We’re now just days away from 2016, and I am incredibly excited for the new year! One of my favourite things about this time of year — besides being past the last minute pre-Christmas overwhelm — is that it’s the perfect part of the annual cycle to pause, rest, and look inwards. That’s why I wanted to share one of my favourite end-of-year practices with you: gratitude and reflection on the year that’s been.
Remember thinking and thanking?
If you’ve come across pretty much any of my work before, you’ll have heard me talk about one of my favourite practices: thinking and thanking. And if you’ve incorporated this practice of thinking back over the synchronicities and good things in your day, giving thanks, and asking for more of them, I’m sure you’ll have seen the huge impact it can have on your life.
As we’re getting into this very inward-looking, summing up part of the annual cycle, this is a great time to apply this practice on a larger scale to the past year.
Why bother?
As we’re moving into a new part of the annual cycle and a new year, it’s important to bring some consciousness to what’s happened in the last one. This is not only helpful for cementing any lessons you learned during the year, it can also be a self love practice as you thank yourself for all of your efforts, learning, and accomplishments throughout the year.
Doing this also helps to bring some closure to this part of the cycle and your year. By looking back over everything, good and bad, you can forgive, celebrate, and get ready to start this new cycle fresh.
Finally, by actively drawing your attention to the things that you are grateful for about the last year, you’re training your reticular activating system — that part of your brain that chooses what you focus on — to let more of those things into your active awareness. The upshot? You’re going to get more of the things you want, and less of the things you don’t want.
How do you do it?
This is a great exercise to do when you’re in your Sorceress archetype, since it is a lot about inner wisdom and awareness. Find some time to really get into your Sorceress, and maybe even go to your sacred space, if you can. Grab your journal, and find a way to ground yourself and get very into your body. Maybe you want to do a meditation, maybe a little prayer, whatever works for you.
When you’re ready, I want you to ask yourself:
What am I really grateful for about 2015?
Who am I really grateful for having in my life in 2015?
What did I learn in 2015?
What am I ready to let go of after 2015?
What do I want more of in 2016?
Remember, there are no right or wrong answers, and there’s no judgement. The only thing I would remind you is that generally, you have to get to two “blank spots” or times when you think you’re done writing, and then go past them to get down into the really deep, soul level answers. So as I do my end of year reflections for 2015 this week, I really hope you’ll join me — let’s go into 2016 with gratitude together!
I’d love to know … what are your end of year practices? Tell me in the comments below!
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