The Aligned Life

Jenn Stevens | Spiritual Life + Business Coach

My Morning Manifestation Ritual

by: Jenn

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed me posting about my morning journaling routine.

But of course, Instagram doesn’t relay the entire story! Of course, I love journaling and I am happy to share that with you. But there are some other elements of my Morning Manifestation Routine that don’t ever make it to the ‘gram.

In other words, the in-bed or meditation stuff is probably never getting visually documented. ????????

But just because I’m not sharing pictures of myself meditating, doesn’t’ mean it’s not happening! It definitely is–and so today I thought I would throw back the curtains (so to speak) and share the exact routine I’ve been using to start calling in my manifestation desires while setting myself up for the best day possible.

Curious about my routine? Here are my three morning Must-Have’s:


My Morning Manifestation Ritual


Morning Manifestation Routine Step #1:

Listen To Subliminals Or Affirmations


Did you know: we naturally experience an extremely magical time a few times throughout our day? In both the twilight before falling asleep and in the fuzzy moments upon waking, your brain is in a particularly suggestive state. So why not use this moment to help us with our manifestations?

Think of these moments as a fast-track to your subconscious mind. Your conscious mind is simply not operating at its full state, which means there’s far less noise to cut through. That means it’s the absolute perfect moment to listen to subliminals or affirmations.

Lately, I’ve become a true fan of subliminals simply because I can put them on in the background and let my subconscious mind become reprogrammed while I relax.

(If that sounds good, be sure to check out & subscribe to my NEW subliminal YouTube channel right here!)

Similarly, just listening to your own affirmations is a wonderful way to use this time! To do this, just record yourself speaking your current list of affirmations. (For example, “I am worthy of love.” “I am ready to receive abundance!” I am constantly calling in my desires.” Etc.). Just pop out your Voice Notes app and record yourself speaking for a few minutes!

Then simply make it a habit to listen to those sublmininals or affirmations as you wake up. If you don’t want to try the other things on this list, I recommend doing this one at the very minimum just because it’s so easy and effortless.


Morning Manifestation Routine Step #2:

Meditation


Morning meditation is a must-have part of my morning routine. It’s not that I’m opposed to meditating at other times of the day but doing it first thing in the morning is the best way I’ve come up with to ensure I get it done.

Meditation is basically a workout for your mind. One of our brains’ primary jobs is to think–and for most of us, it does that far too well. That means we can get easily overwhelmed by the speed and frequency of our own thoughts. Meditation is simply a practice that helps us to slow down and disengage from our mental chatter–as well as to create some all-important space between us and our thoughts.

I know lots of you are still intimidated by the thought of meditation. But I assure you, this practice isn’t about perfection or sitting still for hours at a time. Currently, I’m committed to doing just 10 minutes of meditation in the morning–and trust me, that’s an amount everyone can do.

There are also tons of different ways to meditate. I recommend beginners get started with a simple mantra or guided meditation. My favorite tool for meditation is the Insight Timer app. I simply use the timer setting but there are lots of guided meditations on there in various lengths and styles. Including a few of mine! So go grab that if you don’t have it and get started.


Morning Manifestation Routine Step #3:

Manifestation Journaling


The final part of my morning manifestation routine is the newest addition–and my current favorite. Confession: while I’ve dabbled with journaling over the years, I never really stuck to a journaling practice until recently. But not so long ago, I decided to really commit to journaling and started to incorporate the practice with my manifestation ideas.

The result is Manifestation Journaling. This is my own unique combination of several journaling practices and prompts, designed to help you align your energy with your desires and heal any of the blocks that might be standing in your way.

As I’ve committed to this practice, I’ve come to swear by it! Hands down, this is the best way I’ve found to take my daily manifestation practice from “just thinking and dreaming” into some practical real-life actions that start creating the results I really want.

If you’re interested in learning more, I spill my exact routine plus tons of prompts and pointers to keep you going in my Manifestation Journaling Masterclass.



Of course, these suggestions are simply what I’m loving and what’s working for me right now! The whole point of a morning manifestation routine is to figure out what works best for you. We all have different needs, emotionally, physically and spiritually speaking. Your ultimate goal is to deeply nourish yourself while you mentally attune yourself to calling in your desires.

As long as you can do that, your morning routine will become something you look forward to every single day!


