The Last Curve of the Year

"Begin to shed what keeps you hidden and dulls your light.  Move your Soul against the rough bark and dry branches, taking in its wild fragrance. Peel off your old layers in the forest of new beginnings." 

Dear Ones,

We are entering that curve of the year, coming into the slow turn of the ending that becomes the new beginning.  And we begin again.

In the Vedic traditions, we move from the Vata season towards the Kapha season, Vata, or wind, into Kapha, as the elements of water and earth.  We can see the shift of light on longer days and feel the tilt of the earth, ever so slightly and quietly nuanced in the changing length of shadows.

The mid-winter to spring season offers up a time to deepen our mind/body/spirit connection, to quietly seed the consciousness with the true desires of our hearts for the upcoming New Year, and to shed old habits and patterns that no longer offer us genuine support. It is a time to till and loosen up the soil of the Holy forest within and soften the hard ground, then work our way deeper into the warmth, the nourishment, the substrate of life where germination takes hold. But before we jump right into the New Year, with all its shiny promises, and prospering intentions, this is also a powerful time to reflect on the year that is passing, to take a pause, exhale, and review in our hearts and minds how it all unfolded, what intentions came to be, and what seedlings of our desires have yet to be cracked open.

I openly admit that I am a slower metabolizer, it is in fact my Kapha nature.  I also know how important it is to metabolize and digest the experiences of past years, which is an important step in preparing the creative medium to receive intentions and for newness to emerge.  Before setting my intentions for the New Year, I take time to set the past year free.

The meditation that I created for myself is Similar to the practice of Ho'oponoopono, the Hawaiian tradition of reconciliation and healing, the meditation below creates a framework to hold the last year with honor and appreciation, and release its gifts and challenges into wholeness.  If you prefer to listen, play the audio link provided above.

Curve of the Year Meditation

• Find a comfortable seat and close your eyes.  Begin by taking your awareness to your heart. Breath naturally.  Notice sensations around the heart. Feel the rise and fall of the heart with the breath.  Imagine the heart itself is breathing.
• Begin traveling back in time within your mind, taking yourself back to January 2022.  It's okay not to recollect details, just take yourself back to January 2022.  Your mind may not remember details, but your subconscious mind and your body will.  In the voice of your mind say, "Thank you".  Repeat this quietly to yourself.  Allow images, faces, situations, blessings, and lessons to come forth, as you repeat the phrase. Perhaps memories of births, deaths, travel, career, and relationships ending and beginning are coming forth, and thank them.  
• When you are complete move to February 2022, continuing to allow the body and mind to remember, honor, and acknowledge this time. Repeat the process of saying, "Thank you" in the voice of your mind.  Do not worry if specific memories do not come forth, just thank this time of your life.
• Continue working through each Calendar month with gratitude. Repeating "Thank you" in the voice of your mind.  Allow waves of gratitude to surround all that was created, imagined, dismantled, and nurtured throughout 2022.  Allow images if any, memories, and sensations to move through you with gratitude.
• When you have arrived at the present day, this day, say gently to yourself, "Please forgive me". As you repeat this in the voice of your mind allow it to permeate softly through the body and mind, and allow the request to heal any rifts and rubs between yourself and others that may have taken place, either known or unknown. Take your time with this, allowing this simple phrase to reveal wholeness. When you feel complete release the phrase and breathe once again into the heart.
• Breathing naturally and gently, now say in the voice of your mind, "I love you".  Repeating the phrase, "I love you." cultivate love for all that has been experienced in 2022. Extend love to yourself, your body, to people, places, and all experiences, to Spirit, and Life itself.   Let nothing be outside of love. 
• In closing, return your awareness to the heart center.  Gently open your eyes.

Thank you for being a part of my journey this year, for your support and inspiration I am so very grateful.  May the transition into the newness of the New Year be filled with light and grace.

OM & Blessings, Kate