Alphabet of the Heart: C - L

How does your day begin? Do you roll out of bed half awake, feet hitting the floor and off you go to begin your morning routine with the adrenaline pumping, agitation and anxiety creeping in? Or do you mindfully take a few minutes to ground and center yourself before your feet hit the floor and enter your day with a sense of calm and gratitude? Or something in between?

While it may seem we don't have time to be mindful about much of anything these days there is great benefit to starting the day with a stable mood and open heart if we can.

Our dysregulated nervous systems interfere with our calm stable mood. For most of us our nervous systems are primarily functioning in the fight-flight-freeze or sympathetic state. In days gone by that happened when people were being chased by something. When the threat was over the nervous system regulated back to rest-digest or parasympathetic state. As I'm sure you've heard many times saber tooth tigers are long gone. However in our busy modern world we are constantly bombarded with perceived threats to all five senses.

To mindfully begin your day, Stanford Neurosurgeon Dr. James Doty writes in his new book “Into the Magic Shop,” the value of having a practice of taking a few moments when you awaken to do some deep breathing. Follow the breathing with reciting 10 letters, C to L, of the alphabet. Then pick one of the letters to focus your intention on for the day. Not only does this regulate your nervous system so you will feel calmer, it opens your heart, it helps you live that day with a powerful intention and you might be helping at least one person today in a way you may never know,

C = Compassion
D = Dignity
E = Empathy
F = Forgiveness
G = Gratitude
H = Humility
I = Integrity
J = Justice
K = Kindness
L = Love