Rituals for Motivation and Mindfulness

As we begin teacher appreciate week I wanted to take time to do a mindfulness post just for us. I hope that you find inspiration in this post. 

When you think of the word Ritual a variety of definitions may come to mind. For some it is spiritual or religious. For others they simply think of a habit or a routine. While rituals for some become a habit or routine and for some are associated with a belief; that is not all a ritual is or should be to us.

This weekend while listing to The Happiness Lab: Happiness Lessons of the Ancients, The Torah I was introduced to the idea of rituals playing a deeper role in our happiness. Then this morning on my way to work I was listening to another podcast, one that is usually just for fun, and again was presented with the idea of rituals and how they can help us. In The Office Ladies Bonus Episode: Monday Motivation the question was posed "Are you a Monday Motivation or a Friday Feeling person?" As the ladies explore this for themselves they shared rituals they often engage in to help with focus, relaxing, or just to stay on top of their daily lives. This week I wanted to share a little from each of these podcasts and pose questions about your rituals and how this can be a kind of mindfulness.

In the Happiness Lab episode Dr. Laurie Santos talks with Sarah Hurwitz. Sarah was a speech writer for President and Frist Lady Obama and author of the book, Here All Along. In this episode they talk about how Sarah found a deeper connection to life and learned to slow down when she began to explore Judaism and follow the rituals her faith asks/commands believers to follow and engage in. Dr. Santos used this idea of ritual connection to explore the deeper sense of happiness we can experience in our lives.

Sarah Hurwitz talks about rituals in her faith that are very much a foundation of mindfulness. Judaism asks believers to be grateful as soon as they wake up. This is very similar to having a daily gratitude practice. Sarah shares that for her faith it goes deeper and Jews are asked to continue to find gratitude throughout the day in all things they experience, thus asking them to always be present in all that they do. This is another mindfulness ritual. Mindfulness asks us to be in the moment and notice. Mindfulness asks us to show and experience gratitude.

You do not have to be Jewish to find beauty in the rituals of the faith. I remember years ago reading the Mitch Albom book, have a little faith, and being in deep awe of the rituals of the Jewish faith. Sarah talks in the podcast about how when you do not feel like engaging in a ritual, such as going to see a grieving family, that is when you need to do it the most. Once the act of faith is put into action the doer experiences the blessings from the act of ritual.

What act do you avoid doing but know it would support another person? What ritual could bring a deep sense of awe to your day and life? Doing this act could help you experience a deeper sense of gratitude, compassion, and open you to connection. This is a connection mindfulness. This is an act of well-being.

There are times the books I am reading or the podcast I am listening to fills me with such inspiration it is almost as if those podcasts and book write a blog post for me. This week is one of those weeks.

This morning on my way in to work I started an Office Ladies Motivation Monday bonus episode. I expected it to be full of The Office humor, funny tidbits about the ladies lives, and the general workings of the podcast. As I finish the episode I am sure these are things I will hear, but surprisingly it all started with the idea of ritual.

Angela Kinsey (who played Angela Martin) and Jenna Fisher (who played Pam Beesly Halpert) started the episode by answering the question "Are you a Motivation Monday or a Feeling Friday person?" 

Jenna talked about being a Motivation Monday and her lists. She went on to share that she will set a timer to read for 15 minutes and a timer to journal for 15 minutes. While she reads she keeps a notebook by her side and she will jot down thoughts as they come to her head. She lets the thought exist, writes it down, and then feels the release from the pull of that thought. 

Did you hear that mindfulness? 

Mindfulness teaches us to let a thought (or feeling) exist, watch it, accept it, and then let it go and move on.

Angela talked about being a Feeling Friday. She shared about how she sits on her back porch and has what her dad used to call "a thinking spot." In this spot she sits calmly and quietly and allows thoughts to exist.

As the ladies shared they talked about trying the ritual of the other. Angela said she liked idea of keeping a notebook by her in her thinking spot. 

This opened my mind to the idea of sharing rituals. Sharing mindfulness.

What is a ritual you find helpful, comforting, or inspiring? What is a mindfulness that brings fulfillment, peace, and joy to your day?

I encourage you to take some time to think about these questions. Maybe take some time to listen to one of the podcasts.  Then return here and leave a comment with a ritual or mindfulness. Perhaps your ritual could inspire someone to tweak, create, start, or refresh a ritual of their own. 

I'll get us started.

I have a mindfulness practice of morning gratitude. I sit in the quiet of my dining room with a cup of coffee and I use the app ReWi and I do a daily gratitude list. I list three things (at least) I am grateful for from the previous day and that morning. I also try to really spend time with the why. This leads to another well-being mindfulness called Savoring. Savoring is taking a gratitude and really exploring the details, the why, and recalling and reexperiencing the feelings related to the gratitude.

After listening to the Happiness Lab podcast I am intrigued by the idea of a ritual of gratitude. I want to work on experiencing and noticing it more throughout the day.