"Burning Bowl" -- letting go of the pain/negativity of 2007 and embracing the blessings of 2008
The church I've been visiting hosted a "Burning Bowl" ceremony on New Year's Eve; we wrote down what we needed to let go of from the past year, and then burned the paper. Ben and I wrote ours at home and then went to the church just to burn the negative bits of 2007. (He wasn't comfortable staying so we left right afterward)
I am such a "compulsive excavator of my own emotional navel lint" and a "nit-picking, obsessive truth-teller" that I didn't expect any surprises from this exercise, but it has completely turned me inside out. All my snarled, unraveled bits are sticking out and I can't see any pattern to this unholy mess! I'm slowly twisting myself right-side-out again, but damn! If you try this, be prepared for a flood of ghosts and maybe enough darkness to blind you for a while.
2007 happenings to let go of
burning the negative of 2007
I wanted to get more photos but I was scaring the lady guarding my bowl already. At least I got one! I also wanted to spend a bit more time at the bowl and actually watch it burn... that paper was strangely hard to let go of.
Oh, and earlier that day I was at the store and the cashier asked me what I was doing for New Year's -- when I told her, she said "maybe I need to do that" and I told her that if she wanted to write it down I would burn it for her. I didn't expect her to take me up on it because that seems like a lot of faith to put in a stranger, but she did! It seemed like it was a turning point for her ♥ It was definitely meant to be -- I originally went into a different line, then switched to hers even though it was longer.
I also wrote a thank-you note to God/dess for the wonderful things that will happen in 2008 -- I plan to put that letter away and open it at the end of next year.
2008 blessings to grab hold of
I've been looking forward to this year because the number 8 is a spiritually significant number for me. I'm not sure what this year will bring, but I feel it will be amazing. I have a lot of new goals, and they feel closer than before -- thanks to all the growth-inducing pain of 2007.
LJ idol topic 8: " What the New Year Will Bring" ((if you liked/got something from this, please vote for me!))