First thing in the morning most people reach for their brown liquid addiction to start off their day. You know what I’m talking about. 😉 Now I'm using this example, not to disuade you from drinking coffee or tea, but to elucidate that we all have routines, but most routines are unconscious or driven by addictions.
I want to share a ritual that I’ve been practicing on and off for 2 decades on a quotidian basis that sets the template for each day to be happier and richer.
What’s great about this rite is that it can take as little as 3 minutes to do it if you’re having a morning that is time-poor.
Orc you can spread it out to take 30 minutes or so, depending upon how much time you have on any given morning.
What is it?
Water ablutions.
What is that?
In many cultures and spiritual traditions there are practices to cleanse using water as the conduit for meditation, contemplation, gratitude and prayer.
It’s a great way to set your mind, heart, body and soul into starting the day centered, focussed, happy, at peace and more capable of handling the waves of life.
The rite I describe below is loosely based upon the mystical traditions of Sufism and Kabbalistic Judaism intermingled with indigenous paganism.
I personally approach ritualistic practices with the understanding that if a ritual becomes stale and lacking ‘spirit’, intent and focus then the ritual becomes a droll empty shell of a practice that has little benefit. It requires full presence of all your being for it to have a profound affect in your life.
So over the years, if any practice I did, like water ablutions for example, felt soulless, then I’d take a break from it for a while (and replace it with something else) and start it again at a later date when I could rediscover it’s benefits.
Like the Waves of Life that I often speak of, everything comes in waves, including the potency of spiritual practices.
I’ve done this particular practice so long now that I’ve noticed something profound, at least for me.
What I’d observed is that whenever I’d had my ‘breaks’ away from water ablutions, my life was not as ‘good’ as when I practiced this rite. I had less focus, less presence, less peace and harmony in relationships, less ability to manifest and magnetise what I want in my life, less happiness and generally less ability to steer the vessel of my consciousness on the vast and sometimes turmultuous ocean of life.
And so we begin...
First, take a moment to take just a few slow, deep breaths with conscious intent. I’ll often imagine and feel each molecule of air slipping through my nasal passage.
Either in your clean, springfed creek in your backyard, like mine here, or at your nearest unpolluted beach **or in the basin of your bathroom** (when I’m touring my music I just use the bathroom sink or shower in the hotel I’m in).
- Scoop water with both hands, first contemplating that nearly 80% of your body is made of water. Your blood, your flesh, your digestion process and even the chemical reactions in your brain are mostly liquid.
Then wash your hands, thinking of the hard work they do every day whilst saying in your mind, “May these hands be instruments of peace.”
- Scoop another handful of water and splash your eyes with the water, contemplating the miracle of sight and the ability to consciously perceive our world, whilst saying in your mind, ”May these eyes only see God’s/Great Spirit’s/Creator’s/Mother Nature’s/Universe’s (insert your word for the divine mysterious energy permeating all of existence) beauty.”
- With another scoop of water, fill your mouth will water. Swish it around your mouth, scrape your tongue with you upper teeth to help remove the build up of toxins upon your tongue that excrete into your mouth during sleep, whilst saying in your mind, ”May my mouth speak only the loving words, the kinds words, the truthful words,” and then spit the water out of your mouth.
- filling your hands with water, bring the water to your ears, contemplating the wonder of hearing sounds and music and being able to listen to the ideas communicated by other beings, whilst saying in your mind, ”May these ears only hear Great Spirit’s loving words.”
- with each hand cupped with water gently sniff some water into each nostril and blow out the contents, contemplating the miracle of the olfactory sense whilst saying in your mind, “May this nose smell the scent of the sanctity of blissful Union with the oneness.”
- splash a handful of water onto your third eye, forehead and crown, feeling grateful for the clarity of clear intelligent thought aligned with the heart, whilst saying in your mind, ”May this mind be focussed and think only Creator’s loving and compassionate thoughts.”
- with the water scooped in both hands, press the water to your face, whilst saying in your mind, ”May this face radiate with the light of compassion.”
- with wet fingers dab the back of your neck and feel the humility of being a speck in the grandness of the universe, whilst saying in your mind as you slide your hands around your neck and bring them into prayer position, ”May my neck bend in humility to the one.”
