Writer, Hugh Prather, famously said, “Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes!”
In our modern, fast-paced times, pieces of our lives seem to change almost daily. Sometimes, within 10 minutes of waking up in the morning, we know we are in for a “white-knuckle ride” that day. We fasten our seat belts as we hold on for dear life.
When we experience a change in our life, whether it is happy and anticipated or sudden and unexpected, we all go through a pre-programed set of psychological stages as we learn to grieve the loss and embrace change. A strategy for releasing I suggest to my coaching and spiritual direction clients is identifying the loss the change brought about and then to develop a ritual to say goodbye to that loss.
Did you know our brains love patterns? Rituals are patterns we create and use for our well being and healing. Saying goodbye through ritual is a way of psychologically clearing and releasing old thought patterns and behaviors. It makes room to embrace the new way of life that is beginning to take shape.
Symbolically, the new moon on the calendar is the ideal time of the month to say goodbye, to release, clear out the old and invite the new into our lives. This can happen physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. You know how good it feels to clean out a closet or organize your desk drawers? Saying goodbye in a methodical way, making the decision to move forward and embracing the new provides the same kind of feeling.
As a writer, I like the ritual of writing down, on a small piece of paper, the thought, feeling, person or item I am saying goodbye to as a result of the change in my life. I also set my intentions to welcome the new that is replacing the old. During the week of the new moon I close my eyes, verbally whisper my goodbye to the thing I have written on the paper. I’m able to release the loss and grief to the ethers by burning the slip of paper in my fire place (during winter) or in a large metal bucket in my backyard (during the summer months). I then turn my attention to and whisper a welcome to the new intention- that thought, feeling, person, situation or item I am grateful to invite into my life.
As we celebrate the new moon during harvest time this week, I invite you to give this a try. What have you got to lose? Except old emotional baggage.
© Rita Perea, 2015. All rights reserved.
