The new year is fresh, just begun.  For many of us it came in with great gusto and record breaking temeperatures.  For some of us, it comes with the making of new year’s resolutions such as:  I’m going to start that long, overdue diet this year; I’m going to ask for the raise I didn’t get this past year;  I’m going to spend quality time with my family ths year.  I’m going to . . . .  I’m sure that you can fill in the blank.  I’ve never been one to really make new year’s resolutions.  The times I have, I failed miserably.  So, this year, I’m taking a new approach to the new year.  I’m going to “reflect” upon the year that has gone by.  How does that sound?

I’ve decided to ask myself  five questions:

1.  What went well this year?

2.  What made it go well?

3.  What didn’t go well?

4.  Why didn’t it go well?

5.  If it’s worth working on again, what will make it go well this time?

So, how will I do this?  Well, I will sit on a cushion in front of my altar with my hands in Linga Mudra (a mudra for clarity), a lit candle will be glowing, and my journal and pen will be nearby.  (Learn how to do Linga mudra.)

I’ll quiet my mind and emotions with deep abdominal breathing, exhaling through a beaked mouth (kaki breath) for greater relaxation.  Once calmed from the inside out, I’ll direct my breath into my heart center and exhale my first question into that space, “What went well this year?”.  Then I’ll wait to see what comes forward.  IThe answer could be in the forma of an image, a sensing, a knowing, or as with me, words.  When I have my answer, I’ll ask the next question, “What made it go well?”  Again, I’ll wait to see what answer comes to me.  I will continue to ask these two questions until answers cease.  Once I have  reflected on the the first two questions, I’ll celebrate.  What will that look like?  Well, I imagine some authentic movement.  In Kripalu yoga we call it meditation in motion.  Candles too.

The other three questions will follow using the same process as above.  In many ways, these questions are probably more important than the first two because they require that I look closely at the things I deem not to have gone well so that I can learn from them.  My learnings will inform my future actions and hopefully make what didn’t go well take a turn around.  Completing the last three questions deserves celebration again.  I can see some wild and crazy dancing, maybe some African rhythms with colorful scarves.  In some ways, celebrating my reflection on these questions calls for greater jubilation.  Why?  Because these reflecitons on what didn’t go well last year can grow my understanding of myself, increase my self-awareness.  These understadings can make all the difference as I move forward in my life in the new year with revisited or new endeavors.

It could be that I will need several sittings to complete my reflections, but that’s just fine.  I’m not in a hurry.  Reflecting implies taking time.  Taking time, in the end, will be worth every minute. Perhaps you, too, will “reflect” upon the year that has gone by.

In reflective spirit,

Sandy