- lastly, wash your feet, contemplating the weight they carry every day of your life, whilst saying in your mind, ”May these feet only walk on holy ground (and it’s all holy ground).”
After this process I’ll drink between 800ml to 1.2L of water with fresh lemon squeezed in or Apple cider vinegar (with the mother), before consuming any other liquid. This is to help kick start the liver and switch on other internal organs.
WELL, I hope that gives you some ideas for your own morning gratitude, focus cleanse rite.
Or try this ritual (in your bathroom) for the next 21 days to shift into positive new habits.
Please make sure you vote for @pfunk, @ausbitbank as witnesses here: https://steemit.com/~witnesses. These dudes do lotsa good.
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Great article, explenation and photos.
Nathan.....Tapping into nature is part of our life source and allows us to become more self aware, spiritually conscious and feel it's energy revitalise us with positive moods, refreshing and replenishing our souls.
And whats great is that we all tackle it differently to acheive the same outcome, to be peaceable, to appreciate, to move forward....Water is my choice too, because it's always moving with fresh energy.
Yesterday I walked on the beach and than dived into a rockpool and opening my eyes under water eximaned all the different types of fish and seaweeds swirling about.
So it wasent just merely actions, but they where coupled with thought, rest, and allowing natural energy to pass through me.
Now I know why you have so much energy, keep up the journey of posotive output and feeding EVERYONE...
Hey where's the photo of you slipping in the water, you left it out? ha ha , sounds more like me you're ballance looks good.
That sounds like you’ve got a wonderful practice in place there, mate.
The ocean certainly is a great place to do it too. In fact, the salt water (as long as its unpolluted) is great for killing unwanted bacteria in the nasal passage and back of the throat, so I love doing it at the ocean too when it’s possible, and then having a surf.
Unfortunately, most people don’t have any kind of conscious morning practice to connect them to source and ground them into Mother Earth. However, everybody has a ritualistic habit in the morning, but it might not be very consciously intended. They just want to eat and drink and get to work. Hopefully, this blog article reaches those people so they can get their mornings rocking!
Thanks so much for your lovely comment here @sanddrift.
Its a super rule Nathan. 😂
I’m not certain people outside of the helpie discord will get your cryptic joke here, @silentscreamer.
And the rule was a guideline about giving compliments. Lol! Hehe
Well a compliment is a compliment. 😁
The cryptic message might raise interest. Who knows. Just wanted to say i support your initiative and i wont spam anymore. ❤
very interesting nate, you are doing what many of us native americans do. a little different but similar and you are using some of our words too. very beautiful and yes so very essential to the human body. Water is Life! nice to see you manifesting healthy practices :)
if you were in colorado i'd invite you to a sweat we have in ancient caves next week. you'd prob love it!
Aho! That’s fabulous! Yes, there are versions of conscious water ablutions in cultures all around the world. I love that we are all connected this way. I certainly deeply resonate with Native American wisdom and practices.
I love doing sweat lodges. I’ve participated in many and lead a few myself down here in Australia as well as some other countries, but I’ve never done it in an ancient cave in the Americas!!! I would totally love that!
Next time I come to the States I shall visit you in Colorado and hopefully divine timing will make this dream come true!
Blessings sista!
hey, yes of course ... not all native's say aho! tho hahahaahaha
yes i agree and sort of connotated to the variety of uses and symbolism. that's why i tried to be neutral in the lingo. :)
i thought it was interesting to see you do some things that i have always done. i dont like the word resonate anymore either since its overused ... heeeheeee :p
yeah i figured you would love it, i can tell by your photos. was it embarassing having someone take the photos while you did that? i'm not sure i could do it. lol
good job!! :)
yeassss you would love it, it is every month at the beginning of the month and done with a Native American chief. i don't tell everyone because there isn't too much room but i figured i'd tell you, tho i didn't think you were thatttt far away.
funny thing is that i would never step into a sweat with anyone but a native american, that's just me before i found this chief. i can be very particular if you haven't noticed. :)
anyhooosssss see ya around steemitowwwnnn
Well, I’m super grateful for your invite. That’s such an honour. i might remind you that this isn’t a personal dm conversation so you’ve now inadvertently invited the whole blockchain. Lol
Most of the sacred ablution practice above comes directly from the culture I was raised in, Judaism, but I later found it in Sufism, as well as indigenous Celtic pagan and Wiccan traditions (also in my bloodlines).
