Welcome to this End of Year Meditation,
The New Year is a special time: a time where the feeling of something ending, and something beginning exist side by side. It’s an invitation to think back, to reflect on the past, and equally, to set an intention for the future: to say goodbye to the things you no longer need, to forgive, and to welcome new things into your life.
This guided meditation is your opportunity to turn inward. So allow yourself to relax, reflect, reset and recharge. To celebrate the wins, to make peace with the challenges from the past year, and to visualise what you want to invite for the year ahead.
This is your time to silence the thoughts, the planning, the strategising from the past week, and month, and just arrive in this moment by focusing your attention on your breath.
Relax into a comfortable position. Let your hands rest gently in your lap or by your sides.
Relax your shoulders, relax your face, relax your jaw.
If you find your mind wandering during this meditation, just gently guide it back. Whenever you need, you can use your breath to centre yourself in the present moment again.
The reflection practice we will do today is a practice you can cultivate regularly, but it lends itself particularly well to the end of the year, as we reflect on the past and look toward a new beginning. With compassion and kindness for ourselves and others.
Begin your practice by focusing on your breath - how it feels when your breath enters your nose and travels through your body. Notice any sensations that come up as you breathe in and out. Take this time to really arrive in the here and now.
Ask yourself: What do I feel happy about in this year?
Visualise this moment of happiness in your mind’s eye. What did you feel? How did your body feel? How did you act in line with your intentions and your values in this situation?
Take a moment to observe any sensations that might come up.
Notice how it feels, breathing in strength, joy, and gratitude. Notice where in your body you can feel these emotions.
Think about how can you invite more of these moments into your life in the new year? Who are the people you want to have around you when you experience them? What does it feel like to share these positive strengthening emotions like kindness and compassion and gratitude with the people you love?
Feel the nourishing quality of breathing in, and the relaxing quality of breathing out. Observe how your breath allows you to invite what you want to welcome into your life, and release what needs to be released, what you no longer need.
Stay in this feeling for a moment.
Now let’s turn our attention to the challenges from the past year - those moments where you didn’t live in line with your intentions, with your values.
Try to not globalise your thoughts about this situation about yourself. instead think about a specific moment that you recall from this year and how you felt in this moment.
Notice the sensations that come up in you as you reflect back.
Welcome any feelings you might have about this situation with kindness, compassion and forgiveness. Negative and painful emotions are our opportunity to learn, to develop wisdom, they are signals from our body that we want to change direction. Ask yoursefl: How would you act differently now?
Try to resist the urge to judge. By being gentle with yourself, by accepting and forgiving, you are able to transform challenges into an opportunity to grow. Think about what you learnt about yourself, and how this has added to your life.
Notice how when you do this, when you accept and just observe, these negative emotions fade away very quickly.
I now invite you to recite the following gratitude affirmations in your head or out loud.
Thank you for this year.
Thank you for this day.
Thank you for the air I breathe.
Thank you for the nature around me.
Thank you for everything I got to learn this year.
Thank you for the people I got to meet.
Thank you for my loving relationships.
Thank you for all the happy moments.
Thank you for the challenges.
Thank you for the love I got to feel.
Thank you for the opportunity of a new year, of a new day.
For the chance to grow, to do it all again.
For my health, for my ability to shape my life.
For the people I will meet.
For the loving relationships I will form.
For all the happy moments.
Thank you for being able to give and receive love
We thank you for this year together, for supporting us, I wish you all the best and a wonderful holiday!