It’s been a little longer than usual since my last blog, so let me begin by wishing all of you a Happy New Year. Thank you for your contributions to the many ways our community evolved in 2024.

I’d like to pick up where we left off in that last post. My team and I had just released our newest creation – a meditation called “Wholly Days” – and I was reflecting on the states of being we associate most with the holiday season.

Since we celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S. and many other parts of the world, we typically begin the end-of-the-year season in a state of gratitude. This might mean being grateful for the life you have; grateful for the things you’ve accomplished in one year; grateful for the things you’re creating; even grateful for the challenges in your life.

It’s important to identify and celebrate these things – and not just during a season of thanks, but every day – because gratitude creates a state of abundance. It opens us up to seeing our lives in a new way.

As the holiday season progresses, we move into a state of generosity. When we give to those we care about, we give from our heart. We want them to feel the love we have by offering something that will touch them in some way. And when they receive that gift with gratitude, then in that moment of exchange, we both feel love.

So, as one year – one 12-month cycle – ends, we give thanks for the things we want to celebrate. And, in giving of ourselves, we receive the thanks of those we love.


Reflection and Intention

As the year passes, we begin another 12-month cycle. And we take the abundant energy we cultivated at the end of the last cycle – all that thankfulness, joy, and love in our hearts – and use it as creative energy.

We move from gratitude and giving ... to reflecting ... and, finally, to re-creating. We think about what our intentions were last year, assess how we did in bringing them to life, and then decide what we want to take with us into the new year.

It’s time, once again, to set our mind and energy to a new future – and create. With intention and resolve, we begin anew.

If this seems daunting, it doesn’t have to be. Here are some things you can ask yourself as you reflect on the cycle that’s just ended:

• What did I accomplish this year? What goals did I meet? How did I evolve my practice? What challenges and personal limitations did I overcome?
  • Here’s a big hint: You’re probably going to see a big overlap between the things you’re grateful for and the things you accomplished.

• Where did I stumble from my path? What losses did I confront? What would I view as mistakes along the way? And – most important – what did I learn from those mistakes?

• If I had the chance to practice again (another big hint: you will), what would I choose the next time? What would I do differently?

And finally, to help you transmute those losses and lessons into your new creations this year, ask yourself:

• How have I changed? What do I still want to change about myself?

• What goals am I carrying with me into this new cycle? Do they still serve me at this moment in my life? Which ones can I let go of?

• Where can I identify gaps in my knowledge base about the process of creation and change? What do I need to study or learn to deepen my understanding? Where do I still catch myself going unconscious during my waking day? How can I improve my model and cultivate a state of creation?

Back ... to the Future

On one hand, you can view this exercise as getting back to basics; returning to the fundamentals. If it seems elementary, it isn’t. It’s an essential part of measuring your progress – and it’s especially impactful after the holidays. I do it every year. I’m doing it right now – because I want to stay in the game of evolution in this new year and improve myself in this new future.

In fact, I do a version of this practice every day. It’s how we evolve from being in a state of self-reflection to a state of self-creation.

And, in that sense, we can view it as getting back ... to the future.

It’s a process. It’s a model ... of unlearning and relearning; pruning and sprouting; deprogramming and reprogramming; unwiring and un-firing – and refiring and rewiring; un-memorizing emotions and reconditioning your body to a new mind and new emotions ... of breaking the habit of being your old self and reinventing a new self.


Beginning Anew