That’s great to know about “aho” and it makes sense, as there are many different tribes that must have different language groups. There were over 400 different languages amongst the Aboriginal tribes here in Australia.
But I love “aho” as the sound “ah” made by the voice connects to the heart and “ho” connects to divine will/action.
You have issues about the word “resonate?” It’s just a word. Love is a word that is overused, but needs repeating infinitely.
It’s totally okay for you to be particular. You must go with what works best for you, and as long as you’re not being judgemental, intransigent or dogmatic, I’m totally down with that.
Either way, we must choose our own path.
Many cultures did sweats, not just Native American.
I use my trust, inner guidance/intuition to gauge whether someone is capable of leading any kind of group ritual, as powerful teachers exist in all cultures and often walk disguised without outwardly wearing any hierarchical labels, so I avoid making judgement of others’ practices or capabilities.
As Ben Harper sapietially said, “be kind to a stranger for you’ll never know, it just might be an angel come knocking at your door.”
Usually, the most powerful shamans don’t tell you they’re shamans.
Regardless, I’m happy to humbly learn from or be guided by anyone that has a kind heart and has a more knowledge than I in whatever they’re teaching. I believe that’s how we expand our consciousness and expanding consciousness is the most important thing.
Blessings to you sista
hey! nice to see you again ...
yes i thought of that as i typed it, however, not that many people read my blockchain and have no idea where i would be talking about. plus an invite is needed. booyah
i understand ablution practices for sure and as i stated earlier it is interesting. not sure that was the "beginning" of the practice but it certainly shows "We Are One." I am also part Celt and Olmec.
well, we all have our interpretations ... again, glad to see you are practicing something ... most people do not acknowledge even a portion of what you are ... full steem ahead!
as far as resonate ... for me and many in my circles its like saying "love and light" repeatedly its now resonate or "i'm empathic." does not truly resonate. Haha
Honestly, we all have our own path and way ... and that is how it will go. blessings to you!
yes there were/are some who practice sweats and all differently. it was just my personal choice, as i mentioned and i wanted it a particular way. it would not have worked otherwise for me. because you do not know me, you may not understand why i say that.
either way, it was not a judgment, dogma, etc., i was expressing my own feelings on the matter pertaining to my own body and soul.
again, i'm glad you are taking care of you and finding your path. good to see! :)
ah again, not many Native americans have a belief in shaman, but yes i do know the biblical quote very well as i am also an ordained minister and was a missionary for a time.
beautiful words and last paragraph, i love that very much! :)
PS. i cannot say the word LOVE enough and I am right there with you on that!!
hugs,
eagle
Ah yes. I see what you mean with “love and light,” “resonate,” etc. those & many other terms have been overly used terminologies in my circles too. Text won’t convey it, but I wasn’t using it in a garrulous ‘new-ager’ context.
Good to iron that out.
A minister! Wowsers! That’s intriguing. I can see us sitting down having amazing conversations about so many things!
I really look forward to that day & again, I am super honoured that you invited me to this incredible sounding sweat! I will put that in my visioning during Dreamtime.
Thank you so much.
yeah we’d have a lot to talk about! much love and blessings to you.
OH, I forgot to answer about the photos. They were taken by my daughter, so no embarrassment there, but then I’m not exactly the shy type either. Hehe. So I tend to just do what I do without concern of what others think of me most of the time, even with some intimate things (I was a nudist for many years. Hehe). Of course, some things I feel are personal, private or not appropriate for others in certain circumstances, but I’d find performing music excruciatingly embarrassing if I was worried about what others thought of me.
hahahah not the shy type too funny :)
nudist makes sense hehe
very true about musician, i feel ya.
Cool post. I live in a desert but I'll try and come up with my own morning ritual based on your post.
Oh, cool. I know of a guy who lives in the desert that does this type of ritual with a large bucket in his backyard, but you could also do it in your bathroom.
I Definitely recommend trying some kind of morning conscious water ritual.
Thanks for reading my little blog post, buds.
