Invite play into your New Year’s intentions

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.” Carl Jung

May this message reach you with a lightness as you approach the new year and any intentions that you wish to invite into this new beginning. I love setting intentions and I love new energy, but. . . . .I've noticed in myself, and people I care about, negative energy when a lofty goal is abandoned as the year gets rolling.

Sooooo, set the intentions, YES! If things go astray, instead of embodying the emotions of disappointment, guilt or shame, know that you can re-start at any time. I think the magic might actually BE in the re-start, a willingness to begin again. This is the essence of practice. If the new year is an opportunity to re-create our experience, re-invent ourselves, re-calibrate to our highest self, please also remember that you can do this any day.

The prefix 're' means, "again" or "again and again." I love this because it sounds like practice, again and again, and practice brings a lightness. If a day has really gone off the rails, perhaps we remember that there is an opportunity to re-start tomorrow.

One of the things I intend to create more of in 2024 is, FUN! This leads me to the inspiration for this message, if you're setting an intention, is there a way that you can make your intention more playful or fun?

I just started reading a book by Julia Cameron. Julia is famous for writing, The Artist's Way. She insists that EVERYONE is an artist. If you aren't familiar with, The Artist's Way, it is a wonderful guide with tons of inspiration on how to get out of your own way.

One of the suggested practices in Julia's famous book, and the book I'm currently reading is, Artist Dates. In Julia’s words,

The Artist Date is a once-weekly, festive, solo expedition to explore something that interests you. The Artist Date need not be overtly “artistic”– think mischief more than mastery. Artist Dates fire up the imagination. They spark whimsy. They encourage play.

Julia states that people report stumbling on inspiration, feeling lighter and more peaceful, and solutions to problems come naturally as the focus is no longer on the problem. I'm excited to play with this again!