It’s winter for real, now. The light may be returning after Solstice, but for most of us the air is cold and it’s more comfortable indoors. Or maybe under the covers.

Sunday marked the twelfth day of the Twelve Holy Days. I’m not particularly Christian, I find value in many symbols from many different spiritual traditions. And this year, the Twelve Holy Days felt very significant to me.

Solstice, December 21st, marks the moment in the northern hemisphere when the day is shortest, the longest night. The tightest contraction, if you will. There’s a span of time where things stop. The days aren’t immediately longer. There’s a resting. When early Christians chose the 25th of December as the birth day of the Christ, they did so for a reason. This is when we begin to experience movement again, just the inkling of expansion. The Sun appears again.

Those first 12 days of expansion are a time when we can experience the coming energy of the year. What will come into our lives? What intentions will we set? The 12 Holy Days are a time when God or the Universe or the Holy Spirit or your Higher Power, whatever words resonate for you, can be heard in the quiet. Some traditions say the 12th day, January 6th, is when the Magi visited the baby Jesus. When the Sun became known to the conscious mind.

Whether you know it as such or not, this is where your authentic New Year’s Intentions come from – your Highest Self speaking to you about your next steps in life.

Let’s take a moment to examine how this process could go. Whether you call them intentions or resolutions, are the ones you felt moved to make this year in alignment with your true self, your highest being? Or did you decide not to set any because you feel you’ve been set up for failure in the past by not having the tools to follow through with them?

Bring them to mind now. If you didn’t set them, bring the ones you would have made to mind “if you did that kind of thing.”

Feel them in your body and in your heart. Do they really resonate with your higher purpose in life? Are they realistic given who you are and the shape of your life? Are they infused with self-nurturing and love?

Or, do they feel trivial? Unrealistic? Full of self-judgment? Full of “shoulds”?

Where do your intentions originate?

We’ve been told over and over again that we’re not good enough in this world. We are flawed and we need to be improved. It’s a trance we have fallen into as a culture.

Your Higher Power does not believe you are flawed. Any changes the conscious part of you and the Universe wants to make are about natural evolution, not a reaction because there’s something wrong with you. The changes we invite are simply because it’s time for the next step, not because we need to be fixed.

Can you feel the difference in setting intentions from this place rather than from a place of self-judgment? And, now – do you know how you will approach realizing them?

For the month of January, I’m offering my two session intake package at half price when you make a three month commitment to counseling. When you make a three month commitment to yourself. I invite you to step into the next phase of your natural evolution, with support, guidance, and self-awareness.

Visit my counseling page to learn more about my offerings. Email me to schedule your complimentary phone session. Let’s see how we can work together.

You’re worth it.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 7th, 2014 at 6:02 am and is filed under Events, Life on Life's Terms, Meditation, Seasonal Change. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.