So, here it is the end of 2009, and we are just about to jump into 2010. How do you celebrate this transition? Do you go out and party? Do you stay home and watch the celebration on TV? Do you actually go to Times Square?

Or do you choose something more meaningful, like a quiet celebration at church? Perhaps participate in a burning bowl ceremony? (A burning bowl ceremony is one in which you write down that which you wish to let go and then burn those pieces of paper.)

For the last 15 years, I have consistently participated in my own little ritual one either New Year’s Eve or, if I’m with family that evening, on New Year’s Day. But I never miss it.

Why?

Because it is so powerful. Because it works.

Here is what it is, simple and easy: I write out my intentions for the New Year. Yup, that’s it. I actually sit down and think about what I want to create in the New Year. And I get as specific as I can.

Yeah, yeah, I hear you all thinking, “Yeah, but do you GET everything you write out?”

No, not yet. But I do get an awful lot of it in one form or another. And so will you.

Sometimes, when I look at what I wrote the year before, I see how Spirit has brought what I’ve asked for into my life in an entirely different way than I expected it to show up. And if it still isn’t what I want in the way in which I want it, then I am completely willing to tweak my intentions and get more specific.

So, why does this work?

1. We must know what we want in order to receive it.Writing it down helps you to clarify it (and it informs Divine energies of your desires). Writing it down is one way of getting clear, very clear, about what you want.

2. Ask, and it is given. You do have to ask, though. Sometimes, that’s hard to do, because the old programming screams out “You shouldn’t be asking for that! You should just be grateful you have what you have!” Funny thing is, we believe that old stuff … until one day we realize that it’s someone else screaming in our head and that we have the choice to agree with it or to discard it. Of course, our work is to then become aware and to change our thinking. (By the way, I do agree that being grateful for what you have is the first step, but it ain’t the only step!)

3. The more in alignment you are with what you have written down, the quicker it will come to you.This means that the less you have resistance to it, the less you argue in your head with what you’ve asked for, the less you feel guilty or ashamed for asking for what you want, and the more you move into whole-hearted agreement with it … andthe faster you’ll see it show up. (This is really good news.)

4. You will then take actions and be open to the oportunities the Divine provides because you will recognize them as being a part of your path to manifesting your intentions in your life.  Even if you are not alwaysconsciouslyaware of these opportunities, you will be more open to saying “Yes!”to them than you would be had you not gotten clear about what you want.

5. Writing down your intentions is a sign of clarity and commitment … to yourself and to the Divine. You’ve taken some action by writing them down. You’ve gotten clear about what you want.

Your Take Action Steps:

Thank you!

Sometime, between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, give yourself some serious time. Light a candle or two. Put on some soft music. Light a fire. Relax. Get present to your Divine Self.

Thank You!

Pull out a beloved journal (or a new one), and an easy writing pen. Ask yourself the following questions, and then write your answers down in your journal.

Thank you!

1. If I had a magic wand to wave over my life, how would I want it to be in one year? Be as specific as you can be, and as clear as you can with your answers and look at all areas of your life: your relationships, your finances, your health, your home, your work, your spiritual life, your emotional life.

2. What are three things I can do regularly to support myself in moving into alignment with these desires? (Hint: tapping and using affirmations are easy-peasy things to put into place to support you.)

3. Why do I want this?

4. Where have I asked for and received what I wanted before?

Happy New Year Blessings to you all!

Five Simple (and Sometimes Not-So-Easy) Strategies

“I’m so stressed!” my daughter, Christina, told me. “I have no idea where I’m going to get the money to pay for the caterer or the videographer!”

It was less than two months to her wedding, and I had no idea what to tell her. My husband and I had already decided how much to give her, and I knew that our budget was going to be over as it was. She’d been saving for years for her wedding, and every penny she had was going toward this very special day.

Her fiancé had contributed a significant amount of money toward the wedding and rehearsal dinner. Her dad had given her his budget, as well.

Last, but not least, her grandparents and her beloved uncle had already given her a brand new SUV as a college graduation and wedding gift, so it wasn’t likely that they would be giving her more money.

Here she was, less than two months away, and she hadn’t contracted her caterer or her videographer, because she had no idea where she’d get the money to pay for it.

Her fiancé quipped that people might just have to bring bag lunches…

And here we were, in the middle of this recession and she (my only child) was planning her dream wedding. She’d already had to scale it back by reducing the number of people. Others had moved in to help: a dear friend of mine (thank you, Iney!) and I were handling the flowers and the decorating, and Christina herself had created many beautiful, elegant touches. I had made her veil(and no, that’s not her veil in the picture).

