I'm sitting in front of my fire, looking out at the heavy frost on the evergreens and on my glass balcony panes.  A soft sweater is around my shoulders and I'm wearing a favorite silky black lounging gown.  
Ahhh I feel divine!   Just need to manifest a cup of mexican hot chocolate.  

I'm ensuring my new years eve and day will be filled with experiences I want to actualize throughout the coming year.  I'm enacting little rituals throughout the next two days.  I wanted to share a couple of ideas and include a guest blog by Adela Rubio,about the importance of rituals. Adela is offering a free self care mastery event that I would encourage you to participate in to help you connect with your Divine You. If you wish to gift yourself Divine time, read her article that follows before performing or modifying the new sacred rituals just below.

I used to suggest people perform a new years eve ritual to let go of anything that was no longer serving them and visioning and creating a list of what you wanted to actualize in your life in the coming year.  This may appeal to you and  if you wish to use this process, click here to see my ginadianneharding.com winter solstice celebration
​
With the new energy thats come thru this year, I have a suggestion for a new ritual to accompany it.  
​

• Begin by relaxing, playing some beautiful background music, have dim lighting or sit by a fire.
•  Breath and feel your body release any tension and allow your mind to wander.   
•  Reflect on the past year and celebrate any happy experiences you enjoyed.  

When you have allowed time for that, go deeper into your relaxation.  

• Feel yourself connect with your divine core essence,
• Let your mind empty easily and effortlessly.  
• If your mind wants to think you may wish to still it by using the mantra
• Sahasrara Im.  This mantra connects your individual consciousness with the universal consciousness.
• Now feel the energy around you. (It may be hectic from the holiday activity and you may be picking up the energy of humanity and world events. If so see it flowing out, leaving the planet and transforming into higher vibration energy to be used for greater purpose.)    Feel into the newest energy of the infant era, full of harmony, collaboration,  light and love and new ideas never before conceived of.  Feel the freedom and expansion.  
• Allow your mind to wander sensing your expanded Divine Self living the life you desire, without specifics.  Just feel the joy and anticipation of the limitless possibilities as you live passionately choosing what excites you in each moment. 

New Years Day and Beyond
I recently read of a mindfulness practice you may wish to follow as a ritual for the first 12 days of January.  Imagine that each day represents a month of the year.  (January 1 would be January, January 2 would be February etc.)  Live each day with the intentions you wish to practice each year.  Perhaps you may wish to feel the joy and anticipation of the limitless possibilities as you live passionately choosing what excites you in each moment. Include actions that indicate what you value: openmindedness, unconditional acceptance, generosity and more.  In this way your Divine intentions will proceed you into each month 

How to Use the Power of Ritual on Your Self Care Adventure ​
Guest Blog by Adela Rubio
In preparation for hosting the Self Care Mastery Jumpstart, I created an Inner Child Ritual and practiced it regularly for 42 days. I decided to drop any idea of how I should do this Inner Child Activation. It called to my being as a prerequisite to lead this adventure of conscious co-creators.
So I did what I always do before I launch one of these consciousness events. I relaxed and trusted the force that lives within me to guide me. I came up with a ritual that served me for the duration of my activation and I practiced it regularly.
I’ll share the two essential elements for creating your own unique self care ritual below. And I urge you to create your own ritual for this adventure. But first let’s explore the power of rituals …
It’s a simple act, but doing it the same way each [day] habitualizes it – makes it repeatable, easy to do. It reduces the chance that I [will] skip it or do it differently . . . when you [follow daily rituals], they impel you to get started. Whether it’s the act of carrying a hot coffee mug to an outdoor porch, or the rock’n’roll that gets a painter revved up to splash color on a canvas, or the stillness of an herb garden that puts a chef in a culinary trance, moving inside each of these routines gives you no choice but to do something. It’s Pavlovian: follow the routine, get a creative payoff. 
 ~ Twyla Tharp
​
5 Benefits of Rituals

