A couple of weeks ago, my team and I released our newest creation, Morning and Evening Meditations, Volume 2 – a follow-up to one of our most popular offerings of all time – the first Morning and Evening Meditations, of course. Years after their release, these meditations remained beloved around the world, and I’m moved by how warmly they’ve been received.

As I’ve shared before, I think these meditations resonate with so many because they offer a chance to “reset” ourselves each day – by beginning each morning with clear intentions and taking time every evening to review our efforts.

And so, in response to numerous requests from our community, we created the meditations in Volume 2. I consider them a “fresh take” on the practice of beginning the day with resolve … and ending the day with reflection.

 

One day. One lifetime.

There’s no better way to “know thyself” than through meditation – the word for which means “to become familiar with your mind” in Tibetan, and “to cultivate self” in Sanskrit.

Meditation allows us to get beyond our analytical selves by opening the door between the conscious and subconscious minds. That door is most easily accessed when we first wake up in the morning and before we go to sleep at night. As our brain chemistry naturally changes in these transitional times of morning and evening, our brain waves also change – they slow down into states more conducive to meditation, allowing us to enter the operating system where we can reprogram our states of mind and body.

And so: the original idea for Morning and Evening Meditations was born, to help us change by becoming conscious of the unconscious self – and by staying conscious in our waking day. To view each day as a chance to live an entire lifetime; practicing with our eyes open; creating our future with intention and attention … and then to engage in a “life review” at night; observing our progress from a greater level of consciousness.

The basic practicum is this: when we wake each morning, we remind ourselves who we no longer want to be – and who we do want to be in our waking day. We prime our brain and body to be that new person when we get up. We deprogram … and reprogram.

And then, we see if we can make it through the day as that person. We practice becoming conscious of our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions – and not letting anything slip by our awareness unnoticed. We keep remembering who we want to be. We keep bringing ourselves back to the present moment, so we don’t forget – and so we don’t default back to our old personality.

If our personality creates our personal reality … and that personality is composed of how we think, act, and feel … then it stands to reason: if we want to change our personal reality, we have to change our personality.

In other words, nothing changes in our lives … until we change.

And so, throughout the day, we monitor our emotional responses. And our thoughts and behaviors. And how we speak. We’re practicing the forebrain’s gift to us: metacognition – developing our awareness and understanding of our own thoughts. And, in doing so, we’re empowering ourselves to evolve our personality. To learn from our mistakes. To rehearse a new way of being.

And then, at the end of the day, it’s a healthy practice to see how we did. We check in with ourselves and see how that one lifetime was. We observe it and decide if we’re pleased with our effort. We celebrate our victories. We celebrate the things we did well. And we commit to remembering what we’ve learned when it’s time to live a new life the next day.

It’s a daytime – a lifetime – review.

After our period of reflection, we think about who we want to be tomorrow. It’s a new day. What knowledge or information … what experiences … what observations will influence who we’re going to be? What have we learned about ourselves today? We integrate all of this into our “playbook” and carry that wisdom with us into the next day – when we’ll have another opportunity to become that new personality, creating that new personal reality.

One day is one lifetime. Each morning, we have the opportunity to begin our life anew. Each evening, we have the chance to celebrate ourselves and let go of the day. And then, we bring the wisdom from today into tomorrow. Into our next lifetime.

 

As We Change, Our Life Changes

When we begin our day with resolution, and end our day with reflection, it’s important to be kind and loving toward ourselves. This daily practice of setting intentions and taking inventory isn’t meant to be punitive – or induce feelings of shame. Without pressure, we commit to our new way of being. Without judgement, we evaluate our practice and our progress.

We ask ourselves, “If I just had another opportunity; another chance to demonstrate who I want to be; what would I do differently? What could I do better?” We cultivate a mindset of continuous improvement – in a loving way.

Some days, we’re in routine – in the comfort zone of our familiar, habitual ways. We’re not stretching ourselves. These aren’t “bad” days; it just might mean we didn’t make much progress toward the goals we’d set with our morning meditation.

Other days, we hit the mark. We’re in flow. We rise to challenges. We embrace the unknown. Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors match our intentions. And when we practice our evening meditation, and look back on how we did, we know we’re closer to that new personality – that new personal reality.

When that happens, we endeavor to remember that feeling. And carry it with us into the next day.

For many of us, it’s common to spend the majority of the day unaware of our automatic thoughts, actions, and feelings – and to believe those habitual programs are who we are. When we decide to make a different choice – when we enter the unknown and abandon the familiar self – we break that continuity. We break the habit of being ourselves.

And as we change, our life changes. That’s the experiment.

In the short time the second volume of Morning and Evening Meditations has been out in the world, it’s quickly risen to sit alongside our original Morning and Evening Meditations as one of our most popular releases to date. It’s my great pleasure to share this new offering with you. I hope it brings meaning and inspiration to the new personal reality you’re creating each day.