To Begin

Preparing a space

To have a place where you can practice in peace.

You need

A clean, steady table or shelf · A cloth or a sheet of paper · Your notebook · An object that means something to you · If you like: a glass of water you won't drink, a flower, a stone you already have and an electric light

Time

Ten minutes

1. Wipe the surface clean and spread out the cloth or the paper.
2. Set the notebook and the object on it. Add the water, the flower, the stone or the light if you like.
3. Leave yourself room to move and to write comfortably.
4. If you share your home, agree with the people you live with on how you'll use the place and how much sound you'll make.
5. Before you begin, decide on your intention and how much time you have.
6. When you finish, give thanks, turn off the light, take the water away and put everything back where it belongs.

The three-element altar

To keep in sight what you are seeking, what holds you up and what you don't know yet.

You need

Something that reminds you of your purpose · Something that stands for what already holds you up · An empty spot

Time

Ten minutes

1. Set the object for your purpose on your table.
2. Next to it, set the one that stands for what already holds you up.
3. Leave an empty space for what you don't know yet.
4. Before you add anything else, ask yourself what it brings.
5. Every so often, clean the altar and take away whatever no longer means anything to you.

A glass of water on the altar

To offer hospitality to whatever watches over you and to start each day with the place made new.

You need

A clear glass, kept just for this · Fresh water

When

At night, before bed. Change the water every morning.

Time

Two minutes

1. Wash the glass and fill it with fresh water.
2. Set it on your altar or somewhere in plain view at home, where no one will drink it by mistake.
3. Say the words.
4. In the morning, water a plant with it or pour it down the sink.
5. Wash the glass and fill it again.

“I leave this water for the one who watches over me and walks beside me. May this house rest tonight and wake in peace.”

Words to open and to close

To set your practice time apart from the rest of the day.

Time

One minute at the start and one at the end

1. Before you begin, hold still and say the first words.
2. Do your practice.
3. When you finish, say the second words.
4. If you like, add at the end: “according to God's will and in a perfect way.”
5. Put away what you used and go back to your day.

“I pause and gather my attention. May my words be clear, my intention respectful and my actions true to the good I wish for.”

“I give thanks for this moment. I entrust to Life what I cannot steer, and I take charge of the step that is mine to take. May good reach everyone who has a part in this and the world we share.”

Opening and closing in a few words

To step into a practice and back out of it when you are short on time.

Time

One minute

1. To open, say the first words.
2. Stay silent for a moment, without forcing your breath.
3. Do your practice.
4. To close, say the second words.
5. Put away the main symbol.
6. If you practice with other people, let each one use their own words or stay silent.

“I make room to be here. I gather my attention and name what I want to care for.”

“The intention has been named. Now I stand behind it with what I do. This space can rest.”

The seven keys to a request

To look over a request before you make it.

You need

Paper and a pencil

Time

Fifteen minutes

1. Intention. Write what you want to cultivate in clear words, such as “I want to relate to others with clarity and respect.” Include what you need and how you want to live it.
2. Openness. Add that you don't know every path: ask for the possibility without dictating every detail of how it should arrive.
3. Learning and action. Understand the practice you are going to use, decide whether you want to do it, and do it with attention. Keep it to yourself if that protects your intention; you can still ask for help.
4. Freedom. Cross out anything that imposes something on another person. Ask for meetings that go both ways, agreements that are possible and honest opportunities.
5. Breadth. Widen the blessing: include the good of everyone involved, care for the world around you and the wish that all may have food, shelter and opportunity.
6. Gratitude. Write down what you have already received, without calling a harm a blessing or accepting what needs to change.
7. Continuity. Choose a few practices you can keep up and note how they go for you. If you miss a day, calmly begin again.

Seven moves for creating a ritual

To give shape to a ceremony of your own.

