Letting go to open the flow

Happy New Year to you! Beginning a new year ushers in a wonderful surge of energy, doesn't it? I bet you're already thinking about all the fabulous new things you'd like to bring into your life - I certainly am! So where to start?

For a lot of us, the festive season seems to be all about filling up - with food and drink, gifts and good times. While this is lots of fun, it can also be pretty exhausting. So it's great to take a breather afterwards and give yourself some time to reflect and rejuvenate.

Reflect and create space...
What did 2006 mean to you? What stands out as your personal highlight/s for the year? What was your biggest challenge/s? Whether or not you achieved every single thing you set out to do during the year, take a moment to express gratitude for everything you did accomplish and appreciate what you've gained from your experiences. Congratulate yourself for completing another year!

Next, instead of leaping straight into setting a bunch of new year's resolutions or making a list of all the things you'd like to manifest in 2007, I've found that it's really valuable to first go through a process of releasing some of the old stuff. This helps to make space for the new to flow into your life.

Energetically, this is like starting the year with a fresh and clean slate, rather than just scrubbing out little bits here and there or overlaying more on top of what was there before. Believe me, it's a fantastic feeling to do this cleansing process!

Zen funeral...
The simple yet powerful exercise known as a "Zen funeral" helps you to get rid of mental and emotional clutter, freeing you up to focus on the new. It's not only easy to do, it's very cathartic!

Here's what you'll need:
- pen and paper
- matches
- fireproof container (eg metal or ceramic pot).

And here's what to do:
Take a moment to relax and centre yourself. Then take a piece of paper and write down all the things you'd like to release from your life - all the restrictions and limitations you want to get rid of such as fears and anxieties about money, work or relationships; outmoded ways of thinking such as poor self-image, poverty consciousness, blocking of success, self-judgement or old emotional baggage. Anything and everything that's been bothering you or holding you back in any way. Don't beat yourself up about what comes out for you - simply allow those things you wish to eliminate to flow through your pen onto the page.

When you've finished writing, sit for a moment with your paper and mentally prepare to let it go. Do this without judging what you've written. Simply give thanks for the lessons you've learned through your past experiences of restriction and limitation. After all, whether apparently positive or negative, every experience you have in your life is of value because it has contributed to who you are.

Then, consciously and deliberately, set fire to the paper and drop it into the fireproof container. As it burns, make a simple statement of release:

I now release all restriction and limitation. I let go of everyone and everything that has been holding me back from fulfilling my potential. I allow Divine fire to cleanse and rejuvenate all aspects of my life, and I joyously open to receive the flow of abundance.

Repeat this exercise at the beginning of each year, or whenever you feel in need of release and rejuvenation. In this way, you support yourself to regularly regenerate like that mythical sacred bird, the phoenix, which rose anew at the end of each life cycle from the ashes of its old self.

My wish for you is that 2007 brings forth fabulous new beginnings and a powerful new you, and may it be your best year yet!