What is your morning prayer?

In good weather I go outside. When it’s cold or stormy I stand at a window and look out. I have a set of prayers I use for each of the four directions and center. They are mostly about gratitude and help in living through the coming day to the best of my abilities. I always end with a variation on the psalm that says “this is the day created for us, so let us be glad and rejoice in it.”

I Built a lean to made with weaved branches and ornamental grass reeds adjacent to my pond, it faces east. Mornings I go out there build a fire and welcome the sun. Meditate and drum

I do not remember when, but I learned a song from one of Sandra’s teachers and later heard another one sing it often sing shortly after sitting up. Morning Sun, Morning Sun is its name. There is a pretty poor quality version of it on YouTube with very loud drums, but, you can hear the tune if you are not familiar with the song, etc.

Beyond that, it just depends on the day. If there is nothing in the morning or not until late morning anyway, then perhaps sit outside for a while. Who knows. Either way, how can I walk through nature and not feel as if I am only flowing through myself. There is really no boundary there, after all, we are all one, right?

Morning Sun, Morning Sun,
Come my way, Come my way

Morning Sun, Morning Sun,
Come my way, Come my way

Morning Sun, Morning Sun,
Come my way, Come my way

Come my way, Come my way,
Take my pain, Take my pain.

Come my way, Come my way,
Take my pain, Take my pain.

Come my way, Come my way,
Take my pain, Take my pain.

Take my pain, Take my pain,
Down below, Down below

Take my pain, Take my pain,
Down below, Down below

Take my pain, Take my pain,
Down below, Down below

Down below, Down below,
Cool waters, Down below

Down below, Down below,
Cool waters, Down below

Down below, Down below,
Cool waters, Down below

I used to do a “morning sit” – I’d recite my version of the “Thanksgiving Address” – making up variations as needed, then sit in “sense meditation” until it was time to cook breakfast. I’d sit on the back patio with my coffee – or looking out on the backyard for the rare times of heavy rain.

Now I’m a full-time caregiver for my wife, who is dancing with Parkinson’s. So I make coffee for us both, make sure she’s settled, then start breakfast, then journal my dreams, then all the little chores of the morning. Now caregiving is my spiritual practice.

In summer, some of my mornings start on my waterfront deck, facing the rising sun to soak up morning prana, as my bird friends gather around me to share some breakfast seeds. I’ve started using a new singing bowl to set the tone. If I wake early enough, I walk down to the glen to offer greetings and thanks to my community of: trees, rocks, wind, and do a short meditation. I love to watch how the rising sun seems to awaken the trees as they go from sleepy two dimensional silhouettes against the night sky, to fully awakened three dimensional beings, illuminated by the morning sunrise.
In winter, I stay indoors, and often say a morning prayer before the bathroom mirror, which I revise yearly, according to how my perspective of the world around me is changing.
Here’s my current prayer which is a bit dark for a morning prayer, but right now, it contains some important affirmations I need to guide me on my chosen path:

The Path to Spiritual Sovereignty

Liberate your spirit by tearing up all contracts you made under duress,
When you were weak, hopeless, and at the mercy
Of the parasitic forces of darkness and their hierarchies,
That continue to demand your worship and obedience.

Open your heart-mind heroically to the All That Is within you.
Embrace and transcend All of the darkness and All of the light,
All the way up, and All the way down.
Own every particle, photon, and space without judgment.

Consult the divine within to remake your bond with the All That Is.
It awaits your return to reclaim your spiritual sovereignty.
Grow love of self to clear and fortify your sacred temple,
Driving out the demons that feed on fear, hate, and despair.

Never surrender your divine sovereignty again by kneeling before a throne.
Know that your submission empowers the hierarchies of darkness.
The All That Is does not demand worship or obedience.
Mutual unconditional love is the path to spiritual bliss.

I forgot to mention those messy, tearful shamanic mornings, when I wake up at the bottom of a pit.
I turn to song prayers created by some of America’s great spiritual leaders.
I’m Canadian, but their beautifully artful prayers [videos] lift my heart, fill and re-energize me with a different kind of spiritual energy that first floods me with shamanic tears, and then gets me off the couch and moving with renewed life force. You may know some of these, and I’d like to hear if anyone has others…
1. “Morning Has Broken” and “Peace Train” by Cat Steven’s – These songs give me great hope.
2. “Sweet Surrender” by cosmic minstrel John Denver…who served as a great American spirit
3. “Together Again” by Janet Jackson – I like to think she’s singing to her higher self.
4. “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor – this is my fight song, when the other seems to have the upper hand.

There are movements that go with this prayer and each round of words is said to each direction. Here are the words.

I SALUTE THE SKY AND ALL THAT IS


OFFERING MYSELF TO THE DAY



GATHERING MY ENERGY, 
I PLANT MY VISION



AND ACCEPT THE CORE ENERGY OF THE EARTH INTO MYSELF



I GATHER AND ACCEPT THE ENERGY FROM THE UNIVERSE 
INTO MY ENTIRE BEING.

I RELEASE WHAT I NO LONGER NEED



I GIVE MY GIFTS FROM THE HEART


AND I RECEIVE GIFTS FROM THE UNIVERSE

I am not a morning person, and I’m disabled with genetic disorders, so I don’t wake up and get out of bed easily. Given that, my morning starts with a gratitude practice. While I’m waiting for my body to be able to get out of bed, I go through at least some of the things I’m grateful for – my Gods and spirits, my wonderful partners, the beautiful piece of land I live on, etc. – in whatever order it comes into my head. That way, instead of laying there feeling cranky, I remind myself that no matter how difficult things might be, there is joy in the world and in my life. Starting this way is excellent for my mental health and I highly recommend it for those who are struggling with issues outside their control. Best thing is that one doesn’t have to remember any words, if one has periods where words are not easy to put together.

This sounds very New Age woo-woo, but hey, it works. Since my Gods and allies often make it into the list, it reminds me to use the tools I have – they are present in my life for a reason.

I should really write a book on shamanic practice for disabled people … hmmm.

The first thing I do when I wake up is say Thank You for this day and my life. Then I create sacred space with the Guardians of the 7sacred directions and thank them for the spiritual awakening and enlightenment of all sentient beings on Earth at this time. I follow with: Thank You for divine synchronicities in my life on all levels and dimensions. Thank You for the fruition in all that I seek on all levels and dimensions. I thank all my spirit companions for their love, devotion, companionship, friendship and all they do for me on a conscious and unconscious basis everyday. And I thank the Guardians for all their guidance they give me on all levels and all dimensions.

This form of prayer began as a therapist’s hip exercise. I live at the foot of a small hill on the island of Kauai. Before the dawn I get up, and walk west up the hill. Sometimes the moon walks with me. The rhythm of my feet on the ground acts like a shaman’s drum, gently awakening my senses. I connect mentally with old friends as I pass — trees, patches of grass between the driveways, a pair of dogs that doesn’t bother to bark at me any more, local night cats. At the top of the hill I turn around. Facing east, I see the rising sun. To my awakened senses it is the eye of God, warm, gentle, incredibly powerful. Come to nourish us all! I connect mentally with the sun (not looking straight at it!), and there is a jolt of “juice” to my soul from its power. I walk back down the hill and put the juice to work on my projects. This is a prayer I speak with my whole body and soul — wordless, almost as if I was still dreaming and yet awake. And my hip always feels better afterwards!

I begin my mornings outside and thank the Grandmother tree in my yard. I then sing the Cherokee Morning Song to the four directions.

A beautiful rendition of it is available at https://youtu.be/YhcgX1VHsgk.