Whether you call them a design for living, self-care or a daily routine, creating a daily habit has been known to keep us on the path to happiness. I believe that rituals are key to living a high vibe life (yes, thank you Abraham-Hicks).

For me, establishing a daily ritual when I worked 90-hour weeks in a global conglomerate was the last thing I wanted to do. But I knew I had to shift something about my daily routine to be calmer, soothe the anxiety, and become even more productive. I also had to raise my vibration. This shift began with NOT waking up to my radio alarm (say what??) and soon after, it meant avoiding television morning news. It came down to this…do I want Good Morning America telling me what I should be thinking about as I start the day, or do I want to connect with Spirit and choose what I want to think about?  I believe what you focus on increases so I choose wisely every day. I choose the high vibe way. 

In time, creating gratitude lists, journaling, listening to positive and inspiring podcasts and YouTube became a non-negotiable for me in order to start my day. Some days, it’s listening to an inspirational talk while on the treadmill, other days it’s forcing myself to write down ten things I am grateful for, and still other days, it’s smiling and making eye contact with EVERY person I see along my walk from my apartment to the subway, and in NYC, that can be a heck of a lot of people. I also had to release my desire for a perfect morning ritual and I had to accept that my practice is going to look different every day. Other days, I find myself meditating in the back of a cab, or in the bathroom stall of a public bathroom.  I know, crazy. But it’s become necessary for me, to slow it down and connect.   

Being thankful, practicing meditation, mindfulness, eating nutritiously throughout the day, and some form of physical activity all helped me create daily rituals which give me the greatest opportunity to start my day with loving kindness. Even though rituals are often solitary acts, our daily rituals don’t set up apart from other, they bring us closer together. When I am focused in the morning my reward is connectedness with others and increased sense of calm and serenity.

One of my most impactful daily rituals is what I call my Magic Mystic Bag. My husband calls it my bag of rocks. The bag is filled with eight gems, stones, crystals, or tokens. My bag is a jewelry gift bag from a recent Henri Bendel purchase. Mystic Meets Material (thanks, Ruby Warrington). The items can hold sentimental value or not, but they should be small (no bigger than a quarter) and be pleasant to hold. Here’s how it works:

1. Pick seven areas of your life you’d like to focus on for today. For instance: prosperity, relationships, career, spiritually, health, community, and love. These areas are simply a suggestion and you can pick whatever is important to you.
2. These focus areas can change every day. As your focus changes, so can your focus areas.
3. Find a quiet place to sit and get comfortable. You are going to be here for the next 10 minutes.
4. Take an essential oil that is soothing to you and dab it on your forehead (3rd eye), temples, neck and other pulse points. I love a blend of Cardamon, Frankincense, and Spikenard. 
5. Now, reach into the Magic Mystic Bag, while choosing your first focus area and pick up the object or crystal.
6. While holding the crystal, quickly name three to five, even up to ten adjectives that describe how you want to feel about that area of your life. You should be thinking about words that make you feel good. For instance, let’s say my first focus area is career. The words I would use to describe how I want to feel are: inspired, collaborative, happy, empowered, and fearless.
7. Put the crystal aside and grab the next stone. Perhaps this one is health. My words could be strong, healthy, vibrant, happy, and vitality. Continue until you reach the last, or eight crystal.
8. Holding the eight crystal, say “God/Spirit/Universe/Higher Power/Source (whatever feels most comfortable to you) I desire all this or something better for the greater good.

Repeat this ritual every day. I sometimes do this practice in the morning and again before I retire. It’s a way of focusing on the good, raising my vibration, and centering on where I want to be. This has been an incredible soothing ritual, finding the balance between what I can impact and what I desire and then releasing the outcome. I would love to hear what daily rituals you use to stay sane and focused and live a high vibe life.