Looking back

In our excitement to embrace our capacity for renewal with each New Year, it is beneficial to remember all we've accomplished over the past year.

So as you look forward to whatever adventures await you in the coming year, be sure take a moment to recount the events of this year, recalling who you were last New Year's Eve, the growth you've undergone since then, the challenges you've faced, the lessons you've learned, and the goals you've achieved. If you find some memories to be bittersweet, flavor them with gratitude for their occurrence.

While I don't recommend dwelling on the past, it is advisable to carry the highlights with us, so that we can better appreciate where we are with the perspective of where we've been.

New intentions for a New Year

Although we mark the new year by our Gregorian calendar, on January 1st, today is the Winter Solstice, which denotes the end of the lengthening night, and the return of increasing daylight. My spirits are so renewed on this day, that I find it as good as any to get a head start on plans for the New Year.

A few years ago, I was introduced to a new take on New Year's Resolutions, where instead of resolving to do something differently, we set intentions to shoot for our dreams. The idea includes choosing an intention - the biggest, boldest one you're comfortable with - as well as a theme, so you have a sort-of soundtrack to keep you on point, and you also decide on one or a few outmoded thought patterns to shed.

When I went into my file on these to prepare for my 2014 intention, I browsed through past years, and was pleasantly surprised by last year's - I had completely forgotten I'd written this!

I am a bad-ass, and I'm not going to confine my strengths with distress over my flaws, which are the source of my humanity. I am exceedingly responsible; I am not responsible for the feelings or actions of others. I am self-reliant; I don't need the approval of others. I maintain my power by taking responsibility for my self.

How profound! I am so proud of myself for the insights I glean from time to time :)

This year, I have set the following:

In 2014, I will manifest all my dreams.

2014 Intention: Attract the good life
2014 Theme: Power

I am an exceptional being; I deserve to have the things I want - such as a hostel, romantic companionship, and opportunities to travel. I appreciate the things I have - such as my unique self, my family of friends, my dog, home, car, job, and money. I am a powerful being, filled with Omni's divine creativity; I am grateful for what I have, and I can and will expand it as I envision.

In 2014, I release my urge to control the process.

Happy Thanksgiving

Dear Good Graciousness,

Thank you for this blessed existence. We are all so grateful to be here. Thank you for this bounty of life, love, and happiness.

On this day of gratitude, we give thanks for the gift of each other, and we are honored to share in this abundance of delectable nourishment.

May we partake of these riches and carry our gratitude with us into every dawning day, so that we never feel want or sorrow, and know only of joy and laughter.

May this warmth light a fire in our hearts that will pervade even our darkest nights, and shine on those around us, so that we stay forever in your loving light.

To Each and All of You: Thank You.

Lyrical affirmation

A few months ago, I was working up the courage to initiate a major life change - which I have, and continue to undergo - and a familiar tune popped into my head, but with a slight modification:

I got skills! They're multiplyin' ...

I grinned :)
And then I ran with it -

And I'm gaining control
'Cause the power I'm supplyin'
It's electrifyin'!

That proved to be a rather handy lyrical affirmation to push me along through the transition.

Today, I received a suggestion to create a mantra for increasing wealth, and I decided to try adapting a song again. I scrolled through my music collection for inspiration, and came up with this:

I come from a land of money,
Where dollars flow
And needs crumble.
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you'd better take cover.

I really enjoy this technique because these tunes are so catchy that it's remarkably easy to keep them on heavy mental rotation! Give it a try - borrow mine, or create your own. What a fun way to manifest our dreams :)

Gratitude prayer

I have often found myself wanting for a sort of go-to prayer, and I have finally come up with one I am quite pleased with :)

O, Universal Existence - 
I am eternally grateful to share in your loving light.
To know such joy is a divine gift, extended of your wise and benevolent grace.
Let your will be manifest in my life.
Thank you.

Whole systems

It seems there is an epidemic affecting the "intelligentsia" by which they increasingly neglect the systemic nature of Life. More and more often, our attention is directed to certain aspects of life - our minds, our bodies, our societies - with utter disregard for the big picture and the complete context in which events occur.

