A man walking on a path to the temple

3 minutes read

A Simple Morning Practice

A Simple Morning Practice

Greetings from New York City. I hope this message finds you healthy, staying safe and more importantly, staying home.

During this quarantine, which many of us around the world are experiencing, it is vitally important to maintain our mental health (along with our physical health).

Routines are one of the best things that you can create at a time like this. Routines calm the instinctive mind which is the state of mind that experiences fear. When confined to the house for days on end like this, the first thing you want to do is create a routine for yourself.

One of the things you can incorporate into your morning routine is the practice of expressing gratitude.

My guru, Gurudeva Subramuniyaswami, once said, “Gratitude and appreciation are the key virtues for a better life. They are the spell that is cast to dissolve hatred, hurt and sadness, the medicine which heals subjective states of mind, restoring self-respect, confidence, and security.”

When we have a sense of gratitude for what we have it changes our perspective on how we view life. As opposed to seeing what we don’t have, we see the abundance of what we do have. This practice dramatically changes our mindset allowing us to view everything from a higher consciousness which will allow us to make better decisions in handling the current situation that we are all faced with.

Homework: I would love for you to join me in a 31-day gratitude practice so that we can all maintain an elevated consciousness. Every morning, write down 3 things that you are grateful for. In expressing gratitude be specific.

You can use the Dandapani app to help you with this practice. It is FREE to download on the App Store or Play Store. Within the app there is a daily journal and within this journal is a daily gratitude practice. You can use this, if you like, to do this practice with me. The app has a built in feature that allows you to download all your daily gratitude notes if you ever need to do so.

Click these links to download the free Dandapani app on the App Store or Play Store.

If you’d like to share some of your daily gratitude exercises with the world to inspire others to do so, take a screenshot of the Dandapani app journal page, tag me and share it on Instagram. I’ll reshare it on my Instagram Stories. Let’s help others realize the countless things we can all be grateful for and let’s help people elevate their consciousness.

I also want to use this opportunity to check in on you to see how you did with the homework that I gave you. Did you make a list of three things you have been wanting to do but have not? Did you get them done?

As part of doing what I say, I've cleaned and reorganized my extensive spice cabinet (I like to cook) and also my clothes cupboard. And I plan to do the third item on my list later today. Let me know how you’ve done with your list (due to the volume of emails I get you may not receive a response).

Stay safe and stay home! (If you have found this post helpful please share it)

More Articles

  • An opportunity for a great many things
    Mar 23, 2020 Insights on Life

    An opportunity for a great many things

    As cities around the world enforce a quarantine and many people are encouraged or forced to stay home, we need to look at this situation as an opportunity rather than a challenge. This is not to say that these are not challenging times but if we can shift our perspective we can s

    Learn More
  • Where do we start with COVID-19?
    Mar 20, 2020 Insights on Life

    Where do we start with COVID-19?

    Where do you, as a person, start with dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic? When a situation like the pandemic we have now arises it is easy to experience a myriad of emotions. These emotions are usually not positive and prolonged indulgence in them only leads to a downward spir

    Learn More
  • Joyous Children
    Mar 12, 2020 Photography & Travel

    Joyous Children

    Today I thought I’d share some images that I photographed of smiling and laughing children during my many travels to India. These pictures remind me of my favorite quote from my guru, Gurudeva Subramuniyaswami: “Life is meant to be lived joyously.” Whether you are going through a

    Learn More
  • Do you know who is in charge of your awareness?
    Mar 9, 2020 Awareness & the Mind

    Do you know who is in charge of your awareness?

    Most people unknowingly give people and things around them permission to move their awareness from one area of the mind to another all day every day.You can think of this like the same way you give a director of a movie permission to move your awareness all around the mind while

    Learn More
  • Did you fulfill your 2019 goals?
    Dec 27, 2019 News

    Did you fulfill your 2019 goals?

    As we come to the end of the year I always like looking back and reflecting on how it went. So many people set resolutions at the start of the year and by the end of the year, they don’t even remember what the resolutions were nor have they even come close to achieving any of the

    Learn More
  • How badly do you want it?
    Oct 11, 2019 Insights on Life

    How badly do you want it?

    To want to create a change in your life you must really want it. You must really, really want it. The truth is, most people are never able to create the lives they want because they don’t want it badly enough. They desire it, but that’s as far as it goes and their efforts fal

    Learn More

FREE Weekly Wisdom!

Get my free weekly emails and receive insights, teachings, & spiritual tools to live with purpose and joy.

* By subscribing you agree with our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Hindu mandala with intricate patterns and symbolic icons

Live a life of purpose & joy with the

Happier Life Program

Learn More