Meg Worden, RYT

While the New Year's resolution is an honorable idea with upstanding intentions, it nonetheless appears each January clothed in robes of impending defeat. Mark Twain said, " Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual." Why the gloom and doom approach to self-improvement?

  Possibly if we take a glance beneath the surface of the usual "I will lose weight" (I'm fat), " I will quit smoking" (I am unhealthy) or "I will find a satisfying relationship" (I am untrustworthy) we will see that the inherent message of self loathing simply lacks the confidence to survive.

  Most of what we want in life are things that we think may bring happiness and satisfaction. The truth is that the better job, different partner or change in dress size rarely brings more than immediate desire for the next thing and an intensity of unfulfilled longing.

  Sankalpa is a Sanskrit term meaning "intention" or "wish" from the root Kalpa which is "consciousness" or "imagination." The idea here is that there is conscious presence involved in manifesting our ideal and as the Sankalpa is on the path to Samadhi (enlightenment) it is of the utmost importance that the intention is one devoted to personal growth of the loftiest variety. Basically a "Resolve to Evolve."

  Losing weight so you won't be fat will not lead you to joy. The desire to revitalize the body as part of a trifold effort to polish the temple of the soul is, on the other hand, a terrifically effective method of bringing one toward happiness (and I might add, will have side effects such as shedding excess flesh and tossing the cigarettes).

  Try rephrasing a negative resolution into a positive affirmation in the present tense. "I respect and care for myself, my family and my community." Take the time to set your goal and style it in simple language. "I am open to the flow of abundance," "I give and receive freely," "I wish to do no harm," etc.

  Write your intention down and use it in your daily life as a mantra. Post your Sankalpa on your mirror, repeat it as you wake or fall asleep, and focus on it during exercise or meditation. Recalling your aspirations habitually allows them to imbed deep into your psyche and transform your reality.

  We are so blessed that we may wake to a New Year every day. Each moment a chance to practice making choices that guide us toward connecting ever deeper to our highest self, each other and the world around us.

  Those who achieve this bliss are not saints or sages. They are simply the ones who keep walking the path.