The knee bone's connected to the leg bone, but the whole skeleton is also connected to the musculature, and both are linked by the vascular network, which is integral to the respiratory and digestive system. The interconnectedness goes on - and that's just the body! The body is also intertwined with the mind, and both are influenced by the soul. Beyond one human individual, we are all participants in families, communities, societies, economies, cultures, and nations; our species shares interdependence with all the others; we all affect each other on this rock we cohabitate, and Earth is but one rock in a planetary system surrounding our Sun star, in an even greater arrangement of stellar bodies. Then, don't forget the other direction: those bones are made up of specialized cells which require communication with other cells, and which are all supported by molecular compounds made up of atoms, composed of quarks and whatnot.

When a "doctor" tells you to consume a chemical compound synthesized in a laboratory to "treat" a particular ailment, the chances are pretty high that the larger system in which your affliction is operating is being overlooked. There is good reason why happy people are healthy, and more resilient to infection. People who have strong human networks are also flourishing economically, and those who help others, want for nothing. There is more life in environments where symbiosis is made possible. Health begets health, and every aspect of our nature is networked to every other aspect. So, when you are ailing in one aspect, first see how other aspects can be better supported, before seeking "band-aid" style symptom treatment. Remember that Life is a system, comprised of interconnected systems, and that it is often a disservice to address issues head-on with side-blinders.

If you are feeling down, try getting more exercise. If your neck and shoulders are sore, practice confidence-building affirmation. If your finances are suffering, go volunteer. When we treat ourselves as systems within systems, we are more likely to discover positive results than when we treat symptoms as though they have but one direct cause. "When people go within and connect with themselves, they realize they are connected to the universe and they are connected to all living things." - Armand Dimele

Yay Spring!

Spring is back, and I'm renewing my life all over again!

This time last year, I was planting the seeds that grew into my very own business. Now, it is successful and thriving - as am I! In fact, I have decided that the time has come to go ahead and sell that business, and start a new venture. Next up: a hostel (with an ecotourism/commune/resort appeal) in Austin, Texas. I don't know how to get there, but I know that whatever unfolds along the way will only bring more growth and joy - because I SAY SO! ;)

I can feel the seeds a-germinating...

Saint Valentine

Legend has it that while the Roman Empire was seeking to develop a citizenry of soldiers whose duty was directed solely to the Empire, and not to some other god, nor to family, Saint Valentine continued to perform the then illegal marriage ceremony, and was killed for such treason, on February 14th.

Having been told this story since my youth, I have always considered St. Valentine's Day not just as a Hallmark holiday of lovey-dovey hearts and ooey-gooey romance, but as a day to commemorate the human dedication to interpersonal commitment.

It occurs to me this year, that I would like to celebrate this special day with gratitude for the nature of our present society in which we favor love. We are allowed to marry, or to not marry. We are not subject to arranged marriages for familial economic benefit, nor are we banned from marriage. We have the freedom to chose to whom we wish to commit, or to not commit. (And though the fine print still needs some ironing out, and a few localities remain with their heads in the ground, this is increasingly true for individuals of differing ethnicity, and for those of the same sex.)

I have recently rejoined the community of singles, and although it is a bittersweet position, I can smile on this holiday for the ability to exercise my right to pursue my very own happiness :)

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Winter doldrums

As the grayness lingers on, I find myself moping a bit. Yet, between the rain drops, I am inevitably performing the Winter duties of internal polishing. It's almost as if the sun-less depression acts as a scouring brush to help me clean up the abandoned pieces of myself. I am so grateful for my ability to do this! It may not feel so uplifting as the days drudge on, but I know that once the warm brightness returns to my world, I will be sparkling all throughout.

I've discovered that some of the discarded bits I've found are aspects which I have cast aside on the influence of others. As I regard these battered gems, I am incited to restore my Self and renounce instead those beings who moved me to such self mutilation. It is no easy task, though I am distinctly stronger as whole than fractured. Reclaiming all the pieces of my soul, and embracing my supposed weaknesses as strengths, is my Winter job, and I am fortified by the exercise every time.

Someday, I hope to live someplace with year-round warmth - I wonder what will spur my shadow work then... but I trust that I will always find a way to grow :)