Morning Star
☆ March 24, 2010
Steadfast, I’ll Stand In The World
With Certainty, I’ll Tread The Path Of Life
Love, I’ll Cherish Throughout My Being
Hope Shall Be In All My Deeds
Confidence, I’ll Impress Into My Thinking
~Rudolph Steiner
My days start with this star. Not every day…. but when it gets pushed to the wayside it’s never an issue of time, for the star itself takes perhaps five minutes to walk three times. It is the matter of settling into the intention that can sometimes seem daunting; putting aside the distractions and generalnesses of life for a handful of minutes to completely feel, be in, become, the star.
It is a movement meditation. I stand at the top point of the star, with the legs of the star in front of me. As I walk the star, I am always facing the same direction, forward. I walk forward {Steadfast}, to the first leg of the star, and while I do I say the first line above. I stop at the point. I walk diagonally backwards {With Certainty} to the arm while speaking the second line. I walk across the heart of the star {Love}, to the other arm, while speaking the third line. I walk forward on the diagonal {Hope}, to the point of the other leg, during the fourth line. I walk backwards {Confidence} to the head of star, where I began, while speaking the fifth line. Then I walk a circle around the star I have made, closing all the points. {There are hand movements as well but those I know I cannot describe in words}
On the mornings I do this, I have better days.
I am imbued with conviction ~ and with that conviction, a power, a calmness ~ that this life is not about what others think of us, but what we think about ourselves.
……. … .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
ps: I did not grow up with Waldorf education; my best friend is a trained eurythmist and I have learned from her and picked up bits here and there. My directions in words are probably confusing to read. If there is an eurythmist out there who has filmed themselves doing the star and wishes to share it, I’ll post the link here!
pps: This photo dates back to when I was in college, back when I shot film and only film and spent ages in the darkroom. This was one of my closest friends from school (hi P!), shot at the Hotel Chelsea in NYC.
edited to add: While I was milking Daisy this morning, I wondered what your morning rituals are. Would love to hear if you feel like sharing in the comment section….
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March 24th, 2010 @ 9:16 am
Reading this reminds me of a quote I have posted near my desk:
“The closer we are in touch with the strength of our gifts, the less likely we are drawn to negativity and conflict.” ~Mark Dubois
Have a great day!
March 24th, 2010 @ 10:29 am
Thank you for posting this.
March 24th, 2010 @ 11:25 am
I walk 2.5-3.0 miles with my two Italian Greyhounds then have coffee and a smoothie while they (and the cats) eat breakfast and surf the web…On Monday I try to come up with a clever caption for Charlie.
March 24th, 2010 @ 11:36 am
My morning ritual is just laying in my bed upon awaking and thinking about my dreams the night before..usually they have answers for me on things I am trying to resolve or messages..I then get coffee and cuddle with my two boys (dogs) I loved this post.
March 24th, 2010 @ 11:47 am
After hitting the snooze once or twice, I snuggle my kitty (Muffin) and then lurch to the kitchen to put on coffee and give Muffin her breakfast. I shower, sit and have coffee and a smoke and read something for 10-15 minutes. Then I grab my camera and head out the door to work (usually dressing first). Today I was lucky enough to see/photo a coyote about .5 mile from home. Morning intentions: Get on the damn treadmill again! (nightime - reading something spiritual or soul searching before I sleep).
March 24th, 2010 @ 11:54 am
I am a morning person, and a good day always starts the same way: a nice cup of coffee to clear the mind, followed by a long, unhurried walk with my two Cardigan Corgis. I live in a suburban area, but still I am enriched by the variety of wildlife I encounter on these walks.
Time spent outdoors with my dogs is vital to my mental health!
March 24th, 2010 @ 11:54 am
Love the new site, Shreve! Your Coyote book is being passed around my mom’s sisters.
My morning ritual: Alarm goes off, and Mia (cat) walks up my body and gets under the covers to knead my belly and purr, and rub her nose and gums on my fingertip. (It’s really the only time of day she ever purrs and wants/gives affection.)
