Monday, January 14, 2008

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU

New beginnings, fresh starts. Beginning a new year is such a great time to reflect on where you are and where you want to be.



Lessie and I had the honor of joining about 40 other people at Yoga House on Saturday for a 3 hours workshop with our wonderful Ambassador John Sovec. His seminar was titled Art of the New Year. It was great. He started off by having us write down the highlights and low lights of 2007. Really reflect on key events, and allow yourself to really relive the feelings associated with them. If it was a difficult time, really feel it. As well as really experience the joy associated with the good things. This was something I had never really done before, and it was an eye opener. One woman shared that it really showed her how strong she was, based on the difficult year she had, and how she survived through it. Very powerful!



Then he went around the room and asked us to share one word to sum up the year. I am sad to report that the first word to come to mind was less than positive. What does that mean? I know it was not all bad, but the first thing that came to mind was pretty depressing. Well, it was what it was. Then he led us through a guided imagery, where we took all of the pages of the calendar of 2007 and ripped them up and threw them in a fire pit surrounded by loved ones, who support us along our journey. Let the smoke rise up and let it go. Very liberating for sure. His reasoning, was that so many of us carry forward that which is history. We let the negative things cloud our vision for the future.



Then he asked us to look into a pool of water, reflecting back to us an image or word or phrase to carry with us into the New Year. Something that will sustain us through difficult times. I found this a little hard at first. I kept trying to conjure up what I wanted it to be. I thought I want to be a magnet for positive things. Whether it be love or good fortune. I couldn't seem to have anything just come. Then he had us write it down in a letter to ourselves that he would mail back to us. When I started to write, what came up was I WAS ENOUGH! OK, so now what? Then it hit me. No matter what may come my way this year, I WAS ENOUGH! Pretty powerful when I let that sink in. What I took away from this, and what came through loud and clear, was that my God has equipped me with everything I need to move through this life. I am strong enough, I am loving enough, and am faithful enough. I AM ENOUGH! Pretty Cool.



So here came the fun part. You know how we had to create our goal board? Well, we got to create our 2008 goal or dream poster. We pooled our resources of magazines, and began clipping and gluing our desire for this coming year. How much fun we all had. Lessie and I shared with each other at the end, and it was so inspiring to be a part of her process, and hers mine. What a bonding thing to share dreams and goals together.



So, my encouragement to you, is in addition to your goal board for Lululemon, think about letting go of last year, and making room for all the possibilities of this coming year. Allow yourself to dream a little. We are the designers of our life. You might even want to start a dream notebook. Whenever you come across something, a saying, a quote, a picture of your dream car. your dream vacation, clip it and put it into a binder. Fill the binder with clear plastic sleeve protectors, and simply build your dream life. For example, I really want to take a family ski trip this next year, so I clipped an image of skiers. It is lots of fun, and you can continue to add to it at any time. Be creative and share them with others. There's something really powerful about putting our dreams and goals out there in the Universe. So, happy dreaming!



Blessings, Tori

1 comment:

John Sovec, Therapy and Counseling in Pasadena for Teens, Couples, and Individuals said...

It was an honor to have you at the workshop and I am happy to hear that the work we all did had such a profound effect on you. And it was fun too!!!!

john sovec

to learn more visit www.johnsovec.com