Samhain Year End Self Reflection and Meditation

Dear Neophyte,

This is my list of closing of the year mind, spirit, and life reflections.  (My list of external activities is another post.)  This time of the year is for shedding the old year, bad habits and relationships, and going to ground so you can heal your hurts.  You'll probably notice there are a lot of people around you going through profound lifestyle changes right now.  I certainly do.  

Like the Slain God we too go through a mock death and transformation.  At Mabon the God was slain and Chaos rules the earth.  In the eternal words of Eddard Stark: "Winter is coming."  Now winter is nigh upon us and the God has gone to ground literally buried in the womb of his lover-mother, who gives birth to him again at Yule.  Until then Chaos rules our lives and we too much go to ground, heal the wounds, grow as people, and get ready for the painfully glorious reentry into the world come Yule.  (Or sometime around Midwinter/End of Winter, since people are individuals and get through things on their own time.)

Personally I'm so overrun by people who are freaking out at losing their scales that they are inundating me with a list of woes every time I turn around.  I know a lot of people have Nature Deficit Disorder, but surely you must know that loss and growth are just a part of life.  Let hurts go.  Mourn.  Heal.  Recover.  There is a cycle to all this. Everyone before you has done it and all those to come will do it too.  We all come from the Goddess and to Her we all return, like the Slain God.

In order to close the year with introspection on all I've done, and look to the new year with a list of all I wish to do I made this list I plan to focus on from here to Yule. I am a goals and list oriented person so I have added ample reminders to journal and make lists.

Sign on the Door: "Therapist is Out.  Will return on Yule."

Meditations, Self-Reflections

1. Personality: Reflect on how far you have come this year as a person. What goals have you accomplished in your life and emotionally? What would you like to work on in the coming days? Make a plan of how you are going to use the new year's energy to empower you for positive change.
2. Book of Shadows: Look back over what you added to your BoS. What kind of spiritual milestones did you reach this year? Make some notes about what you have learned and chart your progress. Which spiritual milestones do you still need to work on? Make some notes on what you need to bone up on more in the coming year. This is the time of year to figure out what spiritual work you need to focus on for the coming year, as well as make a plan for progress.
3. Journals: Revisit diaries, blogs, photographs. Get nostalgic. Now is a good time to scrapbook your year's worth of stuff. Get your blog updated. What challenges have you faced and overcome this year? What is left to learn? Record your progress.
4. Dream Diary: Cross-reference your dream journal with your diary. Did you interpret your dreams correctly? What new information, meanings and symbols do you have to add to your dream dictionary?
5. Facebook: Now is a good time to look back over facebook and remove negative posts, comments, and memes. You really don't want them hanging around the internet for all of eternity. It sends negativity your way every time someone reads them. Leave the positive posts for the positive influences.
6. Old Goals: What goals do you have which are not finished yet? How far along are you? Chart your progress and see where you are and make or renew your plan to see it through. Now is a time to put some magic into the process.
7. Unattainable Goals: What goals were not completed this year? What did you give up on? What needs to be let go of? Let go of it. Admit it's not for you and move on. Maybe burn the goal in the fireplace to release the energy out into the universe. That energy is best spent putting towards something you can obtain.
8. New Goals: What new goals do you want to shoot for this year? Research realistic goal setting and make 5 realistic goals to reach this year. One spiritual, one selfish, one health, one monetary, one adult.
9. Projects-in-Progress: What unfinished projects do you have in progress? What debts are left unpaid? What crafts are half-done? What closet needs to be de-cluttered? Which bag of donations have been sitting in the truck for a month? What car repairs need to be made? What dental visit needs to be planned? Make plans to finish your unfinished projects. You have till December 22 to get them done. Don't drag old energy into the new year! Projects which are not even started yet can be ritualistically boxed up cleansed of all the old year's energy. They can then be opened again at Yule (or whenever you get to them) as 'new' projects, without the guilt associated with something you 'planned' to do and 'didn't get to it'. If you actively shelve it then you are not ignoring it!
10. Samhain Yearly Records: Make records of your Samhain celebrations. Scrapbook the pictures. Write down your rituals, feast, offerings, and especially your emotions and dreams which came afterward.
11. Spirit Guide: If you are Shaman this is the best time of the year to journey to meet or re-meet your spirit guides. If you already have guides then look back over your notes to see how they have helped you, or remember what they taught you this last year. Note which aspects of Them you worked with last year and how it helped you. Note which aspects of Them are showing up to help you this year, and plan to work more with Them on aspects of yourself. You can journey to hang out with them or give them some offerings after the original feast. Your ancestors are also spirit guides, so you can also journey to them so they can pass any messages along. Record the journey results and how you plan to apply your knew knowledge.
12. Nature Walk: Take a meditative walk outdoors. Open your senses and spirit to the changes of the season. Feel the flow of life, the stillness of the earth, and cycle of death into life. Try to fathom your significance in the world, where you are in the Cycle, and how vast the world is. You might bring and offering to leave to the spirit of a particular place who shares with you. Record what you see and find. You can take a drawing pad with you, or a camera, and capture what you see. Be sure to write what you sense as well which is not captured via imagery.

Salutation,

Sesh