Release the past with this sound ritual

Every year around this time I start to receive a barrage of emails and posts pertaining to planning, setting goals, making resolutions, claiming desires, making the next year - THE year.... While I appreciate the enthusiasm, I believe they're missing a crucial component.

Release.

If we add more clothes to an already stuffed closet, we may not even see them to enjoy them.

If we add more gas to an already full tank, we risk a spill and flammability.

And in singing, If we try to inhale without first exhaling, we could choke or the voice may crack due to too much pressure beneath the vocal folds.

On the contrary, if we expel and use air while we make sound, all we need to do is release the abdomen - make space - and the diaphragm will naturally descend and air will rush in, for the body is a vacuum system.

If we wait to refill till our gas tank needs replenishing, the fuel system will automatically turn off when the tank is full.

If we clear out the clothes that no longer fit or no longer bring us joy to wear, we have ample room for new ones that will inevitably get worn with more frequency and enjoyment (and we can find them!).

If we release what no longer serves us, we create space for the experiences that are waiting for us, some of which we desire, some of which we may not, all of which will help teach us and inform who we become.

So today, instead of offering you more lists of how to plan or how to create your best voice or life or more things you "need" to do in the new year, I instead offer you these questions for reflection and a simple ritual.

Reflection

Find a pen and paper, take a few deep breaths, drop inwards, and answer:

• Where am I? In my body, my thoughts, my emotions, my connection to my spirit and essential truth, my voice - where am I, today?

• What patterns have I noticed over the past weeks, months, year in these areas?

• What patterns are moving me in the direction I desire?

• What patterns have not served me as well as I would have liked?

• What do I feel ready to release in each of these areas?

Ritual

Take a look at each pattern you're ready to release and go through the following ritual with each one.  If you find yourself overwhelmed with all you've discovered, start small and just select 2 or 3.

• Ask yourself: If this pattern were a sound, what would it be?

• Say to yourself, "As I give voice to this sound, I release the pattern from my being in accordance with my highest good." Intention is everything.

• Make the sound.

There is absolutely no right or wrong answer.  It might be a song, a screech, a thud, a shrieking call, a deep moan, something animal-like, child-like, or melodious.  It might go on for a while or just need one good sounding.  Listen to the wise part of yourself and send love to any judgements that may arise.

• When you have made the sound of each pattern that needs released, take note of how you feel.

• Spend a couple more minutes sitting in silence and notice what arises.

When it comes to the future, the truth is, we cannot fully move into a brighter tomorrow until we assess today.  For it is the consequences of each action, thought, and feeling we have today that will create tomorrow.  And if today is filled with energies, habits, thoughts, and emotions that are not creating the life or voice we crave, then it is time to release them in order to make space for something new.

May your holidays be filled with light, love, and new beginnings.