Taking time to be grateful for life and for an awakened soul are so very important but so many people are "too busy" or just don't care enough but they are selling themselves short and possibly closing themselves off from the many blessings that the Universe has in store for us. This is a wonderful mindfulness exercise that sounds like it brings peace and clarity to your life. I need to make more time for self reflection and mindful activities. I appreciate the reminder and the walk through. This is a good one!
Ivy
Thanks @socent! I so appreciate that you appreciate that!
It does give me a sense of peace and focus and gratitude and wonderment at how truly amazing these human bodies are and how magical living a life truly is.
Blessings and good vibes to you!
🙏🏽
Good vibes to you as well! That is a good point, life is magical and we should be grateful for the gift that we have been given.
Ivy
Thanks to @paradigmprospect, this post was resteemed and highlighted in today's edition of The Daily Sneak.
Thank you for your efforts to create quality content!
Thanks so much @paradigmprospect and @thedailysneak!
That was such a lovely surprise to see this! It's so appreciated!
Blessings and good vibes to you!
Thanks for giving me the heads up about this post, Nathan! I love it. I've never been able to consistently perform a ritual like this, but I think it's time I find one to try again. Thank you for sharing!
Oh thanks so much for digging through my feed to find it! I could’ve just DM’d you to save you the hassle of scouring through 2 months of posts. I’ll do that next time.
Anyway, I’m elated that you found it and yes, I highly recommend finding a powerful cleansing, clearing, gratitude ritual to start (& end) our day with. (That’s reminds me to do a post about the day’s end ritual using either fire or air)
When you find one you need to try it out for at least 21 days or so (I’d say actually a minimum of 12 weeks). And you might not even notice the shift it makes until you abandon it for a while and feel it’s vacancy in your life.
For me, the ritual above makes my days richer. Sometimes it’s subtle. Sometimes it’s overt.
Lotsa love and blessing to you.
Thanks for the MaM nomination, but the way. I’d prefer you to win and Serena to win consolation prize this time because I’m in the midst of a relocation and wouldn’t be able to dedicate the time to utilizing either the 5000SP or consolation prize of 1000SP properly. I would put a lot of the SP into making @preventsuicide a stronger help in the community, so maybe in a couple of weeks time it’d be better timing. Thank you so so much.
Ah, no worries Nathan; I used the handy steemit search and found it quickly! I'll let you know if I find something that works for me and stick with it. And good to know regarding MaM! You're doing a lot for the community and you deserve to win sooner or later!
Yes! Definitely let me know what rite/s you find that work or don’t for you. I love that topic.
And thank you so much, re: MaM. It would be wasted on me now, but in 2 or 3 weeks I’ll be able to put it to good use, so later is better, if I ever gey nominated again.
Love beams to ya!
A man on a mission!! I love it!
Thanks mate. Hopefully it gets people consciously thinking about their morning routines and whether those routines, particularly the very first thing that’s done, is grounding their energy and connecting them into the unlimited power source of Source.
If this blog can help catalyse some kind of positive personal transformation in someone then the mission is working.
yes it is my friend, i have no doubt... reminding/teaching people of the powerful thing that gratitude can bring to our life is a noble mission.
Thanks so much, bruthaman.
Thanks for sharing Nathan I used to do this when I was in the province partly because there was a clean water source in the back of our house like a small creek like yours (just hoped no cows peed in it)
and was my face and extremities and then of off to my morning Yoga.
Oh awesomeness! Maybe not the cow piss, but the routine. And perfect before yoga. I would do yoga, martial arts training and paleo-exercise (weight-lifting boulders etc) immediately after this rite.
Like is said, you can do this (type of conscious water cleanse) in your basin or shower too.
Blessings to you
There's an open sewer/creek thing near me. Some days it doesn't smell as bad as others. Should I try it with that do you think? :)
Haha.
Smellssounds wonderful! Yes, you should definitely do that. Who needs a bathroom basin, right? HeheHello there.
Happy to have bumbled upon you whilst exploring the #spirituality tag looking for inspirational others.
Your ritual is rather beautiful and you share it with clarity here ~ thanks.
I have upvoted/followed you and am off to browse more of your content now.
I am an artist/writer/lightworker and invite you to pop by mine.
Be well.
xox
Shalom @ldacey-laforge,
Thanks so much. I’m honoured that you resonate with this. Most of my light work is through music.
I’m sorry that I missed your comment here so long ago.
Blessings and smiles,
Nathan