Why perform rituals? Because they work.
Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton, behavioral scientists and professors at Harvard Business School, wrote an article for Scientific American, Why Rituals Work. They conclude that, “Performing rituals with the intention of producing a certain result appears to be sufficient for that result to come true.” In other words, rituals work.
Here are 5 Reasons You Should Include Ritual on Your Self Care Jumpstart:
1. Rituals invoke intentional, sacred space. Whether it’s reciting the rosary or diving into your morning pages, rituals invite you to explore your higher nature, your sacred substance.
2. Rituals connect you to your power source. Whether you believe in God, the Universe or some other highly organized intelligence, rituals connect you to the ephemeral world of energy and nonphysical reality.
3. Rituals create certainty in uncertain times. They create a framework within which to experience the ever changing world in a balanced way. Rituals bring order to the chaos of the unknown.
4. Rituals clarify what’s meaningful. They help us define what matters most and brings our energy and attention to it so that it can have a more active role in our lives.
5. Rituals activate your power to make your dream come true. The more you energize what you envision the more you are likely to take action on bringing your vision to life. It’s a self fulfilling prophecy.

How to Create Your Own Self Care Ritual

Ready to create your own self care ritual? Here are 3 elements to include, and I also share how they looked for me in the Inner Child Activation I referred to above:

• Set up your sacred space. I set up a sacred space for my Inner Child Activation Ritual on the nightstand in my bedroom. It included: (1) a picture of me as a child in a beautiful frame, (2&3) a chain and statue of Ganesh who is very personally meaningful to me, (4) incense with incense holder, (5) a candle, (6) a pendulum, and (7) flowers. I also have a Buddha lamp in the background. Be guided by what opens you up and frees your energy. Those will be the right elements for your sacred space.
• Create your ritual. Here’s what I did. I lit my candle and incense and invoked my power source (you may call it God, Universe, etc.). I partnered with the energy of Life to move through me, reveal and realign my inner resources. I used a pendulum as a tool during this portion. I would then pick a Goddess Card (since my feminine aspect calls for more activation too) and write in my journal, free flowing style. Your ritual should anchor and expand you so that you can open to the clarity in the moment. Let yourself be guided by what feels true.
• Practice your ritual every day. Every day, usually upon arising, I would go to my sacred space and practice my ritual. There were some days that wasn’t possible so I made sure to hold the energy of my practice for a moment and then came back to it later in the day. There were 2 or 3 days that I didn’t actually complete the physical practice but it did not detract from my experience or the results I experienced. So, set a time for your ritual practice but also cut yourself some slack if you come up short on some days.

A ritual becomes the match that lights the kindred celebration candle of sacred moments long ago… tantalizing these entombed spirits to surface again.
~ Wes Adamson
I gleaned many insights from the 42 days of practice and I feel both feet solidly in both worlds now – the inner and the outer. I’m ready for the self care adventure. How about you?
 

PS Are you ready to create your own self care ritual? Make sure to join us on the Evolutionary Adventurers Facebook Group!
The 30-Day Self Care Mastery Jumpstart weekday ‘energy shifts’  begin Jan 4. Let’s lay the groundwork to percolate and power up what’s possible.
Register: 30-Day Self Care
Mastery Jumpstart


- See more at: http://selfcaremastery.com/how-to-use-the-power-of-ritual-on-your-self-care-adventure/#sthash.mNjEFkRf.dpuf

image free from  http://christmasstockimages.com/free/new_year/slides/happy_new_year_fireworks.htm

Have you ever been in a group where you are asked to introduce yourself and share something about yourself?   Often we share what we do or what our relationships are to others as part of that sharing.  "I'm a writer, I offer unimaginably wonderful one on one VIP retreats, and I'm a divorced mother of a 30 year old son of whom I am so proud.  Oh and I am thinking of getting a cat as a pet"  

Identity has been defined as the distinguishing characteristics or personality of an individual: the qualities or beliefs that distinguish or identify a thing.   Is it really our identity we often share?  As we grow from teens to adulthood I find people often share aspects of their identity that they think will be acceptable, respected, admired.  We don a mask that hides our true self and climb the ladder of success that is placed against a wall we may not be passionate about.  We focus on what needs to be done, on goals and outcomes.  

