cleansing

As the year draws to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on all that’s transpired in the past 12 months, and celebrate your successes and forward movement.  It’s equally important to think about what you’d like to change going into the New Year. 

One of the most powerful keys to creating change is to be able to let go of what no longer serves you.

Perhaps there is an aspect of your business or a pattern of working that you are ready to let go of.  Maybe there is a particular client or team member you’re no longer aligned with. Sometimes, you can repair the relationship, but occasionally, you realize that it’s time to let go.  Or there might be a program you offer that doesn’t fit your mission anymore.  Whatever it is, making these necessary changes will help you to be more successful in the year to come,  and can be a lot easier if you have prepared yourself mentally and emotionally through ritual. 

As many of you know, I am a trained ritualist and have created countless rituals for women (& men too!) over the years.  In fact, in all of my coaching – even as I support women in improving their marketing and visibility – I incorporate ritual into the experience because I’ve come to learn how powerful & effective it is in creating change and transformation from the inside out.

For your New Year’s preparations, I invite you to perform this ritual for yourself and your business or soul-centered project.

Preparing for the Ritual

• Start by writing down an assessment of your current state.  Be honest as well as kind to yourself.  What is the condition of your business or project as it stands today?

 

• Then write an intention, a prayer, a wish, a list of what you want to have happen in your ritual.  What is the goal of this ritual?  What do you want to surrender? Are you ready to let go of a client or team member?  Are you getting out of a pattern that is no longer serving you?  Figure out what is it that you need from this ritual.

 

• Then, collect any items associated with this person or the pattern that give you negative feelings.  These could be photos, printouts of emails, mementoes, etc. 

 

• Also collect items associated with this person that give you positive emotions.  If there are no "items" per se, such as a trip somewhere, then you can write these down on a piece of paper.  (See the power of the pen?)  

While you are performing the ritual, have the following on hand: a notebook or journal, a pen or pencil, a container for special things, a big black magic marker, and a small trash receptacle.

The Ritual

Begin by turning off your phone and computer.  No one needs to get in touch with you right now.  This is your time to get in touch with yourself!

• Get it Together: Gather all your physical "props" for the ritual, and sit at a table, on the floor, or stand.  Go to the place in your home or office where you feel the most centered, relaxed, and comfortable (but not back to bed!).  Make sure there’s enough space to spread out all the pens, journals, etc.

 

• Say It: Read your self-assessment out loud.  It’s okay to ad-lib or edit while reading.  It’s your truth, and sometimes the truth is different from day to day.  This is just to help you get grounded in who and where you are right now.

 

• Speak Your Desires: Read aloud your intention for the ritual.  Again, ad-lib, or edit while reading.

 

• Eliminate the Negative: Next, you need to get rid of the obstacles preventing you from reaching your goal or intention.  Pick up the negative items, and before you do anything else, bless them. I know that may sound strange, but before you let something go, it’s so important to recognize why it’s been in your life, and what it’s taught you FIRST. It makes the letting go much easier.

Then, tear them up or cross them out, whatever you need to do to banish the negative energy.  Then tell each item to get out of your life, and throw it into the trash bin.  You do not need this negativity!  Once this is completed, take the trash bin and put it outside of your apartment, in the compactor, or whatever you use.  You can even say out loud, “Be gone!" Then go back inside.

• The Power of the Physical: Pick up the items that have positive associations.  Hold each individually and say out loud why this item is meaningful.  Place them in the special box or bag, and put that away in a safe place.

 

• Write Out Loud: Finally, take up the notebook and the pen.  Speaking and writing at the same time, state three (or more) specific goals for yourself, such as: I want to get better at letting go of failures, or I want to become comfortable with networking, or I want to listen to my inner voice sooner rather than later, etc.  These can be the same as your intention, or maybe you thought of something new since you started this ritual.  Then write down and speak the reasons why you need these goals to be achieved: focusing on failure will ensure more failure; I cannot do it alone; my inner voice has a lot of wisdom.  

Take a deep breath.  Close your eyes and visualize yourself having completed these goals.  Picture yourself relishing this accomplishment.  Concentrate on breathing in all of the newness you’ve just created for yourself.

Now get up, put the goals where you will see them every day, and go!  Go outside into the world and look at your environment with new eyes.  Read your goals once a day, when you wake up or when you go to sleep, to help you stay on track.  This is your world to enjoy, so go do it!