Welcome to 2016! December was full of merriment and an appreciation for 2015 and all it brought. Now January calls us to new levels of change and transformation! What are your New Year’s Resolutions….and will you keep them?
We never seem to tire of this tradition as resolutions can be fun and inspirational. But they can also be discouraging and anti-climatic, when we sense our commitment levels waning as the weeks and months pass by. So how can we relate to this tradition in a way that creates feelings of success and empowerment? What can we do to make our resolutions meaningful and impactful?
January is named after the Roman mythological god, “Janus”. He is depicted as having 2 faces; one that peers into the past (considering where he came from) and the other face which peers into the future. Janus reminds us that who we are is a constant unfoldment of both past and present and that true transformation occurs when we accept, love, approve and forgive ourselves and others. It follows that peering into the future with a completion of our past frees us up to create new thoughts about the world and about ourselves. Spend time looking back as Janus encourages, to discover limiting beliefs that have taken up residence in the consciousness. Forgive them and yourself for choosing them and forgive anyone who may have taught them to you. Then choose better thoughts. One example might be in resolving to lose weight. If you have spent the year cursing or diminishing your body and developed the habit of disliking your body in it’s present shape, the commitment level to treating your body well in terms of eating and exercising is likely to be low. Make your resolution more meaningful by leaving off self-defeating thoughts and choosing kind and affirming thoughts to love your body into a healthful shape and form, instead of forcing or punishing it through a holiday resolution. You are more likely to stick to your workout schedule or eat well, when you are feeling love for yourself in mind and body. Your resolution will be more firmly anchored in healthy mind-soil.
Secondly, Janus governed the movement around transitions from the beginning to the end, so the element of tracking is emphasized. Invest your attention and awareness to tracking your progress. Any degree of tracking (in the example used: keeping a food journal; tracking how many workout sessions done; tracking how many inches lost/gained, etc) moves you deeper into real transformation, helping you feel good at the little bits that eventually equal large change. Such tracking is more likely to lead to life transformation. Resolutions approached this way build stronger, better versions of ourselves and can keep us feeling full and purposeful.
At times the face of Janus that looks back can have a bit of blurry-ness in it’s vision. Sometimes we need the aid of someone insightful to help us light the way, and get the wheels turning. If you wish to be self-guided in your efforts the book, Words Can Change Your Brain, by Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman can be found on the shelf in Paradise Found. I also love Florence Shovel Shinn’s new gem entitled, The Magic Path of Intuition. Teresa keeps her shelves packed with awesome reads so please pop in for a visit and tea! Or you can book a session with me in person since I love helping people change and grow!
Wishing you all powerful New Year’s Resolution energy! May you each see good fruit for your work!
Happy New Year!
Lani
