Happy New Year!

I love New Year's Day. It’s the one day of the year more than any other that we think about what we want for ourselves. 

Even if we’ve given up on resolutions, many of us seem to do our own version of it, one that feels more palatable, less cliche, and perhaps casts a wider, deeper net. Reset is in the air. It’s a new year after all. There’s this sense that we can leave the current year behind us and step into a second chance and fresh perspective.  

With that in mind, I’d like to share a couple of quotes with you. This one’s by Andrew Carnegie:

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” 

I like this a lot. You can meet all your goals and have everything money can buy and still be unhappy, we all know that. And I’ve known people, from the outside looking in, who don't seem to have much, continuously seeming to be in the most challenging situations, and they are genuinely happy. In the end, to have filters (thoughts) that liberate energy and inspire your hopes is to have peace and positive impact on yourself and everyone around you.

To set a goal that commands, liberates, and inspires, it may be necessary to first free yourself from the thought that this is hard to do, or that (name the person you know) really needs to do this.

It’s important to note - something I remind myself of frequently - that our thoughts, while they are informative - are not ultimate reality, even though they seem so real, informed, and educated. Someone standing right next to you witnessing the very same event and hearing the very same words can have a completely different experience and conclusion, and that’s because our experiences are informed by the context of our thoughts, our personal filter. Our thoughts deliver to us an experience that affirms our own sense of reality. It’s circular and self-algorithmic. Here’s the second quote. This one’s by Rasheed Ogunlaru that offers a solution:

“Thoughts will lead you in circles. Silence will bring you back to your center.” 

HOW TO GET TO SILENCE

Set the tone, beginning with New Year’s Day 

It helps to be conscious about how you bring in the New Year. 

Some of you will be reading this next paragraph after the fact. It’s worth a quick read anyway because this applies for the rest of January as well as every other day of the year. 

To those who often end up staying up late and drinking into the New Year but would rather not, remember that you’re not a bad or dull person, or have anything to apologize for, if you don’t make it until the ball drops or don’t want a drink. Celebrate the Eve in a way that is meaningful to you, but consider not waking up on January 1 with a headache and a plan to start a dry January, only to take it back up on February 1. Tweak it this time: celebrate with one glass on the Eve (and only if you want to), have a dry January, and then, if you wish to continue, drink half as much as you normally do starting February.

Also, consider bringing in the New Year - as the first thing you do on January 1 - doing something for yourself that you’ve been putting off that would mean a lot to you. 

These help access silence by getting rid of your body’s need to keep doing the heavy detoxing before being able to get to it, and also by finally getting to what your soul wants for you. The more you put this off, the more difficult it is to get to silence. 

Stacking your 2024 goals with two foundational ones - or, they can even BE your two goals for 2024 

If you’re considering that gym membership, a new meditation practice, or to start writing, take a moment to think about what made you stop (or fail to start) these and other practices in the past: work or life projects with hard deadlines, leaving town and staying in hotels, family sickness, family in general, the busyness of the holidays, sheer exhaustion and overwhelm, etc. 

Instead of saying how bullshit New Year’s Resolutions are, commit first to not throwing that kind of bullshit at yourself. Instead, 

1. Consider linking your goals to the base goal of putting yourself first for health and well-being. This will sound selfish to some of you, especially if you’re a mom, but this kind of selfishness gives you energy to take care of the world and all the monkey wrenches and urgent situations that get thrown at you. Remember, there will always be another project, person in the hospital, wedding, out-of-town guest, travel plans, stranger that needs help, and episodes of overwhelm. Taking care of yourself will fix this last one directly. So stop saying you’ll start after. There is no after because life. You are meant to start now.   

2. Consider adopting the goal to trust silence. Give it a shot. Try it one minute at a time. Add another minute each time you bank a solid minute. No thoughts. Just silence. If it feels impossible, focus on your breath, a mantra, your body sensations, or all of the above. To be clear: instead of wondering if you’re breathing correctly, simply focus on the flow of your breath. Instead of trying to decipher the meaning of the mantra, simply feel the vibration created in your body as you make the sounds. Instead of creating stories or feeling bad about your body sensations, just feel the sensations fully. By doing these, your mind will become aware and able to finally relax and enjoy what is. In this space, and over time, you will begin to receive insight that was unimaginable to you in the past.  

If you’re having trouble and need help with this, I’ll help you. Schedule a 30 minute call for a breath or meditation tutorial, or just to have me guide you through a practice. Guidance can be everything. If you’re a paid subscriber, your first one is included.

Silence disrupts your habitual, circular thoughts and opens up your ability to tap into new ones - ones that liberate your energy and inspire your hopes. When this happens, your most amazing goals and desires that you’ve been wondering if they’re worth the effort, or will ever come to pass, become possible. 

You matter. Your joy matters. You have power, the real kind that isn’t afraid to be authentically you. This power has unlimited energy to help heal the world simply through your own healing. In 2024, let’s tap into this together. Set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, inspires your hopes, and brings you back to center. The rest will ripple out because it can’t help itself. You’ll see. 

Happy New Year!

Love, Savitree

P.S. - Here’s a powerful 40-day practice that sets the tone for a happy new year, for a commanding day, each and every day. It will clarify your values, priorities, and desires, liberate your energy, and bring you back to your center.