Begin Each Day in the Right State of Mind These morning meditations by author Hugh Prather are just what you need to start your day right. His words will put you on the path to living a more loving and fulfilling life. Daily reflections to kickstart your day. Start each morning this year with the words of bestselling author, counselor, and minister Hugh Prather. Prather asks readers to consider the holistic nature of our lives―noting that how we start our day affects everything, from our mind and spirit to our family and work. If we start in an agitated mood, we face the day with a combative spirit. But when we begin in a peaceful mood, we open the door to welcome in more opportunities and graces. Renew your determination to become a better person. With each page of this spiritual book, you are invited to live as if you think our world and the people in it are worth caring about and worth making time for. Because when we realize that they are, and that we are all united in a unique relationship (ourselves, others, and God), we wake up to our own responsibility for what happens to us. These daily meditations ask us to reflect on the spiritual task ahead of us. Learn more about: The benefits of beginning each day with a peaceful mindset and a spiritual goal in mind - Mindfulness meditations that awaken the mind and replenish the spirit - How to start over and become a better person If you enjoyed books like Power Thoughts Devotional , Good Days Start with Gratitude , Sacred Rhythms , or Little Book of Mindfulness , then you’ll love Morning Notes . Hugh Prather was the author of 16 books, including Spiritual Notes to Myself , Love and Courage , The Little Book of Letting Go , How to Live in the World and Still Be Happy , and Shining Through . As a minister and radio talkshow host, he counseled couples, singles, teenagers, and families in crisis. He passed away on November 15, 2010. Morning Notes 365 Meditations to Wake You Up By HUGH PRATHER Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC Copyright © 2005 Hugh Prather All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-57324-254-7 Contents Introduction365 Meditations to Wake You Up CHAPTER 1 1To choose love is to begin again. Clearly, our human family is in distress. Yet because of this, it is also moreopen to change. Today I join with countless others in a renewed determination tobe a better person—a truer parent to children, a more tolerant friend to others,a kinder coworker, a more committed partner. For this to happen, I must make upmy mind, because behavior that flows from conflicted thoughts can't becontrolled. Engaging in trench warfare with my personality doesn't work. Nordoes making resolutions that last only days or weeks. To succeed I must unite mymind around a single purpose. And love is the only true purpose, and the onlyreal unity. 2I know what to do. The only question is, will I do it. I have never lived this day before. I am free to start fresh. My mistakes are inthe past. They can be my shame or my treasure of useful indicators. I will usethem to renew my faith and strengthen my resolve. Because of my mistakes, I knowwhat to do. Today I release the old ways that have split my mind and drained mypower. I will fill my thoughts with the newness of love and the simplicity ofpeace. Today I open myself to others so that I may open my heart to God. 3The answer is to let go of pressure, not add more. My tendency is to make matters worse. Let me at least pause a moment and seewhat I want to do. When I set up a war within my mind, I put it between myselfand God, because I make conflict more important than everything else. When I tryto thwart other people, winning becomes more valuable to me than Love. And whenI try to dictate the course of events, I am immediately at odds with thesituation I'm already in. Yet when I relax into equality and trust in a greaterReality, life becomes simpler and my behavior modifies itself naturally. 4To free myself from useless battles, I put all things in God's hands. Sooner or later, I must take a leap of faith. The existence of a sustaining Lovemakes no rational sense. It can only be felt when I exercise trust. As long as Iwait for signs, miracles, fulfillment of dreams, or just a slight improvement incircumstances, I will never know Reality. The divine can only be seen throughthe eyes of faith. Today I will proceed as if I already believe. 5Because the truth is true, letting go is all there is to do. Everything I do today is like a little test. Do I want the question or theanswer, mental conflict or peace, to be right or happy, to be a burden to othersor a blessing, to awake or continue sleeping? Each decision I make moves me astep closer to Home or a step further away. Therefore, it's clear that since thechoice is between Truth and error, all I need do is to question—and therebyrelease—my desire to continue making the same mistakes. 6Instead of trying to force the day I want, let me embrace the day