Wholeness Healing Center

Setting Vision for the New Year

2005 has rolled in with a huge reminder that life is precious and not to be taken for granted with the events of the tsunami. It is hard to even put ourselves in the position of imagining what these people are going through, as it is so overwhelming and devastating to go there in our minds and in our hearts. What has been reviving to see are the people across the world reaching out and doing something towards offering support and relief. Perhaps as we each reach out with what feels like our small intention or monetary token of support, care, and love, we will find our intention joining the intentions of the masses of people across the world doing what they can do. Here we might find the world joining together in helping these people. And through this joining we can make a difference in their relief and strength to recover.

Bringing in the New Year usually provides us with an opportunity to reevaluate our life anyway even without the events of the world to guide us there. We can look at who we are, what we are about, where we have been, and where we want to go. It is a time of completion of the old (2004) and the beginning of the new (2005) with the ”new” offering us promise and potentiality. We have a clean slate and we can set ourselves in motion to perhaps do some of the things we have wanted to do for ourselves. This may encompass a broad arena of things from the areas of spiritual, emotional, and physical. Physically our inner wisdom may be tugging at our souls and encouraging us to look at our physical health and to decide we need to take better care of our body, whether it is through our eating habits, exercise program, or picking those things for ourselves that embrace our highest and greatest good. Financially, we may be nudged internally to look at our spending habits and consider how we are stewarding the money that we earn or receive. Emotionally, we may be trying hard to find more love in our hearts for others and ourselves, being more upbeat and positive versus being downhearted and negative (which is a continuation of my article from the last newsletter and can be found later in this newsletter).

In the last newsletter, I talked about listening to our inner guidance and becoming attuned with ourselves. One of the ways I find very helpful in learning to listen to ourselves is through journaling. I spend my New Year’s Day journaling. Taking the time to really look at the past year/years and then making some inner choices can enhance our quality of life as we become aware of what we are being guided to do. I focus on going back over the last year’s journal, making notes that highlight the year, and looking at the intentions that I set last year. During this time, I can look at how far I have come and where I want to set intention for in the next year. After assessing my year and journaling on my thoughts and feelings about it, I move into setting my vision for the next year. I include sections in all areas: Physical, Emotional, Spiritual, Work, and Relationships. This gives me the opportunity to really get specific. How many times a week do I want to commit to working out? Do I want to release some weight, what are the steps towards that process? Do I need more balance in my life (all work and no play)? What are the steps towards realizing this process? Do I want more in my relationship with my significant other or with my family members? How would that look if it were to be more satisfying? What is the first step in attaining this?

Setting intention for me is focusing on blueprinting (as my good friend Vicki calls it), which is setting goals. This can also be thought of as visualization. Another good friend, Loyie, calls it “dreaming forward”. Pick the right word and implement your process. I spend time working on putting myself in touch with the feelings and emotions that I would feel after I have accomplished my blueprint. To do this, you relax, imagine yourself there, step into the feelings that you feel after you arrive and be in it for the moment, actually allowing yourself to “feel” it being accomplished. Setting vision and putting yourself there is quite powerful and will get you started on your way towards the growth you want for yourself.

I have found that taking this time to really focus on myself and how I want to grow and enhance my essence in the coming year are really nurturing, loving acts I give to myself. I encourage each of you to consider journaling as an opportunity to listen to yourself and give yourself voice. Sometimes, I go back years to look at where I was and can then validate the movement and growth I have actually made. Small steps make a difference and it is important to give yourself credit for the growth and movement you have made in the past year and to work towards more self-growth. It is also important to continue to work on self-reflection and growth within our lives for the future. We never really “arrive” in the continuum of life; we move forward towards totally embracing the people we encounter on our journey of life and ourselves, with the hope that we can handle our own tsunamis that rush ashore in our life in the best possible way. 

Tags: dreaming forward, journaling, setting intention for the new year