Then I eventually get up, clean Rose’s eye boogers (another cat). I get Abbie (a very old cat) and hold her like a baby while I give her two pills (one for overactive thyroid, plus valium (yes, valium — she was rescued wild too late to be totally “saved”)). She purrs the whole time, lets me clean out her eye boogers, takes her pills without fuss (15 years of that will mellow a cat out).
I think I spend more time with the beasts in the morning than I do on myself! Another day of no makeup! :)
March 24th, 2010 @ 12:03 pm
I roll out of bed (almost literally; my bedroom is lofted, so the ceiling is only about four feet high) and check my email. Once I’m awake enough to descend the ladder to the lower bedroom without breaking my neck, I do so. At that point, I am noisily greeted by my cat, so I give him a good snuggle before heading to the shower. Then I throw on some clothes, head back into the bathroom, and turn on the bathtub faucet to just a trickle so aforementioned cat can drink from the tap (he’s usually waiting in the tub). Then I dry my hair, throw on a coat, and head out the door.
March 24th, 2010 @ 12:03 pm
thank you…..
March 24th, 2010 @ 12:11 pm
Thank you for sharing this. Love the new site.
Morning ritual: Wake up later than I intended, rush to get dressed, brush my teeth with Diego (cat) batting at the water in the sink. Give each of the dogs (3) a kiss on the nose as I hurry to the car. And I never leave until all 3 of them are kissed good bye. Love the fur-babies. =)
March 24th, 2010 @ 12:18 pm
Up at 5am, feed inside animals, computer time, skim yesterday’s cream off Molly milk and distribute the rest - some for cheese, some for kefir, some to drink and some for barn cats, then out to milk - that is my meditation/plan for the day time - leaning up against sweet smelling Molly cow, listening to her chew and also baby Andi rustling about waiting for her turn at mom.
March 24th, 2010 @ 12:19 pm
dear shreve,
thank you! i love this and will be giving it a try!
before i had a baby, my morning ritual was to do a simple sitting meditation, and then do a daily tarot card pull.
now that i have my daughter, this kind of “sit down alone” time is hard to come by. however, i also have a lot more morning to spend, since the day often starts with her wake up time of 5:30. for the past few weeks, a new morning ritual has been developing. we go into the kitchen and make coffee (making sure to do the coffee bean grinder dance and then we take turns SMELLING…mmmm…). once the coffee is made, we go out to the back steps with our panoramic view of san francisco. as the sky grows brighter, we watch the birds emerge from their nightly slumber spots…alone, in pairs and in flocks. right now is a particularly fun time, as frazzled bird parents fly helter skelter over the city looking for food for hungry babies. now we know where all the nests are, and my 6 mos. old daughter is familiar with bird song and feathery wing beats.
xo
March 24th, 2010 @ 12:29 pm
Thank you for this, I’m going to print it and try it tomorrow. Each morning I try and sit quietly for five minutes, think about and writing what I’m grateful for and how I’d like my day to go and then I think about what I’d like to pull into my life. My day always goes better when I do this.
March 24th, 2010 @ 12:29 pm
My morning ritual. I wake up, stare out the window and look at the light. Then I begin breakfast. Breakfast has become an anchor for my day. Breakfast is the most important meal to me, the most important ritual of the day. This is the moment we emerge from dreams and sleep and welcome the day. Afterwards, I brush my hair. It’s a ridiculous thing, but it calms me and reassures me. I brush it for five minutes. Then the day can really begin.
March 24th, 2010 @ 12:31 pm
Morning time for me start at 6:20am. I get up and go to my eliptical, grab my ipod and listen to classical music while working out for 30 minutes. I find this really calms my mind and gets me ready for any challenges I may face that day. Following that I shower make my breakie while Emma(cat) follows me around the kitchen waiting for her breakie too. I have my eggs while checking emails, then once ready and weather permitting I walk to work, which is a wonderful way to start the work day as I get to experience the fresh morning air before having to be in a office all day.
