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Early on a recent Sunday morning, when deciding how I wanted to start my day, I felt called. Called to go for a walk outside, in the beautiful, crisp morning air, just as the sun was rising.
The trees in the Midwest on this day still appeared full, but their colors were those of the edge of Summer, just on the brink of Fall. There’s something so special about connecting with the Universe at the beginning of the day. Even more so, establishing my “set point” for the day at a blissful level of peace so that I can take myself back to that point as the day continues, as things come up, and as I go about my usual tasks and interactions with others.
This is a special time of the day when we have the power to decide: how do I want to feel today, no matter what I am doing, no matter where I am going, and no matter who I may encounter? In case you weren’t aware, and if you haven’t yet discovered Esther Hicks and the extraordinary teachings of Abraham, which have changed my life for the better, we have the power to decide in every moment. Instead of reacting to life and getting lost in unpleasant emotions, we can choose to remain at peace, or at least, to come back to peace, or joy, or appreciation when our “humanness” takes over, as it often does. And that’s okay. We are not meant for perfection, but we are meant to know our own power to decide how we want to feel in every moment. We are meant to know that we have the power to create and enjoy our own reality.
Our negative emotions are the guidance in the storm rather than the storm itself. They are the flash of lightning, which says, “Pay attention; we need to shift here.” They are a function of our divine blueprint that lets us know when we are out of alignment with our true, non-resistant nature, so we can summon our own power to shift our vibration and move forward, manifesting the reality we want to experience. This is what the experience of life is about; life is about feeling good. Once we actively approach our lives with the intent of feeling good and continually bring that mindset into every aspect of our lives, the Law of Attraction responds by sending more reasons to feel good. And life just gets better, and better, and better.
With that in mind, and ready for my walk, I stepped outside and put my headphones in. My favorite route usually takes me 45 minutes walking, and while I happened to get out of the door with less time than that, I decided to go on my favorite route anyway. Although “normal” people would probably go for some upbeat workout music for motivation, the beauty of the morning, the leaves rustling in the wind, the sun shimmering through the trees as it was rising, and the birds singing, reminded me of one of my favorite movies, Pride & Prejudice, with Kiera Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. Have you ever seen a movie that was so visually stunning, and with a musical score by Dario Marianelli that is so perfectly beautiful that you wanted to transport yourself there as if you were walking in a living, breathing painting? While watching the movie you feel the music, you feel the scenery, and every sense of the experience is pure magic, so much so that you would hop on a plane to England if you could and wander through the English countryside.
Well, you guessed it, and I even surprised myself with this decision. I pulled up YouTube and listened to the score of Pride & Prejudice for my morning workout.
As I began walking, the score of Pride & Prejudice playing, I was transported instantly. Not only did I feel as if I was in a place of extraordinary beauty, I felt that nature itself was joining me—and I really had no idea how this walk was going to go, or how I would feel afterwards. I did want to get in a challenging workout, but as I’m used to running sprints on the treadmill to “Higher Ground” by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, I did not expect my heart rate to get too high listening to a dreamy musical score. As I listened to the score, though, with the music not too loud, I could still hear the wind blowing and the birds singing in the background, as if they knew energetically what I was accomplishing before I even realized it. They decided to join me.
As I continued walking, I experienced the awe of nature and music intertwining, creating within me a beautiful feeling of peace that grew with each step. It became apparent to me how wonderful I was feeling, and how delicious it felt to be in pure awe and appreciation for a continuous period of time. With every step, and determined to keep a fast pace, every view that I experienced was visually stunning—more so than I ever noticed before. The dew shining on the grass, the sun streaming through the trees and reflecting through the misting sprinklers, the warmth that embraced my face, the birds soaring freely in the pure, blue sky. My suburban neighborhood had never looked so beautiful. It had never felt so peaceful. I had never felt so much magic in the ordinary.
Perhaps I’ve had a false belief of being surrounded by ordinary, and such belief hid the extraordinary from my view. How glorious it was that these feelings and revelations lasted the entire length of my walk. And even surprising myself, I felt inspired to run for part of my journey as the music changed. When I went for it, I felt lifted by spirit. My stride was swift and easy, and I questioned why it never felt so good to run before? I finished my journey in 39 minutes, and my heart rate certainly went into the vigorous and peak zones according to my fitness watch. Although reticent to leave the beauty of where I was by ending my walk and getting on with my day, I reminded myself of the power I have to come back to the wonderful feeling I experienced this morning for 39 minutes.
For anyone who is looking for a non-vanilla method to establish your set point in the morning, raise your vibration, bring yourself into the present moment, or simply experience peaceful bliss for an extended time, I highly recommend and encourage experimenting with this practice.
Find your favorite park, or your favorite nature walk, if you can, removed from city noise, or even use your own neighborhood like I did. Go to YouTube or download the soundtrack of a movie that you have always enjoyed, one that inspires and transports you into the experience. And just start walking. Be open to the experience delighting and surprising you. Intention is everything, and that’s the point: to intend, to make a choice as to how you want to feel as you approach a new day, and throughout the day. Give it a shot. What do you have to lose?
We can always change the music. We have the power to choose.
I can’t wait to hear what happens, so please share your comments!
~
author: Lindsey Kaplan
Image: Author's Own
Editor: Lisa Erickson
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