Hi everyone.
Right now we are in the middle of a time of New Year's,
From Sawin to the Gregorian calendar to the Lunar New Year,
And the many others that come in between.
People tend to think of January 1st as their shot at a fresh start,
But the truth is,
Is that all of the time we're surrounded by opportunities for renewal and rebirth.
For example,
Birthdays are a personal New Year.
Mondays are the start of a new week.
Midnight or sunrise can be the start of a new day.
New months,
New moon cycles.
Literally,
We have a plethora of choices to begin with,
Again.
Every choice we are faced with,
From the mundane to the life changing,
Can be a new beginning,
A chance to choose something different.
Often what stands in the way of us not recognizing all of our choices is our heaviness of spirit.
The walls we build made out of the bricks of fear,
Anger,
And hurt.
The harsh words we forge and bind ourselves with.
The ghostly voices of others,
Things that they have thoughtlessly said can fall like hammer blows as we replay the dark events of the past.
All of these things can weigh us down,
Make us feel hopeless,
And separate us from all of the beautiful gifts around us like imagination,
Impossibility,
And hope.
So I would like to invite you to take a few minutes to clear some of this negative energy away from our hearts.
Light a candle with me if it's safe to do so,
Or if not,
Light one in your mind's eye.
We're going to take a few minutes just to breathe a heart song to the universe,
To everything,
And to everyone who supports us for a renewal of spirit,
Renewed belief in ourselves,
And the realization that we are indeed precious.
So place your candle in a safe place where you can view it,
Or simply imagine lighting a candle in your mind's eye while finding a comfortable seated position.
Simply let your eyes go out of focus as you watch the flame dance.
Feel where your body is making contact with the ground.
Notice how it's supporting you as you become aware of your breath,
Your inhalation and your exhalation.
You do not need to change your breath in any way,
Just simply notice it.
And as you breathe in and out and watch the flame,
Just let all the tension drain away from your body.
If you feel comfortable,
Say these words aloud with me,
Or simply breathe them from your heart.
Dear universe,
To everything that supports me,
Even if I don't fully comprehend all the ways that I'm supported,
My heart has become heavy.
There are obstacles in the way of loving myself.
I feel stuck,
So it's hard to make the lasting change I want to in my life.
May the grounding energies of earth and the refreshing vickers of sky meet and cleanse my spirit.
Shed light on what is dark in me.
Help me love all of the parts of me,
Even the shadowed ones.
Strengthen what has become weak in me.
Understand what is broken.
Find my heart's bruises,
The self-inflicted and the ones thoughtlessly caused by others.
Rekindle the peace and love in my being that has faded.
Let me begin anew.
Let me believe anew.
Let me feel refreshed.
Let me feel strengthened,
Grounded for this new beginning.
So may it be.
And slowly bring your attention back to your breath and to the flame.
Your in-breath and your out-breath.
As you breathe with the flame,
I want you to know that you are a beautiful soul.
I want you to know that you can make real lasting change in your life.
I want you to know that you hold the keys to your release.
And I want you to know that even if you don't make those changes that you want to this day or year or even in this lifetime,
That it takes nothing away from the fact that you are a beautiful soul.
I wish you many happy new years and beginnings.
Namaste.
