my day.
My night ritual is more about what I am focused on creating, and I take on the feeling of what it would be like to experience what I am focused on.
I attribute these two practices to much of what I have done in my life and career, especially the last few years as the practices deepen and expand in different ways.
Bookending,
Matt
Photo credit: Extra Medium / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
Photo credit: Alvesgaspar / Foter.com / CC BY-SA
