Today we’re going to talk about a little practice that I do every workday. And I try to do it on weekends, too. It gets me started, gets me set for the day, and I’m surprised by how effective it is. I call it my Morning Meditations. When I get to my computer, I turn it on, but I don’t bring up email. I open a browser but I don’t visit any other site at that point, except for one.
YouTube.
And when I visit YouTube, I go to one channel in particular. Jonnie Lawson. He’s an awesome photographer who takes videos of waterfalls and rivers and streams.
I set the timer on my iPad to fifteen minutes, and then I choose one of the videos and make it full screen on my monitor. Sometimes I will put the back massager unit that Sam bought me over my shoulders if I’m feeling particularly achy. And then, I turn on the timer, sit here listening to the water and watching the forest, and I breathe. When the timer goes off, I’m ready for the day.
It feels exceptionally simple, and truly, it is.
But that fifteen minutes of listening to the water and the sound of birdsong soothes me, recharges me, and I breathe and regroup. I don’t try to structure my thoughts, I don’t focus on one thing in particular. In fact, I avoid focusing on anything in particular.
I just listen. I listen to the streaming water, I listen to the sound of the wind in the video, I listen to the birdsong, I listen to my own breathing. Sometimes I pet a cat if one of the cats decides to join me.
There are days where, by the time ten minutes has passed, I feel ready to go — but I don’t stop before the timer rings. And there are some days where I reset the timer for another ten minutes. I need the extra time. But I try to always give myself fifteen minutes. And I never open email, or look up Facebook, or even check my blog, before I do my morning meditation.
So I encourage you, take a few moments before you begin your day to regroup and charge up. By setting yourself in a calm space, you’ll enter the day with a good foundation.
My guess is that you’ll find you love this as much as I do. Because my days seem to go smoother when I get this meditation time in. And having a smooth start to the day? Is golden.
So, why not try to create a morning routine for yourself? You can make it ten minutes if you don’t have fifteen. But try to take at least ten minutes in the morning for yourself. And if you’re interested, here’s the link to Johnnie Lawson’s YouTube channel, the one that I love so much. I encourage you to support him, if you find his work as helpful as I do.
Bright blessings, and have a lovely week.
Looking forward to trying this! Thank you!
Thanks so much for this reference to Jonnie Lawson’s youtube channel. I have just begun doing meditations at my break during work. His videos are perfect. I had never thought to look for something like that. This helping me get through my work day so much easier:)
Yes, it’s a great way to center and focus.
I look forward to trying this in the morning! I have bird feeders by my bedroom window and I wake up every morning hearing them sing to me. It makes me feel so much happier! I will definitely give Jonnie Lawson a visit as I turn YouTube on as soon as I sit down! Thanks for sharing with us!
For me, the sound of the running water and birds just calms me down and helps me center!
I’m definitely gonna have to try and incorporate this in my mornings. I may have to do it after I get the kids to school, since I don’t have a lot of free time those mornings. But I can always come back home and meditate and get my day focused. Thanks so much for sharing this.
This sounds like a great way to meditate. Thank you for sharing this with us. I’ll give it a try.
This is wonderful!
Im going to try this.
Ty