Art by Madison Perrins

I’m writing this to you from one of my favorite coffee shops in town. Where I sip my hot green tea in a window seat watching all the Main Street walkers pass by. Today, as I’m writing, I notice the breeze in the air, mostly because it is causing the branches on the tree in front of the window to sway, and the leaves to fall off and float towards the ground.

I say out loud to myself… “fall.”

And I realize that we are officially in a transition time. The closing of one chapter and the opening of a new one. From summer to fall. From long days to long nights. From shorts to sweaters. And from weddings to back-to-school. Which reminded me of something that happened earlier this week..

On Monday, we had a new moon. Which means that it is the beginning of the moon cycle and two weeks away from the full moon. You’re probably like “and…….what does that have to do with me?”

Well…new moons are a time to plant seeds.

They are the beginning. The closing of the last moon cycle chapter and the beginning of the next. So energetically speaking, it’s the perfect time to start thinking about what you want to have happen right now so that in a couple of weeks (with the full moon) you’re ready to “harvest” all that you’ve intended. It’s the perfect time for setting intentions. For dreaming. For thinking ahead and planting all the seeds of what you want to have happen this month.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot in my own life. I feel like the past seven months, as I’ve struggled with my health, been forging a new relationship, and got swept away in a busy summer, I’ve somewhere along the line forgotten to be intentional and think about my life in the bigger picture. What do I want to create right now? Where do I want to be in five years? What’s my bigger picture vision?

When life is about survival, day to day, it’s hard to dream about the next five years. Similarly, when you’re in the hustle and bustle of life, or summer, we don’t always take the time to think about what we want for ourselves after the season. But now, with the new moon, and the changing of the seasons, this is the perfect time to do that.

Where have you been going along in your life unaware? Punching the metaphorical (or actual) clock? How is your current situation like groundhogs day? Where have you been forgetting to dream?

This week in my Kundalini yoga class, we talked all about this. About how to plant seeds and set intentions. But this time there was a new spin to it. Usually when this conversation comes up, we think of making a laundry list for God/Universe of all the things we want, and while I’m also a fan of doing that (and have totally been doing every day), this week we focused on starting with the things we’re already grateful for. The idea being that when you’re in the state of gratitude and appreciate and positive thinking, more of those things come your way. Similarly, if you spend all your time worrying, you’ll usually find that your worries manifest, because “like attracts like” meaning, what you put your attention on grows.

So this week we put our intention on all the good stuff, so that all the good stuff grows.

This meditation below is all about that. In the mantra we’re saying “thank you that which is bringing me from darkness to light” leaving some time and room for our positive intentions. Check it out here (written instructions below):

Posture: Sit in Easy Pose (cross legged post) with a nice straight spine

Mudra: The hands can be in any comfortable position (Gyan Mudra, folded in your lap, on the knees, etc.).

Eyes: Close the eyes and focus at the third eye/brow point

Mantra: Chant the Guru Ram Das Mantra for 5 – 31 minutes. There are many melodies for this mantra . The one we’re using here is Pritpal Singh Khalsa and you can get it right here or it can be recited in a monotone. Try to complete the whole mantra on one breath.

Words:

Guru guru

Wahe guru

Guru Ram Das guru

Guru = that which takes me from dark to light

Wahe = prase that which/thank you

Wahe guru = praise that which is taking me from dark to light

JOURNAL EXERCISE 

If you like this concept and want a little extra to boost up both your gratitude and also your positive intentions you can try this journaling exercise I’ve been doing. Here’s how it goes:

1) Start off by thanking God/Universe/Self for all the great things in your life. Ie the house you live in, having running water, blue skies, etc etc. The trick here is to think about it in a bit of a deeper way than just rattling off the same list everyday. Think about thanking yourself for having the courage to have a difficult conversation, or thanking your friend for opening her heart to you.

Also…even if things are going terribly in your life, still find the things that are good. Maybe a smile from a stranger or the best meatball you’ve ever had. It’s the little things.

2) Then write a narrative about the things you want in your life, but write them as they’ve already happened. Paint the picture with your words. I like to start mine with something like “I am so happy that…” and then I fill in the blank. Or I’ll say something like “I am so excited that Brene Brown called today. We chatted on the phone like old girlfriends and I’m so excited about our upcoming collaboration with how to teach emotional intelligence in schools.”

Even though that didn’t happen, I write an entire narrative as though it did. It allows me to dream far and wide. Try it and see what happens.

And now I’d love to hear from you. In the comments below let me know:

1) What is the thing that stuck out the most to you in this article?

2) What is one thing you’ll try this week to set good intentions for yourself?

I hope you enjoyed the video and make sure to sign up for my list if you want to be the first to know when new meditations come out.