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    Morning and evening rituals

    Almost every spiritual path I know recommends morning and evening practices of some sort. Meditation, journaling, chanting, prayers etc.
    So, what do you do?

    Personally this is an issue I struggle a lot with. So any tips for starting a morning/evening practice are also welcome!
    baah.

    #2
    Re: Morning and evening rituals

    Almost every spiritual path I know recommends morning and evening practices of some sort. Meditation, journaling, chanting, prayers etc. So, what do you do? Personally this is an issue I struggle a lot with. So any tips for starting a morning/evening practice are also welcome!
    I'd suggest that starting small and manageable is sensible - and keep it simple. One approach would be to set up an altar and then sit in front of it for a short period of time each day, perhaps beginning your sessions with a simple ritual. Let your practice grow from there.
    I've found that it's good to be regular (!), because it keeps a sense of connection fresh in your mind.
    Once a man, like the sea I raged;
    Once a woman, like the earth I gave;
    And there is in fact more earth than sea.
    Genesis lyric

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Morning and evening rituals

      I usually say a quick prayer in the morning, to a few gods who I feel I'll need to talk to for the day. This is one I wrote, which I say sometimes:

      Slava Dazbog!
      Giving God,
      Warmer of the Earth,
      Enlighten me as you begin
      Your journey across the sky!

      Slava Dazbog!
      White God,
      Son of Svarog,
      Light my path today
      From Dawn until Dusk!

      Slava!

      (Dazbog being the Sun god) But sometimes I won't even say that, if I am running late. I'll just hold one of my pendants and say "hail [god], watch over me today".

      As for evening rituals, I put much more time into those. I usually pray to many gods at one time for blessings the next day, rather then a handful like I do in the morning. In the evening sometimes, I meditate on a particular story (Jarilo and Stribog defeating Morana, How Odin gave up his eye, etc.) and ask the god or gods to help me understand the meaning of these stories, so that I can apply this to my life. Other times, I'll just go through all of the gods and thank each of them for the events of the day (which can be a lengthy process).

      Anyway, do what you feel fits your practice. I would make sure that you do something every morning and evening, but I wouldn't do the same thing every day. Have a handful of rituals and pick one, depending on what you feel like doing, what you will be doing that day and what you have time for. If it is supposed to be cold that day, I might pray to Svarog and Dazbog for warmth. If I'm doing something new or important, I might pray to Thor for courage. Things like that.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Morning and evening rituals

        I don't really have a morning ritual, as I am notorious for waking up and running out the door. But I talk to my deities throughout the day. Always have, and when home for the evening I light an incense or candle as an offering to them. However I do pray every night before I go to bed, and I've said the same prayer since I was 15. I'd like to add I cannot fall asleep if I don't say it. My body and mind wont let me.
        "If you want to know what a man is like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." -- Sirius Black

        "Time is an illusion, lunch time doubly so."-- Ford Prefect

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Morning and evening rituals

          I don't really have any set rituals. Most days I go out into nature to connect for a little while.
          In the evening I always do a small ichuan (standing meditation) routine, but that's more for physical wellbeing than anything spiritual. I do sometimes say a small prayer before sleep, if there's something I feel needs saying. But nothing in the morning. I'm not a morning person.
          You remind me of the babe
          What babe?
          The babe with the power
          What power?
          The Power of voodoo
          Who do?
          You do!
          Do what?
          Remind me of the babe!

          Army of Darkness: Guardians of the Chat

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Morning and evening rituals

            In the morning I usually practice qigong and/or internal boxing (Baguazhang). It is my meditation and prayer for healing.

            In the evening I may do a short Baguazhang practice or give respect to the Gods that watch over Marijuana. Sure, I am definitely feeling the psychoactive effects, but I make an effort to record my realizations and continue on with the practical aspects of my realizations (I have broken out of my stress, my anger, and feel like a better person)... long story short, I make a prayer before I light up, get lit, and have divine ecstatic encounters and 'martially dance', and if I don't, at least I am having a good time! What better offering to your Gods than a good time?

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Morning and evening rituals

              An anthropologist I like to quote (Zuesse) wrote
              The deepest form of knowing is through doing ... it is only when we act out concretely our deepest convictions that they become our real convictions, that we truly experience their truth... Ritual mediates between real and ideal, flesh and mind, material and spiritual, giving each a shape which is that of the other.
              You don't have to do a lot, but I think that it does have to be regular. I'm keeping an eye on the clock because I want to finish on the computer so that I can get my evening prayers and offerings done before dinner: if I'm late, then dinner gets postponed, not the ritual!

