Have you ever gone to bed feeling empty and drained, dreading the next day? You feel that you have nothing to look forward to because you know that tomorrow will only bring more of the same. You feel a little bit like Bugs Bunny when he’s been run over by a truck. But remember, Bugs Bunny gets up, shakes himself off, and gets back to work!

A lot of our lives revolve around routine and repetition, and we can get stuck in a rut. We go to work, we do the chores, we run the errands—all without renewed enthusiasm. There are, of course, chapters of our lives that are more creative, exciting, and expansive, but most of life is repetitive and can begin to feel monotonous. If we don’t exercise the muscle of renewal, it atrophies. We lose the magic, the gratitude, and the beauty of our lives.

When we feel this way, it’s because we have turned off the faucet: the channels of communication to the spirit. Everything about our lives feels humdrum and dry, and we don’t feel we are being nourished. If you are feeling this way, remember you are in charge of the faucet. In these moments, we need to turn the faucet back on, so we can experience greater connection and a sense of renewal, even as we do the same things day-to-day. All that is required of you is a willingness to be present in this moment in which you are alive.

Where does this sense of renewal come from? It comes from the awareness that the aliveness of the spirit is always with us. Take a few moments for reflection and silence. Stop running from one thing to the next. Nothing is more important than you receiving renewed energy. Give yourself a break from your routine, wherever you are.

During any moment that feels monotonous or humdrum, you can pause and ask for renewal, ask for reconnection with the spirit within you, and ask for awareness of yourself as a spiritual being. What are the things you can do to make this day a brand-new day? In any moment, we can renew ourselves by drawing upon the creative spiritual presence, which is always in the present.

Take a few moments for reflection and silence. Stop running from one thing to the next. Nothing is more important than you receiving renewed energy. Give yourself a break from your routine, wherever you are.

I was once driving from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, and I was in a funk. As I drove down the highway, I felt pulled to drive to the ocean. I pulled off of the highway and parked in front of the ocean and just looked at it. As I sat there, my favorite piece of music, “The Blue Danube” by Johann Strauss, came on the radio. I started to cry. I was overtaken by a tremendous release of pent-up feelings, lingering disappointments, and a general feeling of despair. I just needed to cry. I felt the light come in and lift me and comfort me. I had clarity that everything would be okay. But the key here is that the spirit prompted me to do something—drive to the ocean—and instead of ignoring it, I listened. That listening opened me up to the assistance that was available to me. At times like that, what we really crave is the reassurance that we are not alone. The problem is not so much in the details of our lives, but rather in our emotional and spiritual experience of our lives. If we don’t draw on the spiritual energy that is within us, life becomes drudgery.

Renewal is not a mental thing; it is the revival of our heartfelt energy. To revive your enthusiasm, you need an inner-outer connection. You ask inside, through prayer, and you act outside to demonstrate that you are open. The universe will match you at the point of action. When I have felt stagnation in my life, it has been the willingness to call forth assistance from the higher levels that have never failed to bring about the necessary shift. When we feel stuck, some part of our soul is knocking on our heart, asking to be called upon so it can help us transform our lives. Through prayer, we can bring about renewal and inspiration from within. As we pray with the intention of a shift, it is bound to happen. That heartfelt energy, connected to the spirit, is magical.

This is a prayer for anyone who might feel stuck in the routine of their lives and wishes instead to see each day as a new opportunity to reach in and reach out, to awaken deeper compassion in themselves, and find new ways to serve others—to change their lives by cultivating a creative and divine imagination. There is always more love to discover, more petals to open in the flower of yourself. We are always in the process of evolving. Let us pray together with enthusiasm for renewal and forward movement in the new day.

The Prayer

Dear Beloved,

Today is not just another day that piles on from yesterday. Today is a brand-new day because I am breathing, I am alive, and I can tap into endless possibilities. How grand is that!

Just like the weather is never the same, things in nature are always changing, and everything is moving in the universe. I welcome this brand-new day, and I ask that I may look at this day with brand-new eyes, not assuming it will be like yesterday.

Revive my enthusiasm and let that spill over into everything I do without taking for granted the little miracles of life or forgetting to be grateful for every little thing—most of all, for the gift of my life.

Help me make this day a brand-new day. No matter the circumstances of my life, let me find the newness in myself and break down the walls that I have built between me—my heart—and others.

Let me drop any judgments about how I think my life should be and embrace everything that is. From that place, let me make new choices that bring the spirit of more kindness, more tenderness, more love, and more laughter so that the spirit that makes all things move can also move in me and make this moment—and the next one, and the next, and the next—a brand-new moment.

I turn my gaze inward so that I can see how I might have forgotten and been blinded to the miracle of life that surrounds me. I forgive myself for any judgments I have placed against myself, my life, the people who surround me, and the world, for the hardships and the challenges I face, and for life not giving me what I want. I forgive myself for thinking that I have been denied or left behind. Whatever voice inside of me that has been undermining me and whispering fear and self-doubt into my ears, I now silence it. Allow me to see the truth of who I am and not the habit of who I have become.

Help me trust that I am one breath away from knowing that the conditions of my life can be transformed with the power of the spirit to experience more grace, more ease, more loving, and yes, more joy.

I dare to let my heart soften and open up to love.

So be it.

Prayer for Self-Expression

Dear Beloved,

I ask that I may open my eyes and see the infinite possibilities that exist, and that I may see the stream of creativity that exists in me.

Is there a way for me to open my heart, my vision, and my eyes so I may see myself through the eyes of my maker? So that I may receive a greater amplifier of my voice? So that my voice can come out and be expressed in creative ways? So that all that is in me can be birthed and find fertile ground to grow? So that I may feel the joy and happiness of my becoming?

I ask with all my heart to be willing to let go of the limited way I see myself and be shown the ways that are there for me, though they are unknown to me at this moment. I ask to be willing to trust and know that I matter, and what I have to say also matters.

Tonight, as I sleep, I ask that my unconscious and my subconscious mind release the limitation, judgment, and resistance so that I may open up to the great consciousness of the Divine and the higher intelligence that is part of me—so that I might start to embody, see, believe, breathe in, and manifest who I am meant to become.

So be it.


Excerpted from Speaking with Spirit, copyright © 2022 by Agapi Stassinopoulos. Used by permission of Harmony Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

About the Author

Agapi Stassinopoulos is an inspirational speaker and author who also teaches meditation and facilitates workshops for Thrive Global, a company founded by her sister, Arianna Huffington. Born in Greece, she now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles. She is the author of Speaking with Spirit (Harmony, 2022). Follow her on Instagram (@agapisees).

Agapi Stassinopoulos

More

No Results