You need

Paper and a pencil · A simple object: a key, a thread, a leaf

Time

Half an hour to prepare it

1. Name the purpose: something you could recognize in your life. If you write “I want abundance,” add what that means: time, decent work, order, company or the ability to share.
2. Choose a central image whose meaning you understand: a key for access, a thread for continuity, a leaf for growth.
3. Mark off a space and a length of time: a cloth on the table for ten minutes is enough.
4. Shape the gesture to fit the purpose: untying to loosen, putting in order to clear things up, planting to sustain.
5. Find a sentence you can say without forcing yourself: “I take a first step,” “I acknowledge what I received,” “I can change the way I respond.”
6. Add an action outside the ritual: decide what you will do afterward, when and with what. If the ritual goes with a conversation, prepare for it; if it goes with a project, open the document or gather the materials.
7. Close: give thanks, put the objects away and go back to something ordinary. Write down what you did before you interpret what happened.

The color of the day

To give each day of the week a quality to cultivate.

You need

A piece of clothing, a ribbon or a piece of paper in the color of the day

When

In the morning.

Time

Two minutes

1. Find today's color and archangel in the table.
2. Put on the piece of clothing, or leave the ribbon or the paper of that color on your table.
3. Close your eyes and picture a light of that color all around you.
4. Say the words.
5. Choose one small act for today that expresses the quality of the day.

“Archangel of this day, stay with me in your light. May I cultivate today the quality you remind me of, and put it into one act.”

A novena for an intention

To hold a single intention for nine days in a row.

You need

A small candle · A candleholder or a sturdy plate · A sheet of paper and a pencil

When

Nine days in a row, at the same hour.

Time

Ten minutes each day

1. On the first day, write your intention in a single sentence. Make it something that depends partly on you and decides nothing for anyone else.
2. Choose an hour you can keep for all nine days.
3. Each day at that hour, set the sheet in front of you and light the candle.
4. Read the sentence aloud and say the words.
5. Stay for a few minutes in silence, beside the candle.
6. Put out the candle before you get up and make a mark on the sheet: one for each day.
7. If one day you miss the hour, do it as soon as you can and keep going.
8. On the ninth day, give thanks and write underneath the step you are going to take. Put the sheet away with a date for reading it again.

“For nine days I bring this intention here. I ask for light to see it clearly and strength to do my part. May whatever is for the good of all come to pass.”

Care: Never leave the candle burning alone or near curtains or papers: put it out before you get up.

Seven breaths before meditating

To get ready for any meditation.

Time

Two to twenty minutes, counting the meditation

1. Sit comfortably, with support if you need it.
2. Close your eyes, or leave them open with a soft gaze.
3. Feel where your feet, your seat and your hands are resting.
4. Take seven easy breaths, without forcing them deeper or holding the air. As you breathe in, imagine you are taking in space; as you breathe out, loosen whatever tension you can let go of.
5. Meditate. Start with two to five minutes and stretch it to ten or twenty if it feels good.
6. If an image makes you uneasy, open your eyes and look at the place where you are.
7. To close, move your hands, take in the room and go back to what you were doing.

Attention to the breath

To bring your attention back kindly.

Time

Two to twenty minutes

1. Sit down and take the seven easy breaths.
2. Choose a spot where you notice the air: your nose, your chest or your belly.
3. Watch the air as it comes in and goes out.
4. When a thought shows up, don't argue with it. Note “I'm thinking” and return to the feeling of breathing. Repeat as many times as it takes.
5. When you finish, ask yourself: “In what spirit do I want to begin what comes next?”
6. Choose a simple word, such as patience, attention, honesty or firmness, and carry it with you through the day.

The flame of the heart

To recognize a light in yourself and dedicate it to the good of others.

Time

Ten minutes

1. Sit down and take the seven easy breaths.
2. Picture a small light in the center of your chest. You don't have to feel anything extraordinary: build the image gently.
3. Let that light reach your body, the room, your home and the place where you live.
4. Stretch it until it holds the whole planet, and dedicate it to the well-being of all who live there.
5. Draw your attention back little by little: planet, surroundings, home, room, body, heart.
6. Stay a moment with the small light you began with.
7. Say the words.

“May the light I recognize in myself show itself as care. May it reach others through my words, my choices and the way I am present.”