              I must confess that I don't have a morning ritual: I don't start to think coherently until well after breakfast.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Morning and evening rituals

                Originally posted by DavidMcCann
                if I'm late, then dinner gets postponed, not the ritual!
                I like that attitude.

                Thanks everyone, this has been useful. Now I'm planning to do something small ("something" sounds a bit vague but I don't want to give too detailed explanations about rituals I haven't even done yet!) and stick to it regularly for a while. (Which will be challenging since I'll be away from the house for some weeks.)
                But still it's nice to read what you folks do. (Reading about rituals instead of doing them, how online-pagan is that! )
                baah.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Morning and evening rituals

                  . (Which will be challenging since I'll be away from the house for some weeks.)
                  Portable altar?
                  Once a man, like the sea I raged;
                  Once a woman, like the earth I gave;
                  And there is in fact more earth than sea.
                  Genesis lyric

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Morning and evening rituals

                    Originally posted by Porpoise View Post
                    Portable altar?
                    Most likely one in my head.
                    baah.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Morning and evening rituals

                      Most likely one in my head.
                      I don't think you'd need much, just a couple of significant items to place on a table?
                      Once a man, like the sea I raged;
                      Once a woman, like the earth I gave;
                      And there is in fact more earth than sea.
                      Genesis lyric

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Morning and evening rituals

                        Originally posted by Porpoise View Post
                        I don't think you'd need much, just a couple of significant items to place on a table?
                        My mother has probably already put a straw goat on my table. I'll be fine with it!
                        baah.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Morning and evening rituals

                          My mother has probably already put a straw goat on my table. I'll be fine with it!
                          Cool! "Have goat, will travel."
                          Once a man, like the sea I raged;
                          Once a woman, like the earth I gave;
                          And there is in fact more earth than sea.
                          Genesis lyric

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Morning and evening rituals

                            I don't have a morning thing, but I say prayers before bed.
                            It use to be just to Isis, I've added to it to Mother Earth,
                            Brother Wind, Sister Moon, and Father Sun for watching
                            over me as I go thru the day and for their gentle guidance
                            as I go along. I ask if they would help keep me safe, physically
                            and psychically 'til I rise again. I do at times shorten it and
                            often just words from my heart. It all depends on how bad
                            my head hurts...
                            Gentle Light
                            MsMollimizz

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Morning and evening rituals

                              Almost every spiritual path I know recommends morning and evening practices of some sort. Meditation, journaling, chanting, prayers etc.
                              So, what do you do?

                              Personally this is an issue I struggle a lot with. So any tips for starting a morning/evening practice are also welcome!
                              When I was younger I had a very fixed routine of devotionals that were said at my altar with a lit candle. Then as I got older I switched these out for more practical rituals said over my morning cuppa, or while showering.

                              These days, while I'll still do the above at certain times, my daily rituals are less about religious observation and more centred around me as a thinking and feeling being, acknowledging, I guess, those little appreciated words from my wiccan days, 'if what you seek, you cannot find within, you shall never find without'. My new spirituality puts me in the driving seat, rather than hoping some external power or entity will hear my pleas and give me what I need.

                              A few things have changed since I wrote about my daily routines last June; I still do mindfulness exercises on the way home from work, I still perform the 'mother's milk' ritual at work, and I still write in a journal before bed, although these days I write down 3 things I'm thankful for and 3 things I've learnt over the last 24 hours.

                              One difference since writing that list is that I added 10 minutes of meditation to my day. This is largely visualisation-based and includes a section for connecting with the divine (which to me is non-sentient energy that can behave as though sentient when we interact with it).

                              I also jog for 10-20 minutes after work these days, and I do mindfulness exercises during this time. In fact, for me, mindfulness is probably my main way of connecting to the divine, both within me and in the world around me. In fact, it has proven to be the post powerful and transformative discipline I've ever used!

                              As others have said. It's probably best to start small. More importantly, whatever you choose to do, don't make it something you have to do, but rather something you'd prefer to do when at all possible. That way you're not inviting unnecessary guilt into your life and acknowledging yourself as a member of a fallible species living in a fallible and unpredictable world.
                              夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

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