Spirituality is the sacred center out of which all life comes, including Mondays and Tuesdays and rainy Saturday afternoons in all their mundane and glorious detail. – Christina Baldwin

It’s a rainy Saturday here and it’s just the way I love it! I find the peace inviting to soulful awareness when it’s a day I can stay home and allow the day to unfold. If I have too much scheduled for a Saturday, then Sundays are my appointed day for renewal.

I don’t know about you, but I need that downtime after a busy week. I need a chance to just be, to ground myself and to center my breath and being. I make part of the weekend dedicated to me when I can. Whether I have get up early before anyone else in the family or stay up later, I carve out me time.

My normal workweek routine doesn’t change and I rely on what has been working for me for a long time. But on the weekends, I expand it, even if I still need to get up early in order to have my alone time, it’s worth it. Yet, I try to sleep in one morning if I can during the weekend because I feel that it’s like a mini vacation to sleep a little later once a week (or twice if I can manage it!)

I give thanks, whether by writing in a gratitude journal or simply saying it daily. I recommend the journal so that you can look back and appreciate the goodness when you need a little pick me up on a dark day. Sometimes I do it in the morning routine if I was too sleepy to do it before bedtime.

Before I leave the bed (if I’m not running late), I quiet my mind and allow whatever is to come to me come. Sometimes I awake with a song in my head as a message for the day. Sometimes there’s only peace and quiet until the Parent voice in my head tells me to get up and get moving which isn’t a good way to start the day. I usually quiet that voice by stretching and getting up.

With my morning coffee, I say a quiet prayer for the day ahead. A prayer to God, the Universe, my higher self, my angels with the request to pave the way ahead for me for my highest good.

I pull a card from one of my decks as well every morning and use that message as the one for the day. Sometimes if I need more detail, I will pull a second card as well. I keep track of them by saving or emailing myself the message for the day.

If I’ve heard lyrics or a song in my head that morning, I will google it and listen quietly sipping my coffee. Usually there’s a small message in it for me. Most of the time I know the song or at least the lyrics, but sometimes I only have the phrase running through my head and have to investigate.

I try to stand outside every morning even for only a few minutes just to look at the sky, feel the air around me, and notice nature. It’s surprising how many people don’t notice the sky everyday. But I understand why because I went blindly through my days for a long time, too rushed to take the brief moment to acknowledge the sun, the raindrops, the smell of the air change during rain or snow, the snowflakes, and the night sky full of stars and the moon in her every phase. But nature is important and noticing the little nuances expands our communion with our world.

What does your morning or evening routine include? If you don’t have a set one, how would you like to begin or end your day? Feel free to be flexible with your routine, but remember to try every day and don’t beat yourself up if you skip or miss a day.