March 24th, 2010 @ 1:17 pm
This is amazing. For over thirty years I have used a 5-pointed star in my morning prayers, which I repeat after my physical warmup exercises. Thinking about the DaVinci image of a man standing in a circle: I imagine an energy spot at my left hand fingertips, then cross over to my right hand, then down to my left foot, then up to my head, then down again to my right foot, then back to the starting place on my left hand. Each time I mentally create this shape, I silently say this prayer, “I live in a safe universe”, “Everyone I love lives in a safe universe”, and “Everyone I don’t love lives in a safe universe.” (Idea courtesy of Jane Roberts/Seth). I got this concept in a dream in 1977 and I’ve been doing it every day since, with amazing results.
March 24th, 2010 @ 1:32 pm
My only “ritual” is to read this:
MAY THE SUN
bring you new energy by day,
MAY THE MOON
softly restore you by night,
MAY THE RAIN
wash away your worries,
MAY THE BREEZE
blow new strength into your being.
MAY YOU WALK
gently through the world and know
its beauty all the days of your life.
-Apache blessing
I can only smile (or some days feel a lump in my throat) when I read this…it’s so beautiful.
March 24th, 2010 @ 2:02 pm
I wake up, hit snooze, cuddle with my husband and then take the dogs for a walk. From there, its all about getting ready for work unfortunately!
March 24th, 2010 @ 2:34 pm
I’m a night person, so I don’t get up until about 11am. No coffee or any other drug to get going, just the internet and cereal. Eventually around 1pm, I shower and dress and start my day.
March 24th, 2010 @ 2:48 pm
When i was in cosmotology school i used to have to do a “ritual” in the morning which was usually have all 100 students go stand in the parking lot on a main street in atlanta and do yoga or something, it was awquard to say the least. now my ritual is to snuggle with my hubby and get purred on by my cat till i absolutly have to get up and give the animals their breakfast.
ps- Have eli come check out my cat Wilfred’s blog! :) he is so ellusive, i feel like we never hear from or see him anymore! here is the link http://wilfredisgrumpy.blogspot.com/
-Audrey
March 24th, 2010 @ 3:31 pm
I have a kitty who start meowing to be fed around 4;45. The meowing gets real loud around 5:15, then a kindly border collie mix shoves her wet nose in my face to tell me it’s time to get up and that’s followed up by other border collie/weimeraner mix jumping up on my bed and body slamming me out of bed. I groggily get up and let the dogs out to chase whatever figment catches their fancy (thank goodness my neighbors are early birds and live far enough away; they don’t mind). Critters are fed, I eat some breakfast and drink a little coffee, then two border collies start staring at me to tell me its time to go walking on the logging road. I hear the birds twittering and watch the sun come up. I like my mornings but than reality sets in and I get ready to go work with all the other rats in the race. But those early morning hours are nice.
March 24th, 2010 @ 3:37 pm
After the coffee is drunk and the dogs are fed, there’s a moment when I open my front door, which faces East, toward the rising sun. My ritual is to pause with the dogs for just a moment at the threshold. It teaches them patience, and I take a moment to acknowledge the day. The sky is usually just beginning to lighten, sometimes with spectacular colors, sometimes with only hints of pastels. The air smells sweet and the day is full of promise. I say “Wow!” or “Thank you!” mentally, then off we go for our morning walk.
March 24th, 2010 @ 4:00 pm
My morning ritual begins with my 3 kitties, Alex, Sobie and Saz who want to be fed around 5 a.m. I go back to bed and if my husband is awake, we hold our hands together. Around 7 I get up make coffee, give the kitties a little milk and pour our meds. I sit and read my Bible readings for that day, read my Science of the Mind for the day and look out the window and feel so blessed to be close to nature. Thank you God. You have created a beautiful world.
