Transformation in the New Year
Happy new year! How’s your year going so far?
I’m seeing more clients these past couple of weeks wanting to reset and refocus—letting go of the past year and thinking about how they want to open up to the new year.
While of course I absolutely love seeing clients transform throughout the year, there’s something special about the energy at the beginning and ending of the year, and these are some of my favorite times to work with clients.
For Reflection & Planning
Some of you have told me you started using the 5-Minute Journal to change negative thinking.
I recently finished Susannah Conway’s free 5-day e-course: Find Your Word of the Year (my word is SPACE and I had fun creating a Pinterest board for my word to inspire me and help me embody this energy throughout the year.
And I’m in the process of filling out Susannah’s Unraveling the Year Ahead e-book and it’s free.
One of the questions in the e-book is:
What are you looking forward to in the new year?
Close your eyes and take a deep breath to settle into yourself and then spend a few minutes answering this question.
Here’s a glimpse of what I’m looking forward to:
Working and learning with clients and Reiki students; hanging out and laughing with my husband; exploring the Hudson Valley; finding a new place to live; celebrating my parents’ anniversary; traveling (maybe to the outer Hebrides or Iceland); going to Jacob’s Pillow and seeing dance with my in-laws; starting new creative projects—learning to paint, taking photos; reading The Artist’s Way; writing poems and sending them to journals; learning more from the immensely lovable Master Sha; deepening my meditation practice; getting together with friends more often; going to Block Island and trying janzu aqua therapy again; continuing to study and get sessions with Frans Stiene, Gary Strauss, and my beloved Pingo; reading novels; sitting on the deck; cooking more; seeing how my practice evolves; taking yoga and barre classes; AND having more fun
Making Progress
Any goals or projects included in what you’re looking forward to in 2018? Perhaps you think about making progress in your daily Reiki or meditation practice?
Here’s an inspiring quote:
After you have practiced for a while, you will realize that it is not possible to make rapid, extraordinary progress.
Even though you try very hard, the progress you make is always little by little. It is not like going out in a shower in which you know when you get wet. In a fog, you do not know you are getting wet. But as you keep walking, you get wet little by little.
If your mind has ideas of progress, you may say, “Oh, this pace is terrible!” But actually, it is not. When you get wet in a fog, it is very difficult to dry yourself. So there is no need to worry about progress. It is like studying a foreign language. You cannot do it all of a sudden, but by repeating it over and over, you will master it.
–Shunryu Suzuki
It’s such a good reminder for our daily Reiki or meditation practice, though it also applies to other goals or projects. Reiki teacher Frans Stiene shared this quote and it puts the idea of “progress” in perspective, doesn’t it?
Sometimes I see clients or students and they want to make dramatic, immediate changes all at once in their life (believe me, I can relate to this desire!). But often, this isn’t sustainable. Practice and repetition are essential to sustaining a shift over time.
“Practice and repetition are essential to sustaining a shift over time.”
And this is where the importance of daily Reiki self care/meditation comes in. Three minutes of practice every day will be so much more powerful over the course of a year than an intensive hour once every six months.
Try This
How can you apply this to your life? What’s the next smallest step you can take to make a sustainable change in the new year?
Here’s to connecting with you in the new year—whether it’s through a virtual session, workshop, or Soul Healing Event. Can’t wait to hear what you’re looking forward to in the year ahead and I’m honored to support you through the process.