Yet, as we mature we start to question this identity.  We begin to ask ourselves bigger questions such as Who Am I?  What is my purpose in the world?  Do I exist beyond this lifetime?  Is my soul part of my identity?  This is when people become interested in their divinity and want to live an authentic higher conscious life.  

Does identity evolve in other ways eventually revealing our true authentic self?  

Recently I dreamed that I was in a spiritual group where some of us knew each other from other experiences, so we were asked to share something no one would know about you.  Here is what I shared:

" I would say I presently have no identity.  I flow with whatever the energy leads me to be in most joy and maybe even fun in every moment."  
People nodded and we continued on to the next person.  No one spoke to me about my revelation.  It was as if it did not register.  

Of course in dreams, scenes change and things do not occur logically.  However, I reflected that if I had said the same thing in most groups, even spiritual ones today, many people would have only heard  BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH, like the adults speaking in Charlie Brown specials.  I think you have to be at a certain frequency to dare to play with the idea of yourself without an identity.  

Or perhaps identity is an overlay we assume to be safe and acceptable. Underneath it we each have a divine core essence, a pure form that is not determined by other peoples teachings, expectations of you or cultural whispers.  When you live consciously you live from that essence.  Its what I call the deep wild core, the place where your truest divine self lives - fully expressing itself. 

So is that what having no identity in my dream meant?  Am I living from my core essence?  Or am I living as the Oneness.... no separation.  Or perhaps I have no identity when I expand to become the part of the All That Is.  At any moment I can shape shift and become whatever I desire. I can put however much of Gina-Dianne I want to into that experience. 


With these questions and refelections in mind, I called a good friend Dorothy West.  You may know her from the Happiness Company, or her new venture Ready Set Go  with West .  Its so exciting to have someone who is enthusiastic play with ideas.  

She said she  depended on me to to show up defined in a way she could   identify. Not on that was unchanging or stagnant though. To her its not so much that we don't need an identity - it's more that we are no longer focused on finding who we are.  Those of us who have been on a spiritual path know who we are.  We have eliminated who we're not. Our identity is no longer interesting to focus on. Because we don't have to shape our identity, that gives us freedom to experience ourselves as the real energy we are. We can create any experience we desire with no limitations.  

I no longer compare myself to those around me.  When I accept who I am and who I am not,  my experience changes.   I am not defined by an identity. No one outside me defines me. The sense of not needing to accomplish anything and thinking it's emptiness of purpose is really total liberation.   I can decide what and how I like to experience something.

When you come from this place you can choose to do something for no other purpose than your own enjoyment, your own experience.  What you do doesn't define you.  You don't worry it's saying anything about you.  Its just you experiencing your own enjoyment in doing it. 

Dorothy and I  played with the definition of identity vs core essence or a persons energetic blueprint. We can change our identity, but our essence doesn't change.  When we stop focusing on "Who I am now" as an identity, we don't have to work at it or define it.  When we are no longer working on developing our self-identity it  frees us  up.   We can ask "How do I want to entertain myself?" and not be attached to what we feel we need to accomplish. We are living as a Divine Being free to BE.   

The nugget in the discussion with Dorothy seemed to be that we may have an identity that we infuse with whatever current experience we choose. People still like to recognize us and will do so by feeling our energy field.  But our identity reveals our true essence and that field is so clear there are no boundaries to being seen as our authentic Divine Self.  And the key is to enjoy life in each moment as the True Divine You.   

During my recent maya trip I gained new perspectives and information that I was encouraged to share by my Maya Teacher, Miguel Angel Vergera.  He stressed how the time had come for everyone who wanted to make a difference in the world needed to do so.  

Today I wanted to let you know a bit about an person who most people, even those who have visited Maya Sites have never heard of; Lady Zak Kuuk.   I must admit I was functioning in many dimensions at the same time during  my  Sacred Journey, so I hope I have the mundane details correct.  History is unsure of whether she was the wife/consort of Pakal Votan, but if I understood correctly from Miguel Angel and Trudy Woodcock, who has worked with her energy for several years, this was her role.  Regardless, they brought a balance of Sacred Masculine and Feminine to Palenque and the Maya culture.  They are depicted in glyphs as both holding onto a rope like object, perhaps the kundalini energy. Together they led the Maya in an era of great peace and wisdom.

