January 2009
A NEW YEAR of OPPORTUNITY
From a Physical, Spiritual, Emotional and Cultural Perspective
(Reflections on the Past, Letting Go, Releasing, Turning over a new leaf, Change, Resolutions, Intentions,
Commitments)
The arc of new beginnings, both spiritual and cultural, resides in the winter night.
WE HAVE COME FULL CIRCLE. Thanksgiving: We gave thanks as we sifted out the good in our lives. Winter Solstice: Our window of opportunity. As Mother Earth shifted from the longest, darkest night, we emerged into the light with opportunity for change. Christmas, Hanukkah, Quanzaa: We celebrated religious and cultural end-of-year celebrations. And now New Years Day from the western calendar January 1st and the Chinese New Year of the Ox, January 26th.
Physically: We live in the physical world. Our health and environment are important. This is an obvious place to start. (More people go to the gym in January that any other time.) Loosing weight, improving diet, cleaning rooms, closets all make sense. As we sweep out the old, we clean our minds and make space to meditate on other levels of change.
Emotionally: Here we can get a grip on our feelings. Examine, evaluate where we come from emotionally (3rd Chakra) and the difference between this and the spiritual (6th and 7th Chakra.) Sorting this out is an interesting project. Maybe a commitment or resolution to change fits in this category. Instead of saying “I will be less angry”, say “I flow with my feelings.”
Spiritually: These resolutions are higher level intentions, intended to make headway towards spiritual development or growth. They nurture our spirit. These are expressed in a positive way (intention) so that our subconscious only hears the message you want to convey. These are stated in present tense, no negatives. Example: Instead of saying “I will banish all negative people from my life,.” You could say “ I attract positive people at all times.”
A LITTLE NUMEROLOGY FOR 2009
ELEVEN: 2 + 9 = 11
BALANCE
Balance of male and female, work and play, joy and sorrow, sun and moon. What a wonderful thing it will be to find balance and harmony this year!
That is huge.
CHINESE YEAR OF THE OX
January 26, 2009 New Beginnings
(Also a solar eclipse and new moon! Heavy. )
The Chinese calendar has an animal representing each year of a 12 year cycle before it begins all over again. The Ox is the second sign of the Chinese Zodiac. (Rat, last year, was the first. Rat leads the way; Ox follows.)
Like its predecessor and complement Rat, Ox signifies new beginnings. In Chinese astrology, the main difference between them is that Ox is associated with building to last. The action is slow but sure. “So even more so than last year we all have to make good choices. What is begun now is likely to have long term consequences. “
Here’s something hopeful: “The year 2009 will be a period of lasting accomplishments. This is true for individuals, societies and the human race in general. There may be times when motivation appears to be lacking. In fact the big challenge everyone faces is to generate the enthusiasm and desire to act. Those individuals and organizations that do so will create enduring benefits for themselves and the world. “
ACTIVITY
Make a New Year Intention Collage. Bring out your inner arts and crafter and take this to a higher level. The idea is to cut out pictures of all the things you want to "manifest" in your life, glue it together and hang the finished product somewhere that you'll see it often. Repeat viewings will prompt, push, and magically create conditions for your desires to happen.
- Make an Intention- Determine two or three primary goals for the new year
- Collect old pictures, calendars, magazines, words, photographs that represent your intention.
- Cut, paste, glue your intentions onto a poster board or large paper. Be artful and creative. Be kind to yourself. This is not going in an art gallery.
- Meditate on your intention as you cut and paste. Play inspiring music.
- Hang collage in prominent place.
- Allow the magic to begin.
Another idea is to gather close friends and turn this into a group activity! What a powerful and meaningful way to use group energy to celebrate new beginnings!
NAMASTE
Our January Newsletter is adapted from the following resources:
http://ezinearticles.com/?2007-Spiritual-Resolutions---Setting-the-Energy-in-Motion&id=418651
http://www.planetbahai.org/cgi-bin/articles.pl?article=217
http://todolistblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/new-years-intentions-collage-2005.html
http://www.schooloftheseasons.com/collage.html
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