So, what could I tell her? I had felt challenged to hold the vision of what I wanted the past number of months even while wondering if my husband would have a job this school year (he’s a professor, and six tenured professors actually lost their jobs this year because of budget cuts). And our kitchen had had water damage. We were waiting for the insurance company to handle the claim (waiting, waiting, waiting…). We even had some uncertainty as to whether our claim would be handled (although we were pretty sure it would be), and our latest estimate from the contractor was over $28,000!

My work is all about how we move beyond the appearance of reality (what you don’t want oftentimes) to hold fast to the vision of what it is you do want. And I had felt the test during this time to hold fast to my own dreams and visions. Yet I knew that that was the only way: to not talk about what I didn’t want, but rather to focus only upon what I did want.

Isn’t this the challenge we all find ourselves in sometimes? We plan for one outcome, and yet something else happens. We want something desperately, and yet there are roadblocks that stand in our way of creating it.

I listened to her and then murmured some encouraging words about how I knew she’d figure it out because she is so incredibly capable and how I’d seen her manifest things before (the SUV being just one example), and that I’d help in any way I could (although I knew I didn’t have more money to give her at this point in time, much as I would have loved to). I felt deep within my being that she needed to work this one out.

We hung up and I returned to hold the vision of her wedding the way I knew she wanted it to be. (This was one way I knew I could help.)

Several weeks later, she called to say that the money had come. I asked what happened, and she said the person who is giving it to us asked me to keep them anonymous. Now, they could finish the plans for the wedding.

As we talked, I realized she had practiced the following five steps in order to manifest this money. These five steps are the same steps we all take – all the time – as we create our lives – whether consciously or unconsciously.

1. Clarity – Christina knew what she wanted and didn’t let any other possibility even enter into her thoughts. She knew she wanted a caterer, and it wasn’t an option to not have one. She knew she wanted a videographer and it wasn’t an option to not have one. The only option she was considering was which caterer or videographer.

2. Focus – Christina focused on what she wanted and not on what she didn’t want. She spent time looking at wedding magazines, at wedding shows on TV, and dreaming about what she wanted … and she focused on those things. (Focus, by the way, is different from clarity because clarity always comes first. Focus is what you do with the clarity.)

3. Envisioning – Christina spent time envisioning her ideal wedding day, and punctuated it with specifics of what each piece would look like. She never envisioned her wedding day without the caterer or the videographer. She didn’t spend time thinking about all that could go wrong. She didn’t spend time thinking about scary awful things. She spent time thinking about how she wanted it to go.

4. Intense Feelings – When Christina thought about her wedding, she felt happy. Yes, she also felt stress, but as she imagined that day, she felt happy about it. When you are envisioning your dream, the more intensely joyous you feel about it, the more you are in alignment with that dream.

Intensely negative feelings, unfortunately, also have great power. The more powerfully you feel something, the more quickly you will create in your life. This is why it is so important to clean up your fears and anxieties, and your guilt and shame, especially the intense ones.

5. Trusting – Christina truly trusted that it would work out. Even though she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to create the money for what she wanted, on another, deeper level, she trusted.

There were a number of times that we would talk and she told me she was worried and I reminded her that things always worked out for her (which is true, by the way). She would agree with me, and then sometimes say, “But I’m afraid it won’t happen this time.” Thus, even while she trusted, she also worried.And even while she worried, she also trusted. Her trust proved greater than her lack of trust.

If you realize that right now you are not using these tools to the greatest of your ability and you want to use them more effectively, then try this: begin affirming that you are those characteristics.

Here are some affirmations to get you started:

1. Clarity – I am clear about my purpose and about my life. I have clarity of vision in all things.

2. Focus – I am focused as I move through my day. I focus only upon that which I want.

3. Envisioning – I easily envision what I want in my life. I love holding the vision of what I want.

4. Intense Feelings – I feel joy whenever I think about what I want. I allow myself to move into greater and greater alignment with my vision and my dream for my life, and I allow myself to feel the pure bliss that it holds.

5. Trusting – I trust Spirit (God, the Universe, Divinity, Source) to provide for me all that I need to create what it is I want most in my life. I am trusting, and I trust.

Now, go play and have fun with this! See what you can create today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year!