Ahh, what a year this has been. There have been so many blessings, lessons, and of course, challenges.

As most of you know this year my book finally came out. Although, the birth of my book was a culmination of a lot of inner and outer work, I soon discovered, that in many ways, this was just the beginning.

Yes, the birth of my book was important, but then came the equally important part of letting people know about my book. However, I felt so intimidated at the thought of reaching out to new places and letting them know about my work. For some time I tried to convince myself that God would just bring opportunities to me if I prayed and meditated enough. Although, I do believe this is how it works sometimes, I also know that Spirit is constantly guiding us to grow and looking back I can see that I had old burdens around self-worth that still needed to be healed.

So, with some fear, I followed my inner guidance and began reaching out to wellness  and spiritual centers around the city to try to be booked as a speaker. And I was mostly ignored. Many places never responded, even after numerous attempts. Other places told me I wasn’t offering what they were looking for. Others said I wasn’t a big enough name. Some said they already had speakers who offered the same things I did. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Read full blog.

Think back on this year that is about to end. You can imagine, as I did, that 2016 is a wise old woman, a teacher that has been with you throughout the year leading you to growth and healing.

Gently place the palms of your hands over your heart as you ask this wise woman this question.

“What were my biggest challenges that led to growth and healing, even if at the time I wasn’t  aware of it?”

Repeat the question slowly several times. Afterwards you can journal, writing without censoring, what came to you.

Do something to honor those lessons and pray that all this learning be integrated as wisdom that you will carry with you in the coming year and nine year cycle that is about to begin.

Once you do this you are ready to welcome 2017 .

One thing I like to do to welcome the new year is pray for a word that will be the theme for that year (Debbie Macomber’s, book One Perfect Word inspired this practice). You are not choosing the word, the word is choosing you (for any Harry Potter fans out there it’s like how the wand chooses the wizard not the other way around).

Just set the intention that you are ready to receive your word and it will come to you. It might show up in your mind when you’re meditating or in a dream. It might be a word that you start to suddenly see everywhere. You will know when it comes to you. It’s ok if it doesn’t show up right on January 1st. It might take a few days. I’m still waiting for my 2017 word.

Don’t be surprised if it’s not the word you were expecting or wanted. For example, one year I really wanted to get the word abundance (I imagined all this abundance coming to me that year) but instead I got the word trust. I resisted it. But it turned out to be the perfect word.

Once you have your word you will be led to all sorts of different ways to connect with it. You might create a nice sign with the word to put on your altar. I love looking up books, if there are any, about that particular word. For example, when my word was self-compassion I found several wonderful books about this quality.

Most importantly let the word guide you and enjoy this process.