What Gives You Life?

In 2016, I invite you to build on the life giving elements of last year. For instance, I am doing that with some brand new offerings that are coming up very soon (for more info, go to Winter Programs). But to do that, you need to spend just a little time with last year….

What gave you life in 2015? If you have a little time now, or in the coming few days, I invite you to ask that question of yourself.

To get started, take a moment to just be with this old quotation, a snippet of ancient wisdom from Irenaeus of Lyons, 2nd century bishop and theologian:

Then, walk through your 2015 calendar – what made you most alive? What has always, reliably done that? What used to make you alive, but didn’t really do that in 2015? What might be a surprise? Maybe you only had a bit of it, but that bit gives you a sense of new aliveness. Start to build a list of the obvious and the subtle sources of life for you.

Some of the things that made me alive in 2015 were:

• Traveling to Oaxaca with my sister, experiencing an ancient and beautiful culture, starting to learn Spanish,and connecting with my sister as we age.
• Putting on a high quality, joyful conference for the constellation community, and feeling the satisfaction of a job well done in support of work I really believe in.
• Discovering the joys and challenges of professional partnership with my co-director James Woeber, and finding out I may not be quite the lone wolf I often think I am.
• Hiking in the HIgh Sierras and finding out the “back country” (as it’s called) is kind of addictive.
• Spending time with my brother and sister-in-law at their home in Hawaii, deeply re-connecting after a long time apart.
• Growing my healing arts with my clients, re-discovering my creative spirit, and finding new forms based on the solid foundations of NLP and Family Constellations (and developing a new format: “Alternative Lifetime Constellations.”)
• Playing, learning and growing with my business clients, discovering the joys of being self-employed in ways I could not have imagined even five years ago.

As I look at these sources of divine life in 2015, it sparks my imagination — what will give life in 2016? What would it mean if I committed to the things that give life, and add on as life invites me?

Here’s an exercise to explore these questions (after looking at 2015 and what gave you life):

• Imagine a You at the end of 2016. See her or him, there, in December of 2016, looking back at the year just past (just like you are doing now).
• Then, step into that future You, looking back over 2016. Breathe fully into her or him and ask: “What gave me life in 2016?” And allow the answers to come.
• Be careful to come to the question from your heart and your spirit, and not just your intellect. (There’s nothing wrong with your intellect–we just tend to already have those answers already!) Take some time to rest into this future You and that one’s knowing.
• Come back to now, and thank your future Self for supporting you now.
• Finally, take these answers, images and thoughts into any work you want to do on planning for 2016.

If 2016 includes being self-employed and working on your business, I invite you to take a look at what I have coming up (see Winter Programs).

What gave you life in 2015? What are you thinking may give you life in 2016? Please share your thoughts and comments here.