Year after year, people anxiously await the beginning of a New Year. It is an opportunity to start over and live life again, perhaps in a better, more positive, more prosperous way. As the first day approaches, we are often betrayed in looking at what we think was not accomplished, the mistakes that were made, or things that could have been done differently. We look to the New Year as an opportunity to change, often pressuring ourselves to reach ideals that have been the taunting of the ego mind and the personality rather than what truly might be in our best interest.
Often times people begin the year with a resolution to ‘lose weight’, ‘exercise more’, ‘work harder’, ‘get along with friends or family’, and many others. We tend to pressure ourselves into meeting the lingering consciousness of our time when we actually need to step above the cloud to see what is really best individually. It is easy to follow the status quo and try to think, be, and act like everyone else. The stretch comes in learning to be ourselves, unique and proud, unafraid to be individual with a different set of desires. It is in the growth of discovery by questioning why we act and react the way we do to people and things around us that change happens. Standing up for the way you want to do things even if it means going against the tribe is what becomes necessary.
I wanted to do something different this year. I wanted to be in a different place, amongst people I did not know, seeing an environment I had never known, and discovering something new about myself. I decided to go to Sedona, Arizona and begin my New Year there. I did not want to just go for the weekend…I wanted to peel away part of myself in another place. Sedona sits amongst mountains of red rock. It is desert land and has a small population of 10,000. The town is very quaint and streets are lined with lovely galleries shops and wonderful restaurants. The people who live there are very peaceful, gentle, and aware of where they are. It is difficult not to see where you are when there. The scenery takes the breath away. It is as if the heavens took extra special time and attention on this spot.
Sedona has become a haven for spiritual seekers and the like. It is known for having a number of vortexes that are high energy spots. There are several of these around the planet residing in places such as Stonehenge, Maccu Piccu, and the mountains of Tibet. Sedona has 6 vortex areas of high vibrational energy. As we are all energy, these places help to magnify our thoughts, feelings, and vibration and can often bring out buried feelings and emotions.
I took a Pink Jeep Tour while their, which was a wonderfully scenic adventure through some of the highly unreachable areas of the Broken Arrow Trail. The driver was a gentleman in his early fifties that had moved from California two years prior. Upon his first visit to Sedona, he said he cried like a baby for a whole day. He came back a second time and the same thing happened. He decided he needed to move, not because he loved to cry, but because it was the first time in his life he was able to ‘feel’… and feeling was healing to his soul. There had been so much buried within him for so many years it was like carrying around heavy weights every where he went. As he was able to release the emotions, he became lighter and lighter… happier.
The conversation with the gentleman stuck with me for the entire week I was there. I came to the realization that we as a society think it is wrong to express feeling, good or bad. We are told to act grown up, to be strong, to stop crying… When someone is seen crying or tearing up, a napkin or handkerchief is quickly thrust upon them. What this really says is ‘Stop that, just wipe those tears away, You will get over it and everything will be okay. Just go on with life.’ The message given and taught is that one does not express emotion in public if it can be helped. that is something that needs to be done in private. the result is that we quickly swallow the feelings, stuffing them into our gut, letting them live their to guide our reactions to future events that trigger us.
Ironically, in the setting that is Sedona, one cannot be there and not tap into emotion. The horizon is painted with it… from the great big moon that hangs in the sky, day and night, to the oranges, reds and pinks that are striations within the rock, to the cactus that abounds in purples, lavenders, and greens. Just standing in the stillness on the rocks creates such a sense of oneness with the earth.
As I was flying back, the movie on the plane was ‘QUEEN’, which was the story of the Queen of England and how Lady Diana’s death was handled. ‘Coincidentally’, the theme of the movie centered around the need for expression of emotion and the inability of the Queen to express emotion.
I think rather than set resolutions for the new year, we need to be more gentle and loving. We need to set intentions…for what we desire to experience in life. Intentions support us in achieving what we desire rather than driving us to fulfill an obligation out of guilt and pressure. An intention is a way to say ‘I can see something for myself and I am open to that experience’. I believe it is important to write out the intention, date it and post it several places where it can be seen (the car, the bathroom mirror, the bedside table) as a reminder that our gift of life means that we are able to have the experience we desire if we learn to remain conscious of it.
Rather than resolutions…
Instead of losing weight…
1. I set the intention to experience myself in a healthy way of life. (Work toward establishing behaviors that define that for you. Start each day with this intention and be conscious of your desired outcome.
Instead of getting along with friends and family…
2. I set the intention to be more loving toward myself and in doing so see myself in all of those I meet. (You can only give to others what you are willing to give to yourself.)
Instead of working harder…
3. I set the intention to experience myself fully and completely at work and play in balance for the highest good of myself. (Life is about balancing the polarities of each circumstance.)
Instead of I have to start exercise…
4. I set the intention of nurturing my body through activities that create peace, and well being. (In learning to care for the self, natural tendencies will allow behaviors that are necessary to set in.)
Instead of resoluting to be stronger…
5. I set the intention to embrace my strength as well as my vulnerability. (life is about balancing the masculine and feminine within each one of us. Without such balances, life struggles increase in order to learn the lessons.)
Resolutions are for the ego and the personality. Intentions are for the soul. When you have learned to change your thoughts…change your mind…change your attitude and thinking…You will change your life. It is time to focus on you. It is time to start the new year from a perspective of ‘Feeling’. Feeling and experiencing emotion is when we tap into our soul level. It is the highest gift of grace we are given because we open the heart. The heart is the temple of the soul.
I leave you with one final nugget from my trip to Sedona. There is a special cactus that is a low ground growth. It remains on large pointed leaves for all of it life which is approximately 60 years. Just after its 60th year, a stalk begins to grow out of the center, growing 4 inches an hour for one day. At the end of the day, it flowers into beautiful blossoms. Upon completion of the blossoms, the plant has reached the end of its life and completely dies.
We are all just like that cactus…existing as ground cover waiting to grow, desiring to blossom. Our life purpose is to realize our own beauty and what we are able to give to the world through our own petals of love, compassion,
empathy, understanding, creativity, and emotion. It is what our soul waits for…what the world waits for…what we are waiting for. And then this journey will come to a beautiful close where we lift ourselves high above the ground to radiate light.
Start this new year knowing that you are on a journey and are exactly where you are supposed to be. There is no need to push or resist what is taking place. The lesson is in falling back to feel the flow of where you are right now as you are and appreciate that. When you can come to appreciate yourself fully, without the desire to change, then change will come and you will start new growth. Set the intention to live consciously…to feel everything…to make memories this year.
Happy New Year!!!
Until the next…Fashion Emergency!!!
Warmest Regards,
Simran Singh