Starting with the Ending

Here we are in the first days of 2014, a new year, a new beginning. Vision boards are still drying or are even still to be considered.  New Year's Resolutions have been made and forgotten, released, refined and some are already fulfilled.   Is it too soon to start completing 2014? Well, yes it is. However, it is my belief and my experience that if we practice conscious completion at the end of each day and at the end of the major events in our life we will experience a deeper peace and sense of well being in our lives and in the world.

Finding time to be still and complete can fell like just another to-do item on the never ending list. In today's fast paced life we move from activities so fast sometimes it makes us (literally forces us to) sit down and just stop. That is different than choosing to be still for a few minutes everyday to reflect on what has occurred, how I felt and feel now, who I connected with the aha's that I experienced. It does not need to take a long time and you might find yourself making more time for it as you get into the practice. Completion is not just a solitary experience and is powerful to share with your partner, children family and colleagues. 

I like completion because I believe it naturally leads to creativity. As I am complete with this activity, event or project I enter freely, uninhibited into whatever is next - even if that next is sleeping. As I consciously complete the events and activities in my life I find myself also completing with old beliefs, patterns and ideas that no longer serve me. I find that I am less inhibited with regret, disappointment and anticlimactic success. Completion does not automatically assume that we are happy with the way things are or have been left. It is the process of telling the truth about it and taking time to appreciate whats so. By giving ourselves permission to acknowledge how we are feeling we also give ourselves permission and the opportunity to move on with a clean slate. 

So, it might be too soon to complete 2014 but it is not too late to complete 2013 or any other past event from this year or years past. Sunsets lead to a sunrise and endings always mean a new beginning. Here's to the new beginnings that are being revealed for each of us!

Here are a few prompts that you might choose from for your completion process. 

Who and what am I grateful for?

Where did I feel separate from my good?

Where/how did I feel connected to Spirit, Life? 

How does it feel to be done with this activity/project/day?

What did I learn about myself?

What do I need to do, say, or write to be complete for this day?

A Satisfying Way to Spend New Year's Eve

Christmas 2013 is but a happy memory. It was a day full of activity, but the activity was focused around people we love, making it one of the best days of the year.

Now, we are turning to another favorite holiday: New Year’s Eve. I love this day because it presents an opportunity to reflect on the past twelve months – what worked, what didn’t – and make changes as we enter the New Year... 

It’s like cleaning the slate to set our intention on what we really want to see happen in our lives.

Such powerful stuff – but only if you take the time to do it. Set the priority, do the homework, and see the results.

The Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley is offering a really cool tool to help with that process of reflection and intention: a Burning Bowl and Labyrinth at the Center on Dec 31.

Here are the details from the Center’s Facebook page:

For many of us, New Year’s Eve is a time to turn inward and reflect. We examine our lives and explore those parts that no longer serve us — preparing to release them. At the same time, we look ahead to the New Year, allowing our ideas and thoughts to form a picture of our lives as we intend them to be — welcoming in the wonderful newness.

This year, the Center is hosting a Burning Bowl Ceremony and Labyrinth Walk to assist you in this spiritual practice. The sanctuary, with Labyrinth will open at 7 p.m. on New Year’s Eve beginning with the Burning Bowl.

For this segment of the ritual, you will meditate at your own pace, and write on a piece of paper all of the things that no longer serve you. You release these thoughts, placing them in the Burning Bowl. As you then walk the Labyrinth, enter with the energy of surrender. As you approach the center, you approach illumination. As you walk out, you embrace your new life.

The sanctuary will remain open and available until midnight.

It starts at 7:00PM, so those of you who have other plans will still have time to go out and ring in the New Year. Alternatively, the sanctuary will be open until midnight. 

What better way to welcome 2014 than in the midst of spiritual practice?

Either way, I hope to see you there!

Not 'Yo Mama's Vision Board Workshop

Vision boards have been a quintessential strategy in helping people set their intentions for a New Year for a long time. This workshop is about creating a new twist to vision boards by creating something even more powerfully intentional.

This workshop will not only include your visual intentions for 2013, but will also take it a step further by creating a piece of art that is wrapped in your own personal energy around your intentions. We will be using sacred symbols, numerology, and feng shui to create a piece of meaningful art that up-levels the typical vision board and makes a beautiful addition to your personal altar.

Bring your old magazines or come prepared with your visual intentions already cut-out and we'll provide the rest!  

When: Sunday, January 13th, 2013  

Where: Center for Spiritual Living - Capistrano Valley - 1201 Puerta Del Sol San Clemente, CA 92673 Time: 12:30 - 3:30 PST  

Investment: $20 (includes all supplies)