Meditation with a word

To have a point to come back to when your mind wanders.

Time

Two to twenty minutes

1. Choose a word or a sound: OM, AUM, I AM, SO HUM, or a phrase of your own such as “here I am” or “at peace.”
2. Sit down and take the seven easy breaths.
3. Repeat the word silently, at a comfortable pace.
4. If you start counting thoughts or judging how it's going, go back to listening to the word inside you.
5. End with a few moments of silence.

A personal morning prayer

To begin the day with gratitude, direction and service.

You need

Paper and a pencil

When

In the morning.

Time

Ten minutes the first time; after that, one minute

1. Write a short prayer in three parts: “Thank you for… Help me to… Today I put my abilities at the service of…”
2. Change whatever you need to until the words are yours.
3. Say your prayer every morning. While you are still writing it, use the one that follows.

“Source of life, thank you for this new day. Help me know my abilities and my limits; help me speak clearly, listen and care. May what I know and what I do serve some good. Stay with me through what is hard, and remind me that I can receive help too.”

An affirmation for the day

To turn a sentence into an act.

When

In the morning.

Time

Two minutes

1. Pick a single sentence for today.
2. Read it slowly and notice what it invites you to cultivate.
3. If it feels too absolute to be yours, turn it into a willingness: “I am learning,” “today I can take one step,” “I allow myself to receive support.”
4. Don't deny what you feel: “I feel afraid and I want to act with care” is worth as much as a declaration of confidence.
5. Pair it with an action. “I give myself permission to express my abilities” can be sharing an idea; “I take care of my home” can be tidying a corner or talking over something the house needs.

The first page of the notebook

To give your practice a direction.

You need

A notebook · A pencil

Time

Fifteen minutes

1. Write your name, or the name you want to give this work.
2. Underneath, complete: “Here I want to cultivate…”
3. Complete: “I want to learn to…”
4. Complete: “I don't want to sacrifice…” with something specific: your rest, your own judgment, another person's freedom or the care of your resources.
5. Leave a fourth line for later: “My practice is changing because…”
6. Come back to this page whenever you want to revise it: it is a direction, not an oath.

The notebook of meaningful moments

To keep a record of well-timed meetings, unexpected help and solutions that once seemed far off.

You need

A notebook · A pencil

When

Whenever something happens that feels like magic to you. Once a month, to reread.

Time

Five minutes

1. Write the date and the situation.
2. Note what you did and what happened.
3. Separate the fact from its meaning: “Someone who could point me in the right direction called me” is the fact; “I took it as an answer to my prayer” is what it meant to you.
4. Write down your doubts too, and what didn't turn out the way you wanted.
5. Add what you are thankful for and what you want to do next.
6. Once a month, reread. Look for the habits that hold you up, the relationships that deserve care and the requests that have changed.

A record for each practice

To observe what you do and what happens afterward.

You need

A notebook · A pencil

When

Before and after each practice.

Time

Ten minutes

1. Write down the name of the practice and the date.
2. Write down who or where you learned it from.
3. Before you begin, write your purpose.
4. Write down the materials you use and what you swapped for something else.
5. Write down the moment you chose and why.
6. When you finish, write the steps you did and the words you said.
7. Write the specific action you agreed on with yourself.
8. Write what you noticed right away.
9. In a separate section, write the possible interpretations.
10. Days later, add what happened and what other circumstances may have played a part.
11. Close with what you will keep, change or stop doing.

Reviewing a page of the notebook

To learn from what you wrote down and adjust your practice.

You need

Your notebook · A pencil

When

At the end of a month, of a cycle of the Moon or of whatever period you choose.

Time

Twenty minutes

1. Choose three entries from the period.
2. Look for what helped you act with more clarity and what added a weight you didn't need.
3. Check whether the materials were right, whether the purpose depended on you and whether you did the action afterward.
4. Don't judge your whole practice by a single result.
5. Write down one change for the next period.
6. If you drop a practice, do it without looking down on the tradition it comes from or on what you lived through with it.