I chose this oracle card today from Colette Baron Reid’s Wisdom of the Oracle card deck. It is so perfect for the start of a new year: A change in the wind – all about transformation, change and finding magic in the unknown.

I have always loved the New Year – the celebrations on New Year’s Eve, the setting of resolutions and the planning of a fun-filled new year.

For the past 5 years, instead of setting resolutions, I have used a word as a theme or intention for the year. Last year, I had two words – loving and space – which quickly evolved to ‘loving my space’ and became my focus and intent as I journeyed through 2015.

I believe the intention I had set at the start of the year led me to embracing Florence House as the space for my retreats; we extended the house via the loft space and I changed my online space to www.bindishah.com and a beautiful new website which I love. There was definitely a strong power to ‘loving my space’ when I set it more than 12 months ago.

My process: 

The word or theme for the coming year comes into my psyche around November or December. There will be certain things I want to change with how I am living my days.

There may be a disruption to my flow of life and this presents a word to me.

I may simply get a feeling of a word or theme.

I’ll also pay more attention to my meditations during these last few weeks of a year and see if there are any common topics coming up.

If a word, words or phrases do show themselves, I’ll start sitting with them and listening deeply to why they have come to me and what difference they would make to my life.

I’ll also let the words settle until the end of December and the start of January. I find that around the start of the year, the theme and word becomes clearer.

This year, 2016, Simplify came in at the end of November and magnified during December. For me it means simplifying the busyness of life and in particular simplifying my business. My intention is to have two main arms to the business – one physical arm, with classes, retreats and face to face life-coaching; and another online arm or e-school with online courses. I am looking forward to seeing how this unfolds during the year!

Around the end of December, I received a lot of comments around how much I inspire others and the word Inspired presented itself to me. I would like to be more ‘inspired’ by everything this year – inspirational people, nature, the world, myself(!)

So my words for 2016 are Simplify and Inspired.

Over to you… What is your word for 2016? Or do you, like me, have a couple of words or a phrase? What process do you use to get to a word for the year? I would love to know and to be inspired.

Or use my prompts… Think back to 2015 and what you know needs changing about how you live your days. Remember your days turn into your weeks, which turn into your months and then your years… Then see if a word or theme comes to you through meditation, journalling or any other creative work you enjoy doing.

Above all, allow 2016 to be exactly what you need it to be!

Love, Bindi