December 21, 2009 - Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.  Today we pass through the day where from now on the days get shorter; from days that have more darkness towards days with less darkness.  As many of us use this time of the year to reflect on the year that has been and the year that approaches, it is useful to look at this time through the persepctive of the solstice.    What has been happening in your life as you went through the darkness and how ready are you for the returning light?

Being ready implies you will take action.  Stepping into the light demands that you be seen and counted.  That you step up to the demands of your daily living and aim for the higher road.  That you will leave the land of dreaming and actually get into the land of action by using your very own light to illuminate the way  toward what you really want in your life.   What does that mean?  First we have to look at what is really holding you back right now, standing in the way of the light returning? I want to challenge you to do the following solstice exercise.  Find a quiet space and light two candles. It is useful for one to be dark to represent the darkness and the other to be white or lighter.  Light the darker one and honour the darkness of the past year, the lessons you have learned, the ups and downs, any sadness, the shadows, any losses, the loss of time gone by, unfulfilled dreams, any habits and practices that you might  feel ready to  let go as you know they no longer serve you, knowing that all that the darkeness ever required of you was to be aware of it and flow with it, breath into it and stay present to it, not fight it.  Light the white or lighter candle  now and welcome the returning light, knowing that after darkness always comes light.  That is the natural way.  What lights you up?  What makes your inner light glow just that little bit stronger?  What do people notice in you when your light is shining?  When are you at your best?   What do people say about you when that is happening? Welcome that back.  Now, from this place of light, ask yourself what you would  attempt this coming year if you knew you could not fail?  What is the burning desire you have that you may not even have admitted to yourself, let alone others?  How radical for you to do that thing!  What do you need to do that?  What assistance should you ask for and from whom?  Allow the two candles to burn side by side in a safe spot while you now take paper and pen and draw three columns on the paper. In the first column, commit to paper what you are letting go as it no longer serves you; in the second, write what you are neutral about ie. it can come or go in your life, it makes no difference to you and in the third column, write down what you must absolutely now have in your life, the “MUST HAVES” especially in the coming year,  if you are to live the life of your dreams, if your life is going to be better or different or more special. Do this from a place of the lighter candle, where all is possible as the light returns  and it is easier to see, where there is the appearance of more hours in the day because of the light and therefore possibility saturates the air and hope is renewed.  What do you need, what help or assistance can you ask for to get what you need; what would asking for help look like; how might your dreams look if you dreamed them from the place of the fearless and brave one in you who can not fail?  What is it that you need to happen in your life in 2010?  What would it look like if, for the sake of the exercise you lowered your standards of perfection or expectations by 50%?  Write down what else is needed from this place of lower expectations.  Great!  Now that you have done that, share your writings with your coach or someone who will hold you accountable to assist you to let go of those things no longer serving you, of not spending your time or energy without awareness  on the neutral things and holding you accountable to take  a couple or more  daily action steps towards any of the things you have listed in your third column.  Contact me for assistance if you are fearless and have the awareness and passion to need it.  My focus for 2010 is to take you where you may not yet have looked because for 2010 my requirements are fearlessness and passion in the pursuit of dreams.   I ask for a lot and a lot is therefore asked of me. I love this with a passion. That assists me to live purposefully and in love and joy.  I wish that for you too.  The choice as to how to live your one amazing life is, as always,  yours and your future is determined by the choices you make today.  Make your choices count now!

May your light shine even more brightly as you go out into the world this holiday season and into 2010.

Namaste and all the best,

Karen X