How do you feel when you wake up in the morning?

Do you feel like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, or more like Jack Nicholson in The Shining? This is one of the many questions that Douglas Carlton Abrams asked the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu when he spent a week interviewing them at the Dalai Lama’s home in Dharamsala, at the edge of the Himalayas, for his book, The Book of Joy—Lasting Happiness in a Changing World.

As it happened, the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu spoke more about their morning rituals than their feelings upon awakening in this delightful book. I believe this is a very important question because how you feel in the morning sets the tone for your entire day.

Check out The Book of Joy Here

The Book of Joy

If you want to wake up feeling terrific, then you might be willing to change certain aspects of your lifestyle in order to achieve that goal.

I frequently wake up brimming with joy and gratitude, which is partly why I have been teaching about holistic health and energy healing for the last 50 years. I have such a deep desire to share some of my practices so that others can experience the sense of joy, health, and well-being that so often permeates my life. That is what the RMA Mystery School is all about.

Every day I like to celebrate the sunrise. This time of day is so precious to me! I love the colors that come into the sky at sunrise and sunset. I have been fortunate enough to have manifested a home in Hawaii, where my bedroom and my bed look directly out over the Pacific Ocean, where I can literally see the sunrise from my bed. In my mind, this makes me one of the wealthiest people in the world.

Every morning I perform a ritual for Greeting the Sun as it comes up over the ocean or pops out through the clouds. It’s based on these words from St. Germaine.

I AM a Child of the Light
I Love the Light
I Serve the Light
I Live in the Light
I AM Protected,
Illumined,
Supplied
And Sustained
By the Light.
I Bless the Light.

These words embody the essence of manifestation I teach it at the RMA Mystery School. Energy is circular. When we accept our own connection with Spirit; when we serve the Highest Good without reservation; when we live in a state of Joy and Gratitude; then we can fully expect the Universe to respond in like kind, by protecting us, by generously supplying and sustaining all of our needs. When we accept and acknowledge our own Divinity, then we return the Blessing to Source.

If you would like to wake up feeling extraordinarily good, and full of gratitude and joy, here are some thoughts about how to create that reality for yourself.

1 – Be mindful of what you eat – especially at dinner time and after dinner. This is an individual thing, so you might keep a journal of what you eat at night and how you feel: how well did you sleep and how do you feel in the morning? You may find that eating a relatively light meal without too much starchy food will be beneficial. You may find that eating before the sun goes down is a good practice. You may find that you go to sleep more easily and you sleep more peacefully when you avoid stimulants (including caffeine, chocolate, sugar, and alcohol) especially after the sun goes down.

2 – Pay attention to what you put into your mind before you go to sleep. You may find that watching movies that are violent are not conducive to pleasant dreams and peaceful sleep.

3 – Avoid looking at computer screens for two hours before you go to sleep, or wear amber-tinted glasses to screen out the harmful blue light. If you want to learn more, read this article by Dr. Steven Gundry.

4 – About one-half hours before you go to sleep, you might want to take some melatonin. Natural melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland and it may help set your internal clock for sleep. Some sources claim that it is also one of the finest and cheapest longevity supplements. But don’t assume that a higher dosage is better because too much can actually disrupt your sleep cycle and it can cause a kind of hangover in the morning.

5 – If you do indulge in stimulants, it’s a good idea to take  Vitamin C, which helps rid the body of toxins. Also, 1 or 2 droppers full of Valerian Tincture is a powerful herbal muscle relaxant and tranquilizer. But it’s not for everybody because for some few people it can also work as a mental stimulant and give rise to complex dreams.

6 – Just before you go to sleep, read a couple of pages or a chapter from an inspirational book (ideally a real physical book), that you find uplifting so that this energy permeates your Dreamtime.  Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, in his bestseller, The Power of Positive Thinking, recommends reading a passage from the Bible before bed and particularly mentions the Psalms.

7 – Slow down your brain waves by taking yourself into an alpha trance, by learning self-hypnosis technique, as taught by Laura Silva  (video link)  This is an excellent way to enter rapidly into meditation, hypnosis, or sleep. It is part of the renowned Jose Silva Mind Control Method, which has been used by over a million people.

8 – Finally, take at least five minutes to breathe deeply, to sit with your spine straight, and do some form of meditation. This is an excellent investment of time because it will help you to go to sleep more easily and it will tend to give you better dreams, and you will probably enter more easily into deep REM sleep and therefore your sleep will be more renewing to your body.

I’m not rigid about following these guidelines.  Right, when you wake up in the morning is a wonderful time to meditate, to write, to contemplate. I think it’s the most peaceful time of the day.

What do you think?  What methods do you recommend for waking up feeling full of gratitude and joy? Please tell me in the comments below.