Jenn Stevens The Aligned Life



PS Looking for more? You might also want to check out this post about program your subconscious mind to manifest or this one about the real reasons you don’t feel good.


Love This Post? Then Save It To Your Manifestation Board On Pinterest!


woman meditating & text that reads My Morning Manifestation Ritual

A Meditation For Creating Peace + Dropping The Fight

by: Jenn

Happy Holidays! I’m dropping in today with something a little different: a meditation for inner peace and letting go of things that might be upsetting you. We all need to take a time out to reframe things and to get back into a position of love and hopefully this meditation will help you do that!







Thank you so much for watching!

Jenn Stevens The Aligned Life



Love This Post? Then Pin It For Later!


Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind For Success And Happiness!

by: Jenn

You might have already noticed: the more you start actively improving your life, the more obvious your fears, blocks and limiting beliefs will become!

We all have them: the erroneous beliefs and ideas that have (mostly) been passed onto us from our family, friends or the media. These are ideas that are not empirically true and perhaps even downright harmful. But because we’ve never stopped for long enough to consider them, they’ll continue to rule our world in all sorts of negative ways.

One of the first steps of becoming a Conscious Creator (meaning: consciously going after your desires and creating your own life!) is becoming aware of this inner “thought garbage”.

But once you notice them, then what? How do you start choosing and living through your new helpful beliefs?

For most of us, this is more than a one-time operation! After all, it took a lifetime of programming and repetition to get you where you are. It’s also going to take some time to undo all that damage!


Learning how to reprogram your subconscious mind is the best way to start getting rid of your “mind junk”!



There isn’t only one path to manifesting! Nor is there only one way to start retraining your brain to stop defaulting into fear and limitation.

So today I want to give you a primer on how to get started.

The path to Conscious Creation and manifestation will look a little bit different for everyone! Think of these suggestions as a toolbox: try them out and make a note of what works best for you! The most important thing is that you get started today if possible! So here are the five best methods to do that:


5 Ways To Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind For Success And Happiness


Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind Tip #1:

Awareness


Simply getting curious and actually noticing your limiting beliefs and fears is a powerful first step! All too often, we’re a prisoner to our thoughts simply because we’ve gone on autopilot. We’ve stopped actively considering whether or not our thoughts and beliefs are true; therefore we’re going to continue to act as if they are without question.

But what if those thoughts aren’t actually true at all? When you slow down and unpack those thoughts, it’s easy to see how untrue and even harmful they are! After you do that, it’s much easier to start actively choosing new thoughts and beliefs to replace them.

The truth is you can live your life any way you want to–and maybe you should try out some thoughts that actually feel good and serve your bigger purposes.


Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind Tip #2:

Meditation


Okay so meditation isn’t about reprogramming per se. But it is a fantastic tool to help you learn how to observe and control your own mind.

No one’s born with a user manual for their own brain! But meditation comes close. Learning mind control has been one of the most powerful experiences in my life (and hopefully in yours too!).

However, I know meditation is a loaded term for many of you! So please know that there are many ways to meditate but please know that you don’t have to become a monk for it to work properly!

Meditation helps you to see the difference between you and your thoughts. I know all too well how easy it is to let your thoughts run off with you. But they’re not you. You’re actually mostly just experiencing them, like watching a movie in your mind.

However this begs the bigger question: if your thoughts are able to be observed, then who’s doing the observing? It’s this wonderful realization that helps us understand our true nature as a spiritual being having a human experience. It’s a very powerful thing to realize that your thoughts are not you and they definitely do not have to be boss! Play around with this until you get this and you will understand.


Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind Tip #3:

Affirmations


If the goal is to retrain your brain to think healthy shiny brand-new thoughts, then affirmations are a great way to make that happen! They’re actually about much more than just faking it till you make it! They actually help your brain to rewire and fire in brand new ways.

The secret sauce here is of course repetition–which only makes sense! It took a lifetime of repetition to program your subconscious with unhelpful thoughts. It only stands to reason that the same method could also help to change that old programming.

To use affirmations, simply pick a phrase or sentence that you resonate with. As with everything in life, the more of an emotional connection you have to it the better! Then just keep repeating that affirmation to yourself over and over (like a mantra). I love this because you can easily do it while you’re out and about and going through your normal daily routine. (Ease and convenience? Yes please!)

