Self-Reflections to Release the Old
Self-reflection can bring the biggest insights to light. Instead of traversing our life based on habit alone we can choose to become radically honest with ourselves and become aware of not only the relationships, habits and situations we are ready to release, but also the greatest gifts that have blessed us. We become acutely aware of our own inner reality, can gain clarity and confidence as well as wisdom that has been hidden.
As the year comes to a close this sacred time brings an opportunity to reflect on this year-long cycle to re-evaluate your life and gain a deeper perspective. Within this transformational space you can look back at what has worked and what hasn’t, what you are ready to release and let go of, and the gifts that blessed your life. (Even if those events felt catastrophic at the time, because let's face it, within some of our biggest challenges come our greatest gifts.)
We become empowered by clearing out the old through acknowledging the truth of our reality and accepting where we are. Once this happens we can then begin to know what our soul desires are, what it will take to achieve it and create the space to invite it in.
Imagine your closet. What is in there? Are there old ragged clothes that are ready to be tossed out? Are there clothes that you love, but you never wear? Are there shirts that are too tight or too baggy and uncomfortable to wear? How full is your closet? Is there room to go shopping and hang clothes you feel good in? Or is it crammed tight and overflowing leaving no space?
Our lives can sometimes be like the closet. At one point you really liked that new shirt. It fit perfectly, but over time it lost it's appeal. It's become outdated, old and cumbersome. We see that shirt every time we open the closet, but think it's too much hassle to get rid of it. We remember how it used to make us feel so we cling to something that no longer works for us.
If we were to take that shirt out, remember why we purchased it, the gift it gave us and thank it for all the great times, but recognizing it's time to let it go then suddenly we are no longer attached to it. We can release it and create the space to bring in something new.
That's one of the goals with these questions. To take you into a deep exploration of the past year, reviewing what is supportive of your future self, what needs to change and coming to a place of non-attachment and acceptance in order to fully release the inner turmoil and gain insight into your reality.
Set aside some time, giving yourself ample time to answer these questions below. If possible write them out on a pice of paper. It makes it more real when you write it out and then have the ability to see it reflected back to you rather than just thinking about it and setting it aside.
Here are some questions to help you reflect
How do you feel overall about the past year? If you were to write a summary what words would you use?
What was your biggest struggle or challenge of this year? Expand on this…what is the reason it was your biggest struggle? What were the emotions? What were you afraid of?
What did you hope would happen that didn’t come into fruition? How do you feel about that now?
What do you feel is your biggest failure? Why do you see it as a failure? What can you learn from it?
When you became triggered, what was your response? What types of events tended to trigger you?
What do you regret? Why?
What was your greatest lesson?
If you had a do-over, what would you do different?
What theme continued to show up over and over this year?
What was one of your favorite things this year?
What was your biggest achievement? How do you feel about it now? What helped you accomplish this?
What were 3 of your greatest strengths or skills you learned, developed or brought forth during this year? What helped you accomplish this?
What were the greatest gifts, celebrations or blessings that came this year?
How did you contribute this year to make the world a better place?
What are you most grateful for? Why?
What was your happiest moment?
How well did you communicate to others and yourself?
Who or what do you need to forgive?
What did you learn about yourself this year?
What advice would you offer someone based on what you learned this year?
Although this is a comprehensive list of questions, please feel free to expand upon it exploring deeper into the past year, the themes, the triggers, the challenges and the successes. This is for no one else to see or judge - only you. Although if you'd like to send me any of your insights or awarenesses, please do.
Now that your questions are complete and you've gained an overall perspective of this past year, what are 3 things you would like to release before stepping into the new year? Write them down on a separate piece of paper. Imagine all the left over energy in your system the correlates with this energy to flow into the paper and out of your body.
Offer gratitude to these energies. It may be uncomfortable, and you may not be able to see the gift within them yet, but that’s okay. Thank them for what they have shown you about yourself, about your reality, and about the world. (You may even begin to see the hidden blessings within them once you do this.)
Once you feel complete and you are ready to release things from your life place the paper in a fire and burn it watching it turn to dust and be released to the realm of spirit.
How do you feel?
Are you interested in clearing out old stagnant energy blocks to heal yourself and the world around you? Let's connect!
