At the end of last year, I committed to changing my morning routine in order to build a new set of supportive habits. I made a commitment to establish and show up for a daily routine in order to see how conditioning keeps me from doing so. The commitment was to make three recordings every morning before I do anything else, including turning on the computer or picking up the phone:

1. Record and Listen to the Daily Peace Quote on the weekdays and Project Joy quotes on the weekends.
2. Make and listen to a gratitude recording.
3. Check in with the Mentor on whatever arises when I pick up the recorder.

As I look at these commitments now, 34 days into successfully keeping them, they look so simple and, so says conditioning, without any possibility of being of benefit.

If I look to my experience, the exact opposite has been true. After the initial excitement dissipated, I got to see how conditioning keeps me from attending to that which supports me and how to go about doing so anyway.

Here is some of what I’ve seen:
• Keeping the commitments is key. Conditioning says: “you don’t have time”; “it won’t hurt to check your email”; “there’s too much to do today, you’ve got to get to it”; “this isn’t working.” And sometimes I don’t hear anything, and see myself moving to pick up the phone or turn on the computer.  No matter what tricks conditioning tries, keeping the commitment is paramount, so I’ll notice the conversation or the movement and choose not to listen to conditioning.

• R/Ling about the experience of this routine is supportive. When I check in, I’ll ask: is this supportive, am I not able to meet my other commitments if I keep up this routine, is my attention more on awareness than a conversation than before the routine? The answers always lead to re-affirming the commitments.

• Conditioning will attempt to take over the routine.  Often when I make a recording, conditioning wants me to reference conditioning for how to make the recording: what’s the right thing to be grateful for or the right thing to say to the Mentor. When I’ve seen that, I’ve practiced taking a few breathes and sitting in silence, and when something arises, recording that.

• R/Ling about why this practice is supportive. Recording why I’m attending to these commitments assists in redirecting attention.

• This is a choice to create a virtuous cycle. When I make and keep a practice commitment, I get to see how that doesn’t happen and how it does happen, which leads to making and keeping more practice commitments and seeing more about what works and what doesn’t, which leads to…

Gassho.

 

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