Setting Your Intentions for the New Year

What will you be doing tonight for New Year’s Eve?

Whether your night entails a quiet evening at home, a night out with dear friends or a significant other, dancing with a lampshade on your head, or ringing in the New Year with a meaningful ritual (or any variation of the above), this is a great time to honor wonderful things that have entered your life this past year, as well as let go of anything that does not serve you.

It seems that the issue of “letting go” has been particularly challenging for folks this time of the year. And the holidays in particular can be a source of stress for some.

If you find that your breathing becomes shallow, due to holiday stress, or struggling with letting go, a good thing to try is consciously breathing in/out through your navel (vs. your chest.) As babies, we do this naturally, but we become “chest breathers” as we get older.

Another thing you may want to do on this special night is set a few intentions for the New Year of what you want in life by next year. Want a wonderful new relationship? A burgeoning career? To be more surrounded with supportive friends? Put it out there! Some people journal it, others just say it out loud, and yet others make a box of intentions. A friend of mine suggested I try the latter, and I was really glad to take her up on it. I also bought myself a dozen cream colored roses today to ring in renewal. I hope my pictures of them appear with this post, as I am typing this posting on my BlackBerry, since my computer’s hard drive is damaged and getting replaced as we speak.

May you all have joy, healing, happiness, and unexpected magic in the coming year!

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