However, I also know there are a lot of people out there who hate affirmations! And that’s totally okay. If this one automatically makes you go ugh then go ahead and concentrate on one of the other methods.


Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind Tip #4:

Hypnosis


Hypnosis isn’t just kooky TV-magic-show stuff! It’s real and it’s also one of the most powerful methods for reprogramming our subconscious mind for success.

In practical terms, hypnosis usually doesn’t look that different from a guided meditation. The only difference is that you’re being selective about the soundtrack you’re feeding your brain! When you’re extremely relaxed, your brain is automatically much more susceptible to the power of suggestion. So why not use that tendency for our own purposes?

I’m a fan of using hypnosis when when your brain is the most malleable: right before you go to sleep. When your body is getting ready to go to sleep, your breathing has become deeper and your body is more relaxed. In this state, your body is automatically producing alpha waves.

Listening to a hypnosis meditation during this time is a powerful way to rewire your mind for success! Plus it’s also easy to do: just put on your headphones and press play.

(On that note, very soon I’ll be adding some hypnosis meditations to the site! So stay tuned.)


Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind Tip #5:

Acting As If


Acting as if is another way to anchor in your new beliefs. Again, this is about more than faking it till you make it or simply building confidence. It’s about training your mind (and body) to integrate your new ideas.

One of the biggest barriers we have towards is our own habits! Despite wanting to change things in our life, most of us get up and do/think/say the same things day in and day out. It sounds crazy but even doing something minor (like brushing your teeth using your non-dominant hand) actually makes your brain wire and fire brand new neural connections.

So what happens if you stop waiting until you’re “ready” and just start doing what you know deep down inside that you’re supposed to do?

Acting as if forces you out of your safe little bubble and into the weird new territory of creating a new identity. In the end, we always manifest when our insides match up with what we want! It might feel fake and pointless at first but if you can challenge yourself to do/think/say things from the person you want to be, one day (very soon!) you’re actually going to be that person!



So what do you think? Which reprogramming technique are you going to try out?



I love the idea of consciously rewiring our mind for success and I hope you do to! This is just yet another reminder of how incredibly powerful we are and how much control we have over our own life.

Try out the reprogramming techniques then please come back and let me know how they worked! I’d love to hear your experiences. Good luck and thank you so much for reading!

Jenn Stevens | The Aligned Life


PS Looking for more? You might also want to check out this post about 3 ways to harness the power of abundance or this one about what to do when manifesting goes wrong.



Love This Post? Then Save It To Your Personal Growth Board For Later!


Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind For Success And Happiness!

Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind For Success And Happiness!

A Quick & Easy Guide To Spiritual Travel

by: Jenn

I’ve just returned from a whirlwind week in London with my parents and it was fantastic. I love traveling, even just for short spurts. One of the reasons is that it always gives you a fresh perspective on your own life. Just taking a little distance between yourself and your usual world allows you to see things in a fresh way. I always return from a trip (even a short one) feeling reinvigorated and inspired.

But with that said, traveling can also be energetically exhausting.

There are several reasons for this but here are three of the most common ones:

Traveling forces us to become really present in our day, which is actually a great thing. (That’s also why days feel so long while we’re on vacation.) It forces us to go off the auto-pilot way of living that we all fall into, where our brains and bodies can seemingly let go and relax. It forces us to really think about what we’re doing in every moment, to figure out schedules, transit and food. It forces us to process every little thing around us instead of just the important things. None of this a bad thing! But being fully present is not how we’re accustomed to living, which is exactly why it’s so damn exhausting.

The disruption to our regular routine is another reason. Last week not only did I skip my regular meditation practice but I found myself consuming way more beer and pub food than I ever thought possible. Part of any trip is the loosening of our normal routine. It’s fun and even healthy to play hooky from our normal behavior. But it doesn’t take long to begin to feel completely out of balance and ultimately more susceptible to stress, irritability, poor sleep and even illness.

And, finally, where we sleep always has a big impact on us. Hotels, as lovely as they can be, are just never as good as the comfort of our own bed. From an energetic perspective, this makes absolute sense. Everyone carries an energetic imprint where ever we go. And the place where we leave the most of that imprint behind is the bed. Beds are soft and absorbent to this energy. Plus we spend hours of time (our most intimate and unguarded moments) in them at night. Beds accumulate energy incredibly quickly. So of course, hotel beds are always full of the energetic gunk left behind by other people. And of course, that’s not very relaxing!

