How to make your intentions clear and achieve your goals.

I am delighted the new year and new moon have arrived. I have been waiting for this time, my narcissus bulbs burst opened New Year’s eve, filling the air with their heavily scented, white blossoms. The Chinese believe that a daffodil (narcissus species) bulb, when forced to bloom during the New Year, will bring good fortune and luck to a home. This is definitely a sign it will be a lucky year and I want to share that luck with you. January 31, 2014 is Chinese Lunar New Year, The Year of the Wood Horse. It is another opportunity to invite good fortune. Add yellow daffodils to your front entry (symbolic of career) or dining room table (represents your access to money) to enhance either one.

American culture leans towards celebrating the New Year with a bang and then everyone hits the ground running. And it’s an established western practice to set goals so we can measure where we’ve been and where we’re headed. It can become an important aspect of our spiritual development. But I have found making a list alone doesn’t create a realistic way to achieve my goals. I’ve discovered that by taking personal time the first few days of January creates a clear mental space where I can focus on new beginnings. I have created a ritual that makes the process dynamic. In many ways we’re all alike, we want to achieve similar goals: either get a better job, more money, a bigger house, a new car… But there is something else that doesn’t surface often enough. It is what makes each one of us unique. It’s precious and that is why we protect it and keep it buried in our hearts. It’s a feeling, a need actually, to satisfy a deep fulfillment of purpose, of usefulness and of expression. This need is the missing link to achieving your goals.

Uncovering this link is what makes you come alive and feel real joy in success. You create measurable results when you express your passion through your intentions. And the way to coax your passion into the open is by soliciting the right/creative brain to do the job.

In Feng Shui the name this is known by the “Yin”. There are many qualities of Yin, but for right now the one I want you to experience comes under the heading “reserving a day for yourself”. It is about totally letting go. Emptying out. Tapping into your still water. Surrendering your schedule. Design a mini-retreat, one that will make you feel totally special. Start with dumping your phone, iPad, computer and TV. Eliminate agenda and preconceived notions of how you think this should work. Devote your energy to entirely pleasing your senses: take a bath or soak in a hot tub. Treat yourself to a meal you might not have time to enjoy. It doesn’t need to be extravagant but it should be soul satisfying. Choose to go meatless. Select foods that arouse your curiosity. Take a leisurely walk in Nature. Dedicate this time to being silent. It will help you to settle deeply into your body and feel relaxed but alert. You will connect to the inner movement of your being. Silence will help you focus inward and as you create an inner dialogue you will tap into sensations you might not have noticed before. You may pick up subtle fragrances in the air and see the colors in a landscape more vivid and intense.

Like a beautiful string of pearls these orchestrated moments expand into a lush space that will incubate your dreams. This place of expansion, this field of dreams, is where your intuition sends clear messages. It is like sharing a conversation with an old friend and the old friend is your infinite intelligence, your subconscious mind. The entire scenario I just described is a ritual that your right/creative brain comprehends completely. Your left/rational brain and its lists, goals and activities become cradled in passion, purpose and expression. Your goal setting becomes infused with real creative fire. And this is how magic begins! Now you have both the left and right brain communicating. The clarity you cultivated becomes your intention – and it will execute your will. When you’re back to your normal routine you will notice a perceptible difference: not only will you set the world on fire, but execute your ideas with successful results and life will be a little more extraordinary.

If you want to learn more comprehensive rituals to support your goal setting, new Feng Shui secrets and cures, I am teaching Joyluck Cures & Master Strategies For 2014. The year of the Horse is the year of the Heart. Known for its rhythmic expression and joyful dance, Horse invites you to create the same – align with your internal rhythm, claim a bigger stake for your dreams and make it a winning year. Power up your life plans with auspicious celebrations, new secrets and extraordinary lucky cures. This class is devoted to helping you:

• Be your best dance partner. Keep your Ch’i strong, happy and in tune to the year’s rhythm. 
• Balance time and energy. Replace worry, untangle your thoughts with lucky cures.
• Rejuvenate and create. Feed the spirits with ceremonies, then make your best move.

Where: Kiva Tea • Café • Spa 1533 NW 24th, Portland, OR 97210
When: January 22, 2014; 6-8 p.m.
Fee: $20 + nine red envelopes (and bring coins for life change.)
Register: 971-229-1368; http://kivateaspa.com
Bring: Red envelopes are available at Kiva Tea • Café • Spa