A Ritual to Guide You Through the Dark and Into the New
Feel free to change anything as you do this ritual! When I invite you to draw and write, you can choose to dance or sing instead. It is very simple and takes about an hour to complete.
You will need:
Journal or pad, paper, pen, paints, and maybe some fabric, stones, or other beautiful materials.
First Step: Take All the Good Stuff With You
Begin by writing down everything you are truly happy to have created and experienced in 2023—big and small.
Draw, doodle, or write words about everything you want to keep and cultivate a little more.
Feel it in your body as you savor and enjoy each memory.
Second Step: Let Go and Learn from What Was Difficult
Write down what has been hard, challenging, or painful this past year.
Then, explore what you have learned from these experiences. Make room for all your emotions—express it freely without worrying about grammar, aesthetics, or making it “pretty.”
Now, highlight the most important learning and save it in your journal or another meaningful place.
Finally, let go of everything you want to release: tear the paper, burn it safely, or put it in recycling.
Feel the effects in your body as you imagine all of it flying away, dissolving into space far from you.
Third Step: Create the New
Now, focus on what you long for and wish to bring into your life in the coming year.
This is not about setting goals—it’s about desires, what wants to grow and shine through you.
Listen to and feel your body, your inner images, spontaneous impulses, and dreams. What do you truly want—better health, healing relationships, a fulfilling job, clarity in your calling, or sharing your art?
Write it down, draw, make a collage, or create a sculpture. Let yourself be honest and generous with your imagination.
Fourth Step: Plant the New in Time and Space
Visualize your life on a physical timeline or arc within the space you are in.
Take what you have written or drawn about your desires, and “place” it in the future—physically, on the floor where your future unfolds.
Use words, drawings, stones, fabric, symbols—whatever makes your vision visible and tangible.
Step into your future—physically—and experience each intention and desire as if it has already happened. Engage all your senses: hear it, taste it, feel it. Live it now in your imagination.
I look forward to hearing what you experience.
Happy creative healing and imagining.
Art and words by Karin von Daler ©
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