Spirit Routine — Mandy Sciacchitano

This morning I woke up early-- the kind of early that doesn’t make your tummy turn but is just early enough that there is still a slight chill in the breeze, even in the midst of a sweltering summer heat wave. I washed my face, put on some workout gear and walked to the beach. There by the sea I made a little seat where I spent the next 40 minutes in prayer, meditation, reading, and journaling, all while little sand crabs peeked their heads out of their holes and made tracks through the sand around me. Then I went for a run on the beach.

Looking rough and sweaty, but full of gratitude.

As I closed my eyes in meditation, I thought about how many mornings at home I have gone through this exact same routine; the only difference was that then I was imagining the sound of the waves crashing, the squishy cold sand between my toes and the smell of the early morning sea breeze curling my hair. Every day I visualize the exact same thing, and today my heart was overwhelmed with gratitude that I was living my vision… only I knew that it was just a taste. In a few days I will be heading back home, back to my routine an hour away from the nearest beach, back to visualizing exactly the life that I want to create for myself because I have learned that…

Thoughts are incredibly powerful things. Because they become real.

One of the laws of the universe is that you cannot create something that you really want in your life if you are constantly living in a “lack” mentality; you have to live as if you already have or are that thing in order to give off the energetic vibration that attracts more of it into your life. For example, even though I live much farther from the beach than I would like, I know that in the future I want to have a house right on the shore and start my day in this very way. I cultivate my beach babeness all day long. I start every morning with the same visualization practice, I decorate my house with beachy things, I wear my swimsuit under my clothes most days, I spray sea salt spray in my hair, and I make it a priority to schedule day trips to the beach as frequently as possible. I am living my life AS THOUGH I already have the house on the shore that I want, and the more that I focus on these things, the more they become a part of me and I know that I am that much closer to having exactly what I dream of.

Now I don’t just practice this visualization and “acting as if” in relation to my dream of having a house on the beach. I spend a lot of time doing it in regards to my career, my relationships, my health, and the way that I want to show up in the world for other people. I absolutely despise the expression “fake it till you make it” because you don’t have to fake it at all. I create it. My thoughts and actions mold my reality. There is no faking here, just the real, authentic me cultivating the things that I know align with my purpose and my soul.

I know this may sound incredibly woo-woo because a couple of years ago I would have totally scoffed at this idea and laughed it off, saying “who actually has time for that?” or “your reality is your reality and you can’t create shit.” But guess what? I was also miserable then. I was in an abusive work relationship, was consumed with self-hatred, and pretty much spent most of my time pursuing someone else’s agenda and allowing myself to indulge in the little things that felt like “me” very rarely. I like the new way much better.

So where do you start? Your morning routine. How you start your day is e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. because it dictates your mindset and cultivates the attitude that you will carry throughout the day. You know when your alarm doesn’t go off and you jump out of bed in a panic and for the rest of the day you feel like you are playing a game of catch-up? Yea, that is exactly what we want to avoid.

I call my morning routine my “spirit routine” because I do all of things that feed my soul: praying and giving gratitude, meditating, journaling, reading, devotionals, yoga, coloring … any combination of these things because they allow me to visualize how I want my day and my life to go, cultivate my relationship with God and his purpose on my life, and to express myself and my creativity. I usually spend about 40 minutes doing these things and then I go work out. Moving my body at the beginning of the day is essential to feeling good and maintaining high energy throughout the day. Even if it is just taking the dog for a walk around the block… do it. It makes all the difference.

The essential element of the spirit routine is to have your phone off. I sleep with my phone on airplane mode and do not turn it on until I am ready to work out. Why? Because if the first information you process in the day is someone else’s agenda, their political post on their timeline, their demands on your schedule, their complaints about the weather, you will begin your day focused on whatever emotion that elicits in you. And what you focus on you find more of, so if someone ticks you off first thing, you will feel that way for most of the day. Your spirit routine is YOUR time where you are not beholden to anyone else’s agenda.

I challenge you to begin implementing this in your life consistently. To make it a non-negotiable way to start your day. It doesn’t have to be an hour like mine, but even just 10 minutes of gratitude and reading can set the tone for a great day. And those big dreams that you have? Visualize yourself every morning living that life down to the smallest detail, and then go out and start integrating those details into your life and actually being the person you dream of becoming. Not the boss yet? Embody the leadership qualities that you admire. Don’t own your own house? Care for your rental, decorate it and tend to it as if it were your first purchased home. Keep your focus on the abundance of what you want for your life and it will come flowing back to you in return.

Xx,