Reflections and The New Year

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone’s holiday was joyous and celebratory.
I went to Sedona for my first time. I packed up the cooler, stuck it in the back of the car and road tripped it to cacti abound Arizona! There is so much hype around Sedona that I wondered if I would experience the energy the way that everyone talks about.
I don’t think one necessarily has to be sensitive to energy to feel how vibrant and alive the land is. However, if you are sensitive to energy or have an appreciation for beauty; HOLY CACTUS!

The sheer beauty of the red rock formations scattered with green desert fauna was a crisp contrast to the bluest sky I had ever seen. My most memorable moment…A Native American sweat lodge!

I have heard about this for a long time, but never participated in one…never really had the chance to.
A full blooded Native American, Rahelio, led about 8 people on New Years Eve in a sweat lodge where strangers come together in a teepee type construct with a fire and coals in the middle. He blended Native American tradition with many other forms of spiritual practice from around the world. Imagine almost pitch black and nothing visible but the faintly illuminated faces of people who have come together to reflect on their year, to give those things no longer serving them to the fire while claiming what they wanted for the incoming year. It was really powerful. This was done by talking, chanting, singing, rattling instruments and acknowledging each other in the similarities we all shared, not the differences.

I was sad to leave Sedona. I felt so connected to the land and nature there. Now back in the big city, how can I bring the elements of Sedona with me?
Have you ever experienced being on vacation and returning home wanting to bring how you felt on your vacation back with you?
I realized that as beautiful as Sedona was, it was just a mirror for me to experience what lies within. Sedona does not have to be outside of me, it can dwell within. The feelings I had there are alive within me.

So, I say to you that this is a new year full of what you wish to create. Full of feelings to explore within you. I’m sure many resolutions have been made. One question…are you passionate about those resolutions? Are you passionate about what you want?
If you truly are passionate about what you want, then take action in any way you can to get closer to what it is you want. Do not limit yourself by asking for money, job, etc…ask to be abundant. Why ask for a piece of the puzzle when you can manifest the whole. Be grateful for the abundance (in what ever form you do have) and create from that place! Then, maybe your outside reality can reflect what truly resides within you.

May this year bring all that honors and serves you and may your dreams be manifest!