Welcome to a new decade! (Although one of my smarty-pants students today insisted that the new decade begins in 2021, because nothing new begins with a zero….)
I don’t do New Years resolutions. This time of year I’m usually much more focused on being with people I love, and lazing around in sheepskin slippers with a mug of hot something-something and a pile of books I can’t wait to get through. (I prefer celebrating the “new year” at Rosh Hashana in the fall — or in spring when evidence of newness abounds — certainly not at the beginning of winter.)
A couple of years back, I was asked to teach a workshop on New Years’ Day. I said yes to get over my “meh” attitude to January 1st as being when it all begins again). While preparing for it, I came across the teachings of Bulgarian philosopher and mystic named Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov. He taught that you could consecrate the entire year by paying special attention to each month’s vibration in the first twelve days of the year. Under this framework, January 1 has the vibe of January, January 2 for February, January 3 for March, and so on.
How cool is this?
I came up with themes for each month, and every morning, I started the day with reflective reading on the theme as well as a timed writing session (ten minutes is great) followed by ten minutes of seated meditation. For me, this took 45 minutes to an hour, and it made me look forward to the rest of the year.
If you’re wanting to feel your way into 2020 with a more spiritual practice than resolutions, this is as good as any way to start. My suggestion is that you take these themes (or make up your own) and write to them, do yin yoga while reflecting on them, sit with a loved one and talk about them — anything you can do to get you in the spirit of each month, and in so doing so, live into a more fully embodied and rich new year.
May your new year be filled with unimaginable delight! xo, Yael
Themes (the readings and writing prompts are waaaaay too long to share here!)
January: Grounding
February: Qualities of the heart (courage, love, wholeheartedness)
March: Order
April: A good start
May: Non-avoidance
June: Patience
July: Independence
August: Quitting
September: Learning/studying
October: Creativity
November: Gratitude
December: Letting go