So as amazing as travel is, it’s definitely not without its hurdles! Identifying the issues is only the first step; after that, it becomes much easier to learn how to cope and make the whole traveling process more relaxing and enjoyable. And fortunately, there are loads of ways to increase ease and make traveling a more spiritual practice.


A Quick & Easy Guide To Spiritual Travel


1. Bed Thwacking

Bed thwacking is something I’ve learned about from the queen of space clearing, Karen Kingston. Karen recommends bed thwacking regularly, whether you’re living on your own or not. But it’s especially important to do at the end (or beginning) of a new relationship. (Who wants to invite the energy of the previous relationship into the new one?) It’s also important for hotel rooms because of just how many people spend time in the space.

So before you climb into your hotel bed, it’s time to give it a good thwacking! This one’s super fun to do though! All we’re really doing is dispersing the accumulated foreign energy out of the bed and into the air where it’s much easier to get rid of. Ideally, this is done with something like a baseball bat but we’ll have to improvise since we’re on the road. Just hit the bed with your fists, making sure to get every little bit. Thwacking will let you sleep more soundly and calmly – as well as help to remove any leftover travel tensions!


2. Space Clearing

Space clearing is my all time favorite for fixing the energy of a space, therefore allowing yourself to truly relax. And again, the hotel room is one place where this is really needed.

I’ve written lots about space clearing over here so go check up on it. The process is easily adaptable for hotel rooms but you’ll have to take a few extra precautions. Sage is super-effective for space clearing but also very smoky. So for hotel rooms (where you really don’t want to set off a fire alarm) I recommend opting for a small piece of palo santo. As a bonus, it’s very easy to pack!


3. Bring A Travel Altar

Traveling is often about saving space and moving around with as little as possible. But I always save a little room for something special. A travel altar is a great way to center yourself in your space and remind you to indulge in your regular routine. Just as an altar is a highly personal thing, your travel altar can be composed of anything that’s important for you.

I almost always have a crystal (pink quartz FTW) with me, but you can bring a photo, mala beads or tiny figurine. I don’t recommend using a real candle in a hotel room but a battery-operated one is a great substitute. Set them up somewhere you’ll see them (like on a dresser or nightstand). Then throughout your visit, take a moment to stop and take some deep breaths whenever you see it. (Read more about creating personal altars right here.)


4. Mini Feng Shui

Take a look around your hotel room for any obvious Feng Shui no-no’s. There are often quick switches you can do yourself to improve the room’s Chi. If there’s a mirror facing your bed or aggressive images on the wall, try to cover it up with a scarf. Remove any pointy objects that are directed to the bed. Open the windows and let in some fresh air if you can (another great way to help dispel any lingering energy). Keep your bathroom door closed to avoid flushing away any positive energy. Try to avoid beds that face the door or beds that back onto windows. If there are things you can’t change or if things don’t feel right, go ahead and ask for another room.

Then unpack your things as soon as possible and try to keep your room neat and organized. Clutter is problematic even in a temporary space!


5. Create Mental Space

Travel is a whirlwind of activity and noise so making time to sit down and process it all is key! Journalling is a quick and easy way to let your mind start to process. There’s no real trick to this: just open up a blank page and go. I love to use my computer but some people prefer to do it by hand. Either one works. It’s the process of letting your brain go unfiltered that’s the magic part; the tools are just a matter of personal preference.

If journalling isn’t your thing, think of another way in which you can slow down and process the contents of your day. Going for a walk (without an agenda or phone to distract you) is another favorite way to do this. Simply allowing your mind to go off unfettered is amazingly for reducing stress!


6. Meditation

Meditation is the best way to become centered and present in your body and mind. The process of meditating isn’t about beating your mind into submission; it’s simply about creating some distance between you and your incessant thoughts. There are multiple ways you can try to meditate; for beginners I suggest going for a mantra or doing a guided meditation. There are loads for free on YouTube! I recently tried this meditation from Jessica Snow and I highly recommend it.



I hope this helps you in your spring & summer travel plans! Let me know how it all goes.