March 24th, 2010 @ 6:21 pm
That sounds like a wonderful way to start the morning Shreve.
I’m a sun baby myself, I live for summer when getting up at 5am doesn’t mean rising before daylight breaks. I take ten minutes of silence to ground myself and recharge for the day while getting in a good dose of vitamin D… And then I go inside and have a cup of coffee while frenetically rushing around to get everything ready. Haha, defeats the purpose really, but I live for those sunshine mornings, and if it rains I’m a grump all day!
March 24th, 2010 @ 6:40 pm
Thank you Shreve, for sharing yet more of your farmily and adventures in the west. I’m curious about how you named this site, though I have an inkling of where it came from. Anyway, I usually wake to a soft paw on my face or neck, telling me it’s time to get up. I go stumbling into the kitchen and feed Alison and then start getting ready for work. I want to start doing a more spiritual ritual in the morning.
March 24th, 2010 @ 10:55 pm
Most mornings I’m too rushed to have a ritual because I have to get to class, but Wednesdays are my day “off” (I do have class, just not til 6pm). I like to wake up when the sun wakes me. I’ll lay in bed, awake, til I’m not tired anymore and then do some light yoga and stretching. Then breakfast while I catch up on the internet, then a shower, and I spend the rest of the day (usually) online or reading for class.
March 24th, 2010 @ 11:34 pm
Ugh, at first I thought you were waxing all poetic on us in a drunken stupor. Awkward. But although your more “serious” writings sometimes come across as silly, you really inspired me to leap into a more focused walking meditation. Tracing out an object like a star seems very grounding and intriguing. Thank you!
March 25th, 2010 @ 2:08 am
I love this! Thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely try that out myself.
As for my morning ritual right now:
I usually get up a couple hours before the sun, but I avoid turning on any lights for as long as possible (I just light candles and carry them with them from room to room). Then I’ll make my way into the kitchen and make some tea or green juice. Then meditate (anywhere from 5min to an hour) and set an intention for the day (much like your morning star, actually), and then I’ll usually do some yoga. The days I don’t do this are noticeably different from those when I do so I tend to guard my morning ritual pretty fiercely. :)
My evening ritual is pretty fiercely guarded too but if I had to choose between the two it would be the morning ritual.
March 25th, 2010 @ 5:38 am
This Hotel Chelsea?
http://fixedandflowing.blogspot.com/2010/03/where-chelsea-nyc-when-march-9-2010.html
My morning ritual is the dog and I walking my husband to the subway at about 6:30am. I love NYC at that hour, it’s quiet and sleepy and empty, and you can appreciate how beautiful it is. Lately I’ve been having a very intense feeling that I’ve teleported to a city in Europe, which is always odd because it comes out of nowhere. I’ll be walking along watching the birds, and suddenly I have the sensation - and I didn’t realize until now that there’s a physical feeling I associate with this - that all the sleepy people in the buildings, and all the drivers in the cars speak a language I don’t understand.
March 25th, 2010 @ 7:09 am
I put on coffee and wait for daybreak. The dark hours are when I answer e-mails and write. At dawn I take Moosebutt up to the barn to play and then we go for a nice morning walk. It’s SO gorgeous here right now, wildflowers and wildlife everywhere.
March 25th, 2010 @ 7:22 am
I am beyond thrilled that you’ve started this blog. I love Charlie’s blog too, but will enjoy seeing more of your life in AZ!
March 25th, 2010 @ 7:56 am
I read a chapter of the New Testament every morning. Have you ever read it? I’d be glad to take on a partner. :)
March 25th, 2010 @ 10:41 am
I see a lot of us are animal people here… for the last 2 weeks, I’ve been getting up around 5am to feed my 16 year-old cat her new diet of canned food (for her kidneys). We both go back to bed, only she wants more (even though she had plenty), so she starts knocking stuff off of the nightstand. For the next 2 hours, it’s a struggle to get her to stay in bed. Once she finally decides she’ll stay put, my alarm starts going off. I hit snooze a few times, shower, get dressed and run out the door after kissing DeJour (16 year-old) and Worm (4 year-old cat) good-bye for the day… the boyfriend of course gets a kiss, too.
