DiFrntkiNabrat

Hi I have been sober for 7 days now and through my program I just got my second sponsor. She recommends that I do morning meditation, pray to god and list 5 things that I'm grateful for in the mornings. My question for you is do you have a morning schedule you follow every morning and if so what is it? What about a night time schedule? I'm having a hard time finding time to meditate in the morning but listening in the meetings I realize how important it is, any suggestions?

hypochondriac

It sounds like an excellent idea I don't do any of that, but I do log into SR every morning and evening. I guess that is my sobriety routine x

CAPTAINZING2000

food for the soul.

First thing I do in the morning is read a couple daily meditations delivered to my e-mail. No better way to start the day then with God

seahorse661

I get up 30 minutes earlier than I used to, read a meditation e-mail I receive every morning, have a cup of tea while I think about the day ahead and how I hope to remain calm and achieve my plans for the day.

It makes a huge difference to my day!

sugarbear1

I set my alarm 20 minutes ahead of when I need to get up and meditate before I get out of bed asking my higher power how I can be useful today

Grungehead

I have recently started meditating in the morning when I first get up and at night right before bed. When I was just a few weeks sober I started very simple by just asking my HP to keep me sober today and thanking him for keeping me sober at the end of the day. After I did the 3rd step I added the 3rd step prayer (declaration) in the morning. As I have progressed through the steps I have added more, but in the beginning I found that simple is better. I found it had more meaning for me than saying a lot of prayers I didn't even understand the meaning of yet.

lessgravity

I just started Transcendental Meditation this past weekend. Life changer from the get-go.

Michael66

Hi DiFrntkiNabrat

Like others, I found getting up earlier enabled me to carve out some time in the morning. I get up, make some tea (being English the thought of starting the day without tea is incomprehensible), and I then have 30-40 minutes to read scripture and pray (including meditative prayer). It's a great start to the day. Maybe try bringing your alarm back by 5 minutes at a time to get into the routine. I also try and end the day with some prayer and meditation, though I'm not as consistent at that.

Apart from that I would suggest having a read around different meditative techniques and find the one that suits you. Some are quite a bit stricter than others. Some, such as Buddhist meditation, aim more at emptying of the mind ('kenosis') whereas others, such as Christian mediation, are more deliberately focused on God. Some use repeated words or short phrases, some use a focus on the breath, while others will focus on very short passages of scripture. There is also yogic meditation where the person may stay in one position or may move slowly and continuously through a sequence of postures (I have enjoyed the latter). My own preference has slowly switched from a formal technique to a less formal 'sitting with God'.

Something all meditators have to work through is how to deal with distractions. This is perhaps the biggest challenge in meditation. Some techniques will aim to bring the attention swiftly back to another focus (e.g. the breath, or a mantra) while other techniques encourage the person simply to 'observe' the distraction without dwelling on it. Other people will be more tolerant to distraction. I very much love the writings of the contemplative nun, Sister Ruth Burrows, and she writes that in meditation we are bringing our whole selves into the healing presence of God, and distractions may be pointing to an important part of what needs healing - so her approach is more tolerant to distractions than many.

I'm rambling now, but I think the key thing is to slowly make some time in the morning and to also realize 'meditation' can mean different things to different people, and so it's worth exploring some different ways of meditating and see what works for you.

God bless +

FreedomSought

I get right up, make my bed and take a whiz, glass of water, then put my cell phone timer on 15 minutes and sit indian style to meditate with eyes closed and gentle breathing. Thats how Ive started the last 6 days. The only mantra I use is the word "God"

Steppenwolf

Judge away, but when I'm strapped for time I meditate in the shower.

Soberpotamus

I get up and meditate for about 15 to 30 minutes before anything else (um, actually I feed the cats and put them out first!). I sit on a zafu, a meditation pillow. Sometimes I sit outside, other times I sit in my spare bedroom/library where I've got a space for the pillow. I'm following the Vipassana style of meditation.

Then I make coffee and come here to SR. I have a couple of threads in the Spirituality and ACOA forums where I post daily affirmations. This is how I always start the day, and I really don't like when I rush off to an appt. or get sidetracked with something else... this is my established routine and it feels odd if I don't do it.

It took me a few months to get this routine down though. I even started with a spreadsheet where I checked off the habits I was changing. Some of the habits stuck, some didn't... but that's the way it goes. You find what works for you, tweak it, and end up with a great daily routine you can stick with.

360shoes

Hi Di,
I'm a big fan of meditation and have practiced for years. I credit it with me being able to let my thoughts go pretty easily which has been a huge help with pretty much everything.

There are a gazillion on YouTube if you need guided help to start out with. Just find what works for you and keep practicing!

I think you will be hard pressed to find any downside to it.

Keep me posted. I'd enjoy hearing what you think of it.

DiFrntkiNabrat

Thanks Grungehead I really relate to what your saying, that makes a lot of sense. I tried saying a few things I heard others say when they pray but I feel like I'm just regurgitating what they say and have no idea what I'm saying half the time, I just figured there's no right or wrong way to pray and my higher power knows I am trying lol

DiFrntkiNabrat

Thanks I'll look into that :-)

DiFrntkiNabrat

THANK YOU SO MUCH Michael66! I'm definitely going to do some research. That is definitely my biggest problem is distractions. I get so frustrated after a few minutes I just say screw it and start doing something else. I'm also working on self-discipline lol. It's hard to find a quiet place in my house to clear my mind so maybe reading scriptures might be a little more along my lines. Thank you so much :-)

DiFrntkiNabrat

I'm not judging Steppenwolf that's actually what I do pretty much every morning. I haven't been sleeping well since I stopped drinking and I'm not going to sleep until like 4 am every night so I have a bad habit of just sleeping until I have to get up to go somewhere and being that I have been so tired I've been kind of lazy with setting the alarm for earlier than I have to get up so I pray and meditate in the shower too. Besides that's the only 20 minutes I actually get to myself with no distractions everyday. Thanks for replying

DiFrntkiNabrat

Thanks Soberjennie, everyone talks highly about getting on SR in the morning I think I better check it out tomorrow and see what I'm missing :-) Thank you so much for replying

DiFrntkiNabrat

Thanks 360shoes. I never thought about looking on youtube, great idea. I'll keep you posted :-)

UnixBer

I wake up 1 hour early everyday and just chill out in the morning, not thinking much anything. It's a peaceful way to start up.
Doing something nice in the morning I've noticed is useful and often makes the day better.

Legs21

Thanks so much, for this. Getting out of bed is really hard for me sometimes - logging onto SR has helped, but will hold dear to these hints!