Get your Twinkle Back

I know. It’s that time of year. Crazy. Chaos. Yet, we love it. But, how can we possibly find time for a much needed pause in the midst of our fast-paced multi-tasking?

When everyone is racing around and trying to be perfect Santa’s, hostesses, while finishing year end business it’s hard to remember to connect – with ourselves.  To re-build our confidence. To feel just how good things are. To get our twinkle back. It’s also a really powerful time to get together with friends.

This year I held a Winter Solstice gathering. I invited a couple of friends to get together.

Here’s what I did. Use it to add depth and breadth to your gathering and to bring a bit more light into your New Year. Take a moment to spiral into the darkness of what didn’t work in 2011. Notice what is wonderful, what is growing and emerging to feel even better about your self.

Here are  some of the questions and steps you can use. Adapt them into a New Years Ritual to add depth and breadth to a time that can be way too superficial.

Give it a try! I can’t wait to hear how you got your twinkle back!

Silence (3-5 minutes) – each person brings themselves into their own center, quieting into their breath

Inclusion – each person speaks their name and a virtue they brought forth in the past year

Silence – feeling our connection to each other and to our larger community

Releasing the Past – Question: “What is one behavior or pattern that you repeated over and over this past year that kept you trapped in an old place?” Speak to one person then share it with the group.

Silence – Feeling positive love and respect for yourself and the others in the group.

Creating a New Future – Question: “What is emerging in your life or work that, with a little extra attention, could gain momentum? What matters the most to you?” (BTW: This is not goal setting from your mind – it’s sensing through your body, listening to your Wise Core, and noticing what makes your heart sing.) Speak to one person then share it with the group.

Silence – Reconnect with positive regard for yourself and others. Join hands and affirm that this shall be so for you and the world.

We all got our twinkle back! We left with relaxed smiles, new-found confidence, and glowing skin. Quite a contrast to our rushed, tight, “can’t believe how much I still have to do” distress when we arrived! We stopped clutching onto the past and slipped into the magic of new possibilities.

Give it a try! I can’t wait to hear what happened. In my next blog I’ll share the story of a”turning point” that happened to me in the midst of yoga. It’s one of those times where I lost my twinkle and got it back.

Karen