The New Year is a potent time to initiate change, but how do we sustain it? We often lose our momentum within the first weeks or months of the year when sticking to new year goals and intentions. But what if the answer is right in front of us, hidden in nature's rhythms?
Follow Nature's patterns
For those living in the Northern Hemisphere, the Gregorian calendar New Year falls close to the Winter Solstice - a time of introspection, when nature is shedding its skins. We're hibernating, simplifying; doing less and being more. Whilst the New Year's intentions can give us a boost of energy to move in a new direction, heading into change slowly might not be such a bad thing. Working with the season we live in helps us attune to nature and live in alignment with its natural rhythms, which are the same as our own.
Circling with the seasons
Setting intentions during the Winter when we are simplifying and spending more time being reflective and introverted, means we can gain stronger clarity on what we want for the coming year. In the Spring time, we've got more energy as the sun graces us with longer days, and we put more effort and attention towards these goals - nourishing them. With consistent nurturance (and a little pruning), we're experiencing the full bloom during Summer, when we've got a lot more energy to work hard and enjoy the bounty we've created. As Autumn comes around, we're reflecting on all that has come, learning the lessons and beginning to sweep up the remains. And as Winter comes around again, we release that which is needed to be shed, recalibrate and set new intentions for the next cycle, building on the last or simply starting over.
Release the pressure
Working seasonally like this means we can release ourselves of the full throttle burst of energy at the beginning of the New Year, which always burns out quickly a few weeks to a month or so after the year begins. Take your time, use the energy of Winter to be slow and intentional about how you will use your energy over the year to see your life bloom in Summer. Make small changes now, without the pressure and guilt of completely reshaping your life instantaneously. Think slow steady burn, instead of fast explosion.
Mapping over the Seasons
Creating a cyclical map for your new goals and intentions for the coming year feels a lot more natural, and forgiving, then a linear line of start and finish - because let's face it, the world doesn't actually work like that. If you map out your intentions aligning them to the seasons, you'll have a big picture idea of how to align yourself with your changes in energy during the year. Most of us feel the palpable difference between the internal hibernating energy of winter, and outward buzz of Summer.
Create a map with your intentions in Winter, how you would like them to begin sprouting in Spring, blossoming to their full potential in Summer, and winding down in Autumn. Obviously this is just an ideal, and the flow of your individual life will see these goals and intentions change naturally over time. But it does give a more realistic and cyclical nature to you planning your goals, instead of beginning at the start and arriving at the end of a linear line without any ebbs and flows in between.
Smaller cycles
As your year flows, you can also work with these goals in every day tangible ways using your ovulation cycle and/ or the moon cycle. This will help you to stay on track and is the microcosm to your macrocosm year map. Each new moon (or period), you can set your intentions for the coming lunar cycle, allowing your work to rise in energy and output working towards the full moon (or ovulation), and then re-assessing and winding down in the next weeks (or luteal phase) until you reach the next new moon. Using the moon or menstrual cycles allows us to continue working with the Earth's natural energies, and our own unique rise and fall in energies to bring more harmony and ease towards our goals and intentions. It is a beautiful way to live consciously align the inner and outer worlds of your experience, and create with nature, not separate to it.
Question your willingness
Getting very clear on your intentions, at each phase, is also really important to aligning with your truth. This means being radically honest with yourself. Questioning your willingness at the intention phase (new moon/ period) helps us to stand in our truth, and continually re-define for ourselves what we want. We are only accountable to ourselves. Dr Marion Rose, has proposed asking ourselves "am I willing to be/ do/ have that?" when looking at our new goals and intentions. She asks to then say "yes" aloud, and determine wether that "yes" was a full, embodied YES!, a hesitant yes, or even a no. If it was anything less than a full embodied "hell yes!" then the next step is to ask ourselves "why not?" or "what am I afraid of?". We might find at this stage that we aren't really willing yet to have/ do or be that which we're calling in yet. Maybe we actually want a little more time. Maybe we want something a little different. This process can take the pressure off ourselves immeasurably and help us to prioritize and really find out what is important to us! Dr Marion Rose has the free Willingness Practice for Entrepreneurs practice, as well as many other free resources on her website should you want more information on her techniques.
We're with you
Meditating consistently with our 21 day guided meditations specifically for your intentional Silatha gemstone, will really help guide you through your journey of personal growth. We've created the app to support you and help keep you on track when you start to waver as well as a mediation journal. And you're able to keep listening to the guided meditations after the 21 days has finished, should you wish to continue laying down the foundations for your ongoing transformation.
