I first experienced a “burning bowl” ceremony at Unity Church of Roanoke Valley in 1984 as a way of preparing for the New Year. As we entered the sanctuary we were given two pieces of paper, and a pencil. The Reverends Alan and Kathryn Rowbotham explained that this ceremony was to aid in the releasing of what was no longer useful to us, and was keeping us from receiving the higher good that was waiting for us. It made sense. If your pockets are full, you can’t put anything more into them, and we all deserve good things, relationships, events, abundance and more.

 

In a guided meditation experience we were encouraged to write down on one piece of paper what we felt we were holding onto that needed releasing. They covered emotions, attitudes, difficult relationships, unsatisfying jobs, etc., whatever came to us. We were to be conscious and sincere. That was collected and put in a brazier to burn, a concrete demonstration of releasing it to the angels.

 

On the other sheet of paper we wrote to God what we wanted for ourselves in the coming year, put it in an envelope and took it home to open some months later. I’ve since chosen to find images of the result I want, and sometimes affirmations I believe will help direct me to get to there, and paste or draw them on a piece of poster board, and put it in my bedroom so that it is one of the last things I see at night, and one of the first in the morning. I believe it has helped me a lot in maintaining a direction in this very distracting world.

 

Many people pray for positive change to come into their lives, but then don't make any changes in this 3D world. And do we know what is in our own best interest? Luckily there is One who does, The Comforter, Holy Spirit, that part of our mind that still remembers that we are Love, and One with the All, which is Love. We can ask for its guidance, and trust that we will be led to that which brings us to our Loving Presence.

 

For 2011 I painted iridescent hues of pink, blue, turquoise and gold swirling on the poster board. I put my picture from this website on the top, and the Aramaic Lord's Prayer below, cut out into a heart's shape. It was accompanied by a single violet orchid stalk. I knew that I would have great challenges this year, with the dying of my mother, and changes I would have to make to leave Hawaii and help her. My foundation was the Lord's Prayer, nature (represented by the orchid stalk), and two blessings that came to me later in the year.

 

The first was Tom Carpenter's teaching that "Nothing in this world is real." I repeated that frequently, whenever the visuals of my mother 's disfiguring disease threatened my peace of mind. I was also able to Skype with my little granddaughter, who was learning to say, "I love you." But all she could say at the time was, "I love." It has become a mantrum for me.

 

I have lived long enough to know that everything I need will be provided for me when I need it, whether or not I agree with what is going on at the time. Also, because I am loved, there will also be a little more, just for fun.

 

Take your time in making resolutions. Make sure you go within to get the best ones for your highest good. And did I ever tell you I loved you?

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Loves,

I'm back from New Zealand, and ready to celebrate the returning of the Light. Actually the Light never leaves. It only appears that it is less and less. In the northern hemisphere, today is the Winter Solstice, and in the southern hemisphere it is the Summer Solstice. Born within each solstice is the change leading to the opposite one. In the north the sun is farthest away, down to the Tropic of Capricorn, which incidentally gives its name to the astrological sign we are now in, so we experience the least light in the year. But the very next day, the Light makes its way back north, giving us more light until it is maximized at the Summer Solstice, when the Tropic of Cancer is receiving the most sunlight. The first day of summer signals the astrological sign of Cancer.

Wiccans call the winter solstice Yule. They believe that their sun god dies, and in the middle of the solstice night, the Earth Mother births a new baby sun god.Traditionally they burned a large ash wood yule log, which maintained the light in the world. Sound familiar? Our seasonal songs about Yuletide, and the way we celebrate the New Year with the old father time leaving, and the baby new year taking his place.

The symbolism I choose to glean from all this is in remembering that no matter how dark it may seem, the Light is always there. What would make things seem "dark" for us? It's a good question to ask and answer, followed by the second: "What will bring more Light to this?" We don't need a special day or astronomical phenomenon to inspire us to make sensible choices (resolutions) for our lives. We just decide that something that needs more Light will get it, and we choose to  make a change. The inner change has an effect on how we see the world, and change will come. In New Zealand the Maori have a special symbol for new growth and change. It is the spiral, copied from the emerging fern leaves, which create the new leaf for the plant. Happy Solstice to you!