By Victor Ochieng’
The heroic book, the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, by Robin Sharma, is a precious pearl. It talks about ten riveting rituals you can practise on daily basis in case you desire to grow and glow.
- The Ritual of Silence
Your daily schedule should include a compulsory period of pure peace and pristine tranquility. 15 minutes, or more, where you explore the healing power of silence and stillness. This ritual plugs you to the rich circuit of your creative source. It releases the limitless intelligence of the universe, which is good food for mental and spiritual well-being. For the mind of man is like a large lake, and it works best in a state of sound serenity and silence.
- The Ritual of Physicality
This has to do with the power of physical care. Take some time every single day to nourish the temple of your body through vigorous exercise. Get your blood circulating and your body moving. Two or three times a day, take a minute or two, and breathe more deeply, and effectively. Walk in the woods. Run in the field, jump and gambol. Take a twilight trek.
- The Ritual of Live Nourishment
To stay youthful and bright, eat live food. Foods that are not dead. Foods coming from the natural interaction of the soil, sun, air and water. Fill your plate with fresh vegetables, fresh fruits and grains. Poor diet drains your mental and physical energy. It dents your moods, and hampers clarity of your mortal mind.
Vegetarian diet is one of the main longevity secret. Most powerful animals on this planet ranging from gorillas to elephants — wear the badge of proud vegetarians. A gorilla has about 30 times the strength of a man. If you do not want to become a strict vegetarian, at least start having a salad with every meal and fruit for dessert.
- The Ritual of Abundant Knowledge
It is about the whole notion of life-long learning and expansion of knowledge base for the good of yourself and everyone around you. It is all about becoming a student of life. Reading and exploring the wealth of information out there. Setting aside one hour every day to read avidly will do wonders for you. A book is the best friend of the wise. Books help you to see what is already within you. Books will keep your mind young. No wonder, the pantheon of philosophers said: Those who do not read die at 20. Then, we bury them at 80.
- The Ritual of Personal Reflection
This is the power of inner reflection. Personal reflection is nothing more than the habit of reflective thinking. The problem is that most people think just enough to survive. Yet, thinking is broad-based. Thinking has three strands: Critical thinking, creative thinking and problem-solving. Actually, this ritual is all about thinking enough in order to thrive and survive. Therefore, every evening, after a full day of productive work, retire to a still silent corner, and engage in personal introspection. Think and reflect about what you did during the day. Figure out what you did right or what you did wrongly during the day. Then, mend mistakes.
- The Ritual of Early Awakening
In order to start the day well, rise up with the sun. Overcome the battle of the bed. Rise up with the glory of the young and virgin rays of the newborn day. Savour the early rays of the mild sun. Dance and rejoice before the early morning sunshine. Focus on enough for a deep sleep. It is the quality, and not the quantity of sleep that is important. The ten minutes period before you sleep, and when you wake up, are profoundly influential on your subconscious mind.
Only the most inspiring and serene thoughts should be programmed into your mortal mind at time. Before you retire to bed or immediately you wake up, do not allow negative thoughts to assail your mind. Relax. Drink a cup of herbal tea, or a glass of fresh fruit juice. Fondle yourself with gentle music. Say a prayer of thanks to God Almighty. Work on your gratitude list.
- The Ritual of Music
Music gives you a spiritual boost just as the sun does. It makes you sing, dance and rejoice. It heals a sin-sick-soul. Music can put a mile-wide smile on your forlorn face. Smiling rewards you with great satisfaction. Laughter is medicine to the soul. No wonder, William James observed, “We don’t laugh because we are happy. We are happy because we laugh.”
- The Ritual of the Spoken Word
Ensure that you have a series of mantras, which you can recite in the morning, at noon, twilight, night, and midnight. A mantra is a collection of words welded together to create a positive effect. In Sanskrit, ‘man’ means ‘mind’, and ‘tra’ means ‘freeing’. Therefore, a mantra is a phrase designed to free the mind. It can be positive affirmations and auto-suggestions. Words you say to yourself have a great impact on your self-esteem and self-image. Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself, while self-image is how you see yourself.
- The Ritual of Congruent Character
This ritual requires you to take daily incremental action to build the strength of character. Strengthening your character has puissance on the way you see yourself, and even the actions you take. It is wise to focus on small things every day, which builds character. A virtuous life is a meaningful life. Ralf Waldo Emerson succinctly said, ”Character is higher than intellect.” Industry, compassion, humility, patience, honesty and courage: When all your actions are in congruence, and aligned to these powerful principles, then you will feel a deep sense of perfect peace.
- The Ritual of Simplicity
Live a simple life. Mahatma Gandhi advocated for simple life, but high thinking. Never live in the thick thin of things. Focus only on your priorities: Put first things first — activities that are truly meaningful. Know that there are things that are urgent but not important, and there are things that are important but not urgent. Unless you reduce your needs, you will never meet and greet contentment. In 1 Timothy 6:6, Apostle Paul of Tarsus told his protégé Timothy, ”But godliness and contentment is of great gain.”
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