Starting the New Year with Intention

When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, a different kind of energy fills the air. It’s anticipation, it’s potential, it’s the feeling that this year could be the year that everything falls into place. You clink glasses with your loved ones, and imagine the possibilities.

Waking up on the first of the year, you have two choices. You can roll with that positive energy, that aspirational vibe you experienced the night before. Or, you can chalk it up to that third glass of champagne and move on with your life as usual.

Our suggestion? Embrace all of that pent up motivation - even if it’s a few weeks into the new year. Take a few moments to reset, and set yourself up for success this year. We have a few ideas for how you can do just that.

Clear the air

Your home is your safe space, the place where you can dream and plan without worry or outside influence. It’s only right that you start the new year with an influx of fresh energy! Use a smudge stick to clear negative or muddled energy in the rooms of your home. The smudge sticks that we carry in Dune are made of sage that was harvested in northern California, that most peaceful of places. To renew your home’s energy, you simply need to light the tip of the smudge stick for a few moments, then blow out the flame. Wander through each room with  your smudge stick, and allow the smoke to drift into the corners of each space. Speak your intentions for the new year aloud, and let that positive energy fill your home. You’ll be left with a warm, earthy scent and peace of mind.

Photo via Cream and Honey

Reflect and explore

New Year’s resolutions are notoriously out of reach and difficult to adhere to. This year, instead of creating a bucket list of tasks and dreams that you’re already nervous about achieving, write out your intentions. Select words and phrases that you would like to live out this year, and put them in a place where you will always be reminded. In your medicine cabinet, in your office, or even in the front page of your journal.

To add another level to your practice, use a guiding resource centered on your intentions. A deck of cards such as Inquire Within cards can act as a jumping off point for you to consider your perceptions, muddied thoughts, or deeper life questions. This deck in particular offers up phrases, reminders, words, and images to “bring guidance and comfort to everyday life”, according to the makers of the cards. We like to draw a card in the morning as a way to start our days with a driving thought, a way to consistently connect back to our yearly intentions.

This year, hold on to the inspiration that you felt on New Year’s Eve. Refresh your home, your mind, and prepare yourself for a year filled with reflection and development. You don’t have to have pie-in-the-sky goals in order to have a successful year - you just need to focus on the potential of a fresh start.