The New Year carries a fresh hopeful energy where everything is possible! The slate is clean to make a renewed start and symbolically we are able to do just that, to leave the old year and its attachments behind and to manifest whatever is in our highest alignment into our energetic field. The New Year brings renewed motivation to identify goals, set intentions and cultivate lasting changes within one’s life. But with the New Year often comes pressure, expectation, frustration and disenchantment. So how do we manifest our heart’s greatest callings, set goals and intentions while remaining accountable without expectation? Here are three practices to bring ritual and intention into your New Year:

1. Release and Alchemize

Use Fire Ceremony as a method to purify, cleanse and release what is no longer serving you. Create a talisman, an object that represents what it is you are releasing, be it an emotion, a quality, an experience or a relationship.  Place it into a fire and allow it to burn away so that you may move forward into this new year of growth and expansion. With this feeling of lightness, become a conduit or vessel to connect to your heart’s greatest desire. End your ceremony by making offerings of gratitude to the fire to close the sacred space.

“I celebrate the living energy of Fire to generate energy, expansion and growth. It is the active power of response and release. Fire gets things moving and is a catalyst for change and transformation. Fire is associated with will power and conscious choice. Fire inspires me to take risks, to act on the strength of my convictions and to tap into my courage and inner strength. It lies in the spark of inspiration, the spark of the imagination, the inner spark of my love and passion and my desire for happiness. These are generated from within me and inspire my actions in the world.

As an alchemist, I seek Secret Fire, Hidden Fire or Sacred Fire, the Fire that lives within me and helps me to be in touch with what is truly important for my spiritual journey. I aim to unite my inner Fire with my outer Fire, so that everything I do in my everyday life, and in the world, is a reflection of this union.

By uniting the two I create a doorway, an interface where my inner and outer Fire can fuse together. Their union releases spontaneity and trust in myself, a clarity of inner strength and true integrity. I picture the opening this united Fire energy brings and jump right in. A new part of my journey has begun.“

    ~  “The Alchemist’s Journey” by Glennie Kindred

2) Ancient Wisdom: Practice Aparigraha

Aparigraha is the last of the five Yamas of Patanjali’s Eight Limbs of Yoga. It often translates to ‘non-greed’, ‘non-possessiveness’ and ‘non-attachment’. This Yama has a lot to teach us on and off our mat. Keep only what serves in that moment and let go when the time is right. Practicing Aparigraha invokes a feeling of presence so that you may enjoy the task at hand rather than be focused on a desired outcome. So whatever your intention is for the New Year, do it with your whole heart and let go of what may come of it. Pursue your passions with an attitude of non-attachment and enjoy the fulfillment of cultivating happiness from within and being fully present for each precious moment.

‘Let your concern be with the action alone, and never with the fruits of action. Do not let the results of your action be your motive, and do not be attached to inaction.’ – Krishna to Arjuna in the “Bhagavad Gita“

3) Set Intention and Manifest  

Although we must practice non-attachment to desired outcomes, we also must actively manifest what it is that we want to call forth into our lives. While the Universe takes care of us, it also gives the opportunity to take action.  As we release what is no longer serving we make space to bring in manifestations.

Welcome this auspicious time with full attention. Take note of all the challenges and insights you have encountered in the past year. Offer gratitude for the lessons learned and blessings received. Invite in this directional shift with intention. A Sankalpa, or sacred intention from the heart, brings clarity and alignment as you prepare to move into this next cycle.

 “What you think, you create. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you become.” Anonymous

 ~ Wishing you a joyful, healthy and abundant New Year from all of us at Sacred Paths Yoga!