Happy New Year!

The beginning of a new year is one of my most favorite times.  Each year, as the craziness of the Christmas season winds down, I find myself craving solitude and instinctively wanting to enter into a quiet, introspective mode, which allows me to reflect on all that I wish to let go and all that I wish to usher in for the New Year.   

Long ago, I left behind the practice of setting New Year’s resolutions in the traditional sense.  No more giving up sugar or vowing to exercise more in hopes of attaining the perfect body or the perfect whatever.   Now as the end of the year draws near, I find myself thinking in broader terms.  What do I want my life to look and feel like?  What do I value most, and how can I craft a life that honors those values?

Recently I found a New Year’s meditation online.  In it, the meditation guide focused on three areas of the body – the abdomen, the head, and the heart – and encouraged listeners to reflect on what kinds of  habits he or she could adopt to foster health in each of these areas.  Until I listened to this meditation, I was having trouble formulating any concrete thoughts around my vision for the upcoming year.  But as I went through the meditation process, I noticed some very clear intentions coming in to my mind.

For me, the abdomen represents my physical health and digestion.  Having just started a new job and being catapulted into a busier, more chaotic schedule, the New Year gives me a chance to renew my commitment to my physical health – to choose nutritious foods, to be sure to get plenty of sleep, to stay hydrated, etc.   As I take a look at my new schedule, it will be important for me to build in ways to take care of myself.  After all, without my physical health, all of my other intentions are moot points.

The head, to me represents my mental health and my thoughts.  This past year has brought sooooo many changes in my understanding of how my thoughts impact my reality and how I contribute to my own experience of success.  As I have worked to  incorporate  these new ideas into my daily way of being, I have noticed that I have gotten away from my meditation practice.  No matter what new routines and habits I adopt, the importance of daily meditation and silence, for me, remains a constant.  2015 offers a chance to re-commit to the daily practice of silence as a means of staying clear and cultivating an awareness of God in my life. 

The heart is a symbol of my emotional health.  As much as I don’t look forward to it, I see 2015 as an opportunity to gradually drop my defenses and allow myself to be vulnerable.   In a previous post, I shared about the impact that a TED talk by Dr. Brene Brown on vulnerability had on me.  It’s crystal clear to me that vulnerability is the key to my experience of connection, and since a sense of connection is something I value highly – and something that has eluded me for most of my life – I’m aware that the time has come to put what I know into practice in this area.

As usual, the beginning of the New Year has me filled with a renewed sense of hope and possibility.   I hope that you, too, will have a chance to reflect on the deepest desires of your heart and begin to establish intentions that will bring you closer to an experience of your divine, authentic self. 

Best wishes for a blessed 2015.

~REBECCA