Jenn Stevens The Aligned Life



Pin It:

A Quick + Easy Guide To Spiritual Travel

A Quick + Easy Guide To Spiritual Travel

How to Use Visualization To Manifest

by: Jenn

You’ve probably noticed that almost every week I’m here saying something about how wonderful meditation is. And that’s because it is.

(BTW you’ve made meditating a regular practice, right? Ok good.)

But there’s another tool that’s equally as important that I also encourage everyone to use in their daily practice.

Visualization.

But before we get into why it’s so important, let me ask you a question:

When was the last time you sat down and thought about all your goals in full-color glossy glorious detail?

I’m gonna wager a guess that it was a while ago, if even ever at all.

Which is too bad. Because our thoughts have power and the more time that we can spend tightly focused in on our goals, the more quickly and easily we’ll achieve them.


Visualization is an intensely powerful tool for getting what you want.



Being able to see what we want is the very first step towards making it happen. Everything begins as mental imagery.

It’s all too easy to say I want to meet that person, win that award or achieve that goal — but do we really understand what that would feel like or look like? Have we spent any amount of time at all imagining it? The more weight and power we can put behind that intention, the more likely we’ll be to achieve it.

Our mental images are important. They have weight, both psychologically and spiritually. And they really can change your reality.

You can think things into existence.

Evidence for Visualization

Need proof?

A study of four groups of Olympic athletes using different combinations of physical and mental training yielded some powerful results.

  • Group 1: 100% physical training
  • Group 2: 75% physical training, 25% mental training
  • Group 3: 50% physical training, 50% mental training
  • Group 4: 25% physical training, 75% mental training

As you might have suspected, it was Group 4 that performed the best. Which is crazy! The athletes spent the least amount of time physically training had the best results. It seems that time spent doing the work in our own mind is more valuable than time spent actually doing the work.

Scientists now believe that we may experience real-world and imaginary actions in similar ways. Your brain lights up in the same way whether you are just thinking about something or actually doing it.


How To Visualize

So now that you know that it works, how can you start to apply visualization techniques to your own life? Here’s an easy three-step process:


How To Visualize Step #1:

Find Your Goal



So what do you want to achieve in your life? What are your goals?

Right now I’m not going to get into what you’re dreaming about (and why). The only important thing here is to have something to aim for.

Remember that it’s okay if your goals change frequently (and they probably will!).

You don’t need to imagine the same thing every day, in exactly the same way. Just don’t try to target more than one thing at a time: imagine your dream vacation one day and meeting a new SO the next.


How To Visualize Step #2:

Set Your Timer


The important part of visualization is making it a regular practice. Doing something once and then forgetting about it for six months won’t do much at all. So instead of trying to spend 45 minutes in visualization today, I encourage you to tackle a more manageable amount and then stick to it.

For me, that means five minutes. Yup, that’s it! I set a timer and tack my practice on to the end of my meditation practice. But unlike meditation, you can practice visualization anywhere. Why not try it out the next time you’re commuting home on the train or while you’re waiting in line at the grocery store? Just make sure that you use a timer so that you know you’ve hit your target.


How To Visualize Step #3:

Visualize


The only trick to visualization is to make it as real as possible. So begin to focus on what it would really feel like to achieve your goal.

  • How would you feel physically and mentally?
  • What would it feel like to call your friends and family with the news?
  • What would it actually feel like to talk to your new boyfriend or new business mentor?
  • What would it feel like to accept the award? To wear the outfit? To hit the milestone?

The more weight we can put into vividly imagining these scenarios the more likely they are to come true. So walk on stage or through your new apartment door. Look around you. Feel it as much as you can: sight, sound, touch, smell.

Again, don’t feel the need to visualize things exactly the same way every time. Stay open to new possibilities. Maybe you’re suddenly inspired to picture a bigger and better apartment or a more prestigious work award. Go for it! The more excited you can get about what you’re imagining, the more effective the exercise will be.



It might not be a matter of wiggling your nose Samantha-from-Bewitched style but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work! And besides, envisioning a happy future is fun exercise and a great boost for when you’re feeling low or uninspired.



Please play around and have fun with your new visualization practice! I hope you manifest and change your life with ease and grace. See you again next week!



Pin It:

How to Use Visualization To Manifest