A New Year Ritual to Craft Your Visionary Manifesto

Are you busy crafting your New Year Resolutions? Me neither. I do, however, create my own rituals to invoke awareness and unleash the creative power of my intentions.

Rituals are a powerful way to create sacred portals where you mingle with the Divine. A new year is a doorway to a dimension of infinite imaginings. Why not tap into the collective energy of millions of folks crystalizing their visions and promises for the new year?

All you need to create your own ritual is a sacred intention to align with the infinite forces of creation. Before you begin any ritual you consecrate the space so that the highest frequencies may be invoked. From there allow your brilliance to guide you in what's best. You can create a ritual that you use, and even embellish, every year or you can be guided by your imagination in the moment.

Here is a 3-step ritual that I created to come up with my Visionary Manifesto:

Invoke Sacred Space

Use whatever elements help you to embody this energy. Light a candle to call in your more expanded perspective. You might also like to invoke as many senses as possible: use incense, music or mantras, sacred objects, etc.  Stand. Energetically invoke your cosmic self and enlightened guides. Close your eyes and allow the rhythm of your breath to bridge your body and your greater being. Feel yourself expanding easily and effortless until you are as big as the universe and beyond. Feel yourself as your most infinitely expanded expression. When you are feeling fully connected to All That Is, open your eyes and sit down with a pad and pen. Make sure you do this long hand and not on the computer, it makes a difference.

Step 1. Celebrate Your Current Year Theme.

Imagine that you're highlighting the major events of your year as if you were a journalist. If you get stuck, think of those experiences that created a deep impact and moved you out of your comfort zone. They might be a new awareness or accomplishment, a lesson or an  insight.

Take 5-10 minutes to draft the headlines. Remember, you're a journalist reporting on the year's top events. Now look at those headlines and notice the unifying theme. Bask in the sensation of everything that transpired and who you have become as a consequence.

• What is one word that would sum that up?
• Were you more courageous?
• Did you create clear boundaries?
• Did you take a bolder stand in your business?

Be specific. Celebrate your becoming! Yahoo! When the sensation of celebration comes to completion, take 3 deep breaths to close out this portion of the exercise.

Step 2. Invoke the Coming Year's Visionary Theme.

Close your eyes again and sink into the sensation of your infinite flow.

1. Feel your cosmic connection to yourself, to your friends and family, colleagues, clients, and community. Feel the energy of your Essence rippling out like a pebble in a pond, touching everything, everyone, everywhere. Feel yourself in this cosmic pond of consciousness and feel where your ripple meets your becoming.
2. Notice what words or thoughts popcorn into your consciousness. Allow them to rise up off the surface of the water as a bubble.
3. Notice which bubble captures your attention most. This is your theme for the upcoming year. Pop that bubble and discover your one word theme for the upcoming year. If you'd like a more physical way to do this imagine that you are popping the bubbles and as you do write down the words that pop.
4. Once they're on the page notice which one excites you most. That's your Visionary Theme. If you want to go an extra step, capture those words in a word cloud just like the one pictured in this post. You can use free mind mapping software or word cloud software to create these. You can then print them out and post where you'll see every day, like your desktop, work area, mirror or refrigerator.
5. Take 3 deep breaths to close out this portion of the exercise.

Step 3. Craft Your Visionary Manifesto.

Write out how you plan to bring your Visionary Theme into your world. A Visionary Manifesto is a published verbal declaration of your intentions, motives, and visions. You probably want to dedicate a minimum of 30 minutes for this portion. I was inspired by Simon Sinek's Golden Circle concept in coming up with my own Visionary Manifesto.

Here are 3 questions that will help guide you in crafting yours. Dedicate at least one short paragraph to each one:

• Why Does It Matter? There's no greater fuel for any vision than a compelling reason. This is your cause, your movement, that thing that you are willing to risk who you are for what you can become. It is generally something much bigger than you alone can accomplish. It is your clarion call to a grander vision, something that's only possible through collaboration with others. Ensure that your 2014 Visionary Theme taps into the rocket fuel of your passion and vision. Focus on what matters most to you. You'll know you've hit on your why because you'll have plenty to say about it.

• How Will You Do It? Here's where you get to bring in your unique perspective, gifts, strengths and talent to live into your Visionary Theme. Will you be embodying this theme in a solitary fashion or will you be doing it with others? Will you be using your artistic or organizing characteristics? Will you be speaking, writing or doing videos about this? The more you align your how with the ways in which you show up in your natural brilliance will make the embodiment of your Visionary Theme a breeze.

• What Will You Do? Focus on what you will do to bring your  Visionary Theme into being. For example, if your theme is ‘streamline,' think of how you will implement this in your business. Will you eliminate those activities that don't bring you business results? Will you focus on one social media site, instead of five? If you're looking to streamline in your life how will you do that? Will you focus your energy on spending time with the folks that matter most and cut out the social activities that drain your energy? Will you donate the clothing and books that you no longer use? The more specific you are in how you will bring your 2014 Visionary Theme to life, the more movement that you will create and the more you'll have to celebrate at the end of the year.

Take 3 deep breaths to close out this portion of the exercise.

To complete the ritual stand and breathe, relax, expand as big as the Universe and beyond, until everything is contained within … yes, you are that big. Feel the gratitude overflowing from your heart and share it with everyone, everything, everywhere. And so it is. Blow out your candle.

Post Ritual Play

To craft your Visionary Manifesto take the answers to the 3 questions and put them into 3 paragraphs. Print it, sign it, post it. Read it out loud, visit with it … a lot. Daily would be optimal. It takes only minutes to do this and it has a huge payoff.

If you want to power it up share your Visionary Manifesto with others. Share it with a trusted friend or colleague. Post it to your inner circle like my Evolutionary Adventurers Facebook Group. Share it on social media. Every time you share it you discover more about your Visionary Theme. Feel free to tweak the writing for flow. Edit it. Share it with friends and get feedback. Revise it again.

Place your Visionary Manifesto somewhere where you will see it every day. Read it out loud. Feel free to update as you put it into practice. You will more readily bring your Theme into being the more that you engage it and take action on it. Let it be your guiding light throughout the year.

Your Visionary Manifesto taps into the field of infinite potential. When you name it and claim it you are owning your power as a cosmic citizen and creator. This year let's unleash your visionary genius and gift it to all. Let's saturate in the stardust of possibility and co-create a magical and wondrous world. Happy New Year!