Twenty-One Daily Routines

Daily Deeds Meditate on the 42 Confessions and recommit daily to the sacred Black Oath. For virtue sustains the soul as muscles sustain the body. Awaken after no more than six hours, and honor the Ancestors for another day. For the body is healthy when it follows the soul's inner light. Discuss no earthly matters before morning meditation. For each day should be planned and protected with tenderness, and shielded with fierce solitude. Finish morning workouts, including stretches, sit ups and pushups and martial conditioning exercises. For in strength we overcome all weakness. Clean self and surroundings, carefully attending to personal hygiene; neatly fixing hair naturally; applying natural oils, perfumes, and fragrances; organizing personal environment; and maintaining an organized and clean household. For beautiful are they who are what they are, and who love who they are. Implement a positive dress code, dressing neatly and presenting self clean, fresh, and alert. For in dress and in deeds we are not the same as we were. Eat fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, herbs, spices, and fish; consume water, natural juices, and oils, and take one natural multi-vitamin. For in order to wage a successful war of improvement it is necessary to be fit. Finish all scheduled assignments on time. For whom much is given, much is expected. Maintain a daily self-journal, pausing each day and night to reflect on the guiding principles and whether commitments were upheld. For a healthy soul cannot develop in a corrupt body. Keep one day of silence (6 straight hours) per week; Fast and cleanse once a week on the date of birth, 3 days at the end of each third month, the last 3 days and nights of the last month of the year, and first 3 days of the New Year. For inner sacrifice is redemptive. Practice directness, eye-to-eye contact, concentration, focus, and frankness with oneself and others, cherishing scientific knowledge and the spiritual character to use it. For we are to be patterned after the strength and wisdom of a brave warrior. Practice honesty, justice, rightness, and good for their own sake and do not expect rewards for them on earth. For efforts of the soul are more lasting than those of the body. Listen with patience and seek real answers in a relentless quest of truth, taking reality as a starting point. For wisdom governs passions, but fools merely obey them. Be calm and of a serene temper while understanding one's own mistakes, honestly admitting them, and correcting oneself. For one corrects one's own errors by quietly observing them in others. Hear people out, give them their day in court, listen carefully, study each situation, draw conclusions based on the facts, and act based on evidence. For wrong doing to others follows us as shadows follow a body. Seek accurate information and read books voraciously; for books are a cornerstone of the universe, the very source of life-changing knowledge. For knowledge is power; and except for power, all is illusion. Behave in a manner that is kind but frank, quiet but direct, tough yet gentle, disciplined yet independent, scientific yet spiritual, comprehensive yet focused. For one can often accomplish by kindness with another what cannot be accomplished by force. Be righteous in all thoughts, actions, and interactions; speak and teach respectfully-direct, clear, short, and precise, (i.e., yes sir, and yes madam) with no curse words or obscene gestures. For accurate information is a path to freedom-the means to escape deception and exploitation. Practice mannerisms that are probing, concentrating, concerned, careful, direct, focused, honorable, and open minded. For in behaving honorably, we teach our own to reach for the light continually. Judge according to deeds; keep all promises; keep word; honored responsibilities-make sure that any environment or situation is left in better condition than when first entered. For deeds are the measure of life and living. Live this day for the greatest good, never seeking worldly honors and riches, for in death wealth is left behind but virtues live on forever.