Its a different New Year's day today. I am at the beach in Santa Cruz, California with my husband and two of our four children. We have been running on the beach, building sand castles with shell gardens, swimming in the pool and dipping into the hot tub. My husband surfed. We rode roller coasters and while hubby and kids are out at the movies, I am here at Borders book store writing my first blog of the year. Of course, the first blog of the year MUST be about the infamous new year's resolution right?
Well, sort of. Mostly, I just want to share with you the ritual I enjoyed last night with my good friend LeAnne which made for a unique last day of the year. We went to a burning bowl ceremony, a first for me. Here is what we did. We joined with a group of people to reflect on the year past and to set our intentions for 2008. We were asked to answer the following questions:
- What do I want to release from this past year?
- Who do I need to forgive?
- What do I need to forgive in myself?
We each wrote the answers to these questions on a piece of a paper and when we were ready, tossed the paper into a camp fire, releasing the regrets of last year into the wind.
We answered two more questions on a separate sheet of paper.
- What are my intentions for 2008?
- What do I want to call forth in myself this coming year?
We placed this page in an envelope addressed to ourselves with the understanding that it would be mailed to us on July 1, 2008 as a reminder of our intentions for the year.
A simple, yet powerful exercise which helped me think about the bigger picture for 2008. I invite you to try the process or at least work through these really important, guiding questions. Would love to hear what you are releasing and intending. And for more on new year's resolutions and goal setting, see my blog post from January 2007.
Abundant joy, abundant health, and abundant wealth be yours in 2008.
All the best,
Lora
Lora Banks, CPCC
lora@TheCoachApproach.net
The Coach Approach, LLC