By merging the Divine Masculine and Feminine in ourselves we are able to function at our highest consciousness frequency and tap into the highest vibration emotions and act from there to create the life we desire, and spread that energy to those around us, to the collective consciousness and create memes of balance , love and peace.  

We were fortunate to celebrate a New Moon Ceremony with the Sun and Moon in the same sign of the zodiac in the Jungle on the evening following a powerful connection with the divine Mother IXCHEEL and Grandmother IX Mu Kane in the Misa Hol Caves.  This prepared us for our entry to Palenque the following day.  
The Sun had not yet gone down when we began the ceremony, the pungent smell of copal burning smoke which cleansed us.  Miguel Angel called on the Lords and Lordess of the Maya to work with us and teach us as we explored their sacred land.  We honoured them with our gifts, received theirs and had an opportunity to share messages we had received.  It was truly a sacred moment in the jungle.  

​During the trip We heard channelled messages from Lady Zak Kuuk -(the energy of Divine Power and Strength) thru Trudy Woodcock. Lady Zac Kuuk   and together they equally led the community of Palenque during its most successful period She told us how the maya wisdom was intentionally hidden until the coming of this next age when we can now share it used to establish and renew humanity.  It was exciting to stand at what Trudy and Miguel Angel believe to be her tomb (The tomb of the Red Queen).  As I gazed around I noticed natural faces and symbols in the stones that made up her pyramid.  The stones were not stellae, or carved, but you could see faces and figures in the natural cuts. I saw one face that reminded me of Ghandi.  

Collaborative Creation.  

One of the messages we received from Lady Zak Kuuk  thru Trudy was something I believe many readers will find useful. Since one of the key foundational principles of this era is working in harmony and collaboration, you will likely find yourself working with others who are consciously doing  energy work, ritual,  and ceremony.  Alternatively, you will no doubt be in workplace or social situations where you are working on a project or common activity.  

Lady Zak Kuuk spoke of how when we work together, we can draw on the wisdom of not only the people with whom we are working in collaboration, but their spiritual team as well.   More details about who this team is and and her other teachings will be available in a soon to be published book by Trudy Woodcock.  


Our Life Today Is An Initiation

My Maya teacher, Shaman Miguel Angel Vergara reminded us that life today is an initiation.  There is no need for initiations of old where people were isolated in dark holds, and fasted for days, jumped over crocodiles or walked on fire.  


Be Aware of How Your Desires Are Manifested. 

One of my great desires for my trips to the jungle is to see a real live jaguar - a Balam.  On this trip my desire was granted in different - other dimensional ways.  I 'saw' his symbol and shape in many places.  Perhaps the most powerful gift was how I got  to see  Balam- the jaguar who plays a critical role in the Maya tradition during ceremony deep in the watery caves above Misa Hol, where people symbolically experience rebirth.  Here in the dimly reflected light from flashlights I saw his huge shadow against a cave wall.  He was the correct size of a huge specimen. His energy was definitely all powerful and I was stirred to my deep wild core, as I was able to swim thru the cave to the wall where I could touch him. 

Maybe I will see a live jaguar someday, but I am in extreme gratitude for this powerful manifestation I experienced.  

Action:
What can you gain from today's blog? 
1.Be Aware of the Divine Masculine and Feminine apects of your Self.  Visualize them blending into one Divine Androgyne, where you can draw from all strengths with no duality.

2.Honour the sacred.  Connect with the sentient energy of everything in whatever from or energy it manifests.  Feel yourself expand as you connect and experience reverence for creation.  

3.Look at your life as an opportunity to live as your most Divine Self.  Detach from any lower vibration beliefs about initiations needing to be struggles or difficult.  Know they can be a blast!  Look for the fun in challenges--- like an extreme sport, or if you aren't into that then change the reality of the challenge to one thats easier and effortless.  

4.Be Aware of how your desires manifest in your life.  Tune into the sensory experience fully and be grateful that you have cocreated the moment with source energy.  

​