There are some mornings when I run and every time I do, I love it. I think I’m more of a morning person than I’d like to admit. And now that it’s getting nice again, I need to get motivated and run before work. It’s one of my favorite ways to start the day (and I need to remember that!)
March 25th, 2010 @ 11:07 am
My husband brings me coffee in bed because he is kind. The cat visits and purr/mews and rubs his face on the side of the warm cup. Before the sun is up, I walk the son (16) to his bus stop, and we talk and laugh together en route. We both love this time. On the walk home, I watch my suburban sunrise, usually with pleasure, sometimes wishing it wasn’t suburban, but always grateful for another day.
The cat watches while I make breakfast for the daughter (13) and the husband, hoping that it’s eggs and soyrizo rather than homemade muesli.
March 25th, 2010 @ 12:21 pm
Write my morning pages, look at my list of desires, meditate 15 to 30 min.
March 25th, 2010 @ 12:56 pm
Shreve, thanks for sharing this and thanks for your new site. I’m an avid follower of The Daily Coyote, and give your book as a gift to everyone I can think of.
I have been trying to figure out a way to incorporate the morning star into my day, as I am in a wheelchair most of the day.
Shere Chamness, thanks for sharing your ritual of imagining it over energy points on your body - I have already tried it. Brilliant!
March 25th, 2010 @ 1:52 pm
Thank you for sharing this. I will try it. What I currently do is get up at 4:30 AM and go outside to walk my 2 dogs. I acknowledge the direction north as that is the way my door faces, then I turn and acknowledge each direction, and finally I say good morning to Gaia, the Greek goddess who brought calm and reason to chaos. Lastly I raise my arms skyward and honor Mother Earth and all who live here.
March 25th, 2010 @ 3:37 pm
I generally try to practice some yoga in the morning. However, sometimes I opt for sleeping in and/or just lying in to relax. I definitely take my time getting out of bed, stretching, etc. I avoid running to the computer first thing. I let myself wake up and greet the other humans in the house before my computer time.
March 25th, 2010 @ 5:09 pm
Shreve, that’s wonderful and thank you for sharing. I think ritual and intent are a great way to start out the day, but I have nothing like that. I need to work on incorporating something I think. I do have placard at work that’s a good thing to read every morning, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”.
March 25th, 2010 @ 8:44 pm
My routine, however it may vary here and there, always includes one thing: sitting on the floor in my kitchen (my fav spot) to eat my cereal while my 4 cats and dog eat. I COULD go sit at the table, but the floor seems more inviting. Maybe it’s because my furry family eats there; I’m not sure. I’m just drawn to it. And when I come home at the end of the day, I like to take a moment to sprawl out on that same floor, and let the animals come re-connect. It feels good for my soul.
March 26th, 2010 @ 6:24 am
It’s funny, but I truly admire people who have a morning ritual. Mornings are so important, as they lay the plan and mood for your entire day. When my dog was alive, I would get up and before anything else, we would go for a walk. No matter the weather, no back yard business for him. We walked. Then it was home for the coffee and paper, and then on to my day.
Now, without him, it’s up and put the coffee on, turn on this box with keys, and start breakfast.
Now, I look after other peoples’ dogs, so if I have one, we walk first thing, always.
Thanks for letting us share these moments.
I am amazed that most of the people who have written here, have pets.
Have a great day everyone!
March 26th, 2010 @ 9:36 am
I get up after the second snooze on the ol alarm and jump out of bed. I instantly go to my dog (who acts like a cat) and kiss him awake on the top of his head. I mention that we will go out to walk soon and that he should wake.
As I get dressed and brush my teeth and hair, i return to the bedroom to find the dog stretching (like a cat) as he rises s-l-o-w–l-y. I pack my lunch, organize a few things as I get ready to take my walk.
The air is crisp and fresh and the dog almost clicks his heals as he bounces along. New smells are everywhere and it pleasures him so to be out and to experiance them.
We get back and I say goodbye to the pooch and get a kiss and I give a wee treat as I head out the door.
Peaceful, lovely and perfect.
March 26th, 2010 @ 11:41 am
Mornings start 5:00am ,with a “good morning”,persistant meow, from my little darling cat “Amelia”.She is always up before me and antsy to be out and about…
We do start each morning out in the yard stretching and breathing together.( in all sorts of weather).On very inclement days, Amelia will wisely stay indoors, and watch me curiously. Early dawn is peaceful & calming to me, and its always an enjoyable way for me to start the day! I call this my “Yoga sesion”, and I bring along a cup of black coffee,and a “forgiveable” smoke…
Yoga is Yoga… The Morning Star looks Great!
TY
March 30th, 2010 @ 11:36 am
I snooze alarm it for about half an hour and then stumble to the living room to get my Goffin’s cockatoo, Seezer. We crawl back in bed and snuggle/preen/play/snuggle for another 20 minutes — what a GREAT way to wake up! After that it’s shower, stretch on the floor, feed the horses, feed the cats, feed the dog, go grab Seezer so she can play on the closet hangers while I dress for work. Then kiss, hug, and do clearings with my husband (don’t have to feed him, though, phew!) kiss the dog, cats, and bird, and off to work!
March 31st, 2010 @ 5:43 am
My what a lot of cat people followers you have!
I don’t have a morning ritual, more a routine…I lie in bed pressing snooze for as long as I can afford then leap into action, shower, wake the children as gently as I can whilst urging them to hurry, get dressed, raise the “hurry” tone a little, rush downstairs, throw breakfast on and then out the door for school…
on non school days I lie in bad cuddling my babies that snuck into bed during the night, if they wake before me I’ll go downstairs for breakfast with them and we’ll eat outside on the terrace or I take my tea outside and sit on the steps and look at my weeds…no yoga, no gym, no me time…but c’est la vie and all that with two young children!
March 31st, 2010 @ 7:54 am
On work days up at 0500.Make coffee. Let the dogs out except for Khali who sleeps in for another 30″.Make sure Summer has eaten before giving her meds and her insulin.Shower,make lunch to take,then off to work to deliver babies or work NICU and help take care of the really sick babies. On other days sleep in and cuddle with Sasha(Aussie) the other 3dogs sleep surrounding the bed.Parrots usually call out to be brought into the bedroom!Or if several days off head to SW Missouri to be with the horses.
April 2nd, 2010 @ 6:31 pm
Thanks for sharing the star, it’s very interesting. Sounds like lots of us have pets!
I usually wake on weekdays to the radio easy listening station, listen to the weather, and sometimes the Star Spangled Banner then convince my tortie cat Emma that I need to get up, do getting-ready-for work stuff, feed cats Emma and Maggie (my roomie’s Maine Coon)– not that they appreciate it much, lol! They usually want munchie treats instead.
I pack my lunch, head out the door to walk two blocks uphill to the bus stop, catch my bus and I’m off for another day of work. (I usually have a bagel and cream cheese, plus my beloved cup of tea when I get to my office around 8:25.)
Thanks for sharing your life and the Farmily with us– I really enjoyed your book very much.
June 17th, 2010 @ 6:58 pm
My phone alarm goes off at 4am. I climb out of my tent with the dog and give her water and a walk. I put my contacts in, arm myself with bear spray and we drive to the ranch/forest/lake/sagebrush where I have to do my bird survey (I’m a biologist), most the time Lady Gaga is playing. I drink lots of coffee left over from last nights gas station. Then when I’ve counted all the birds, and work is done, I usually crawl back into my tent (if it hasn’t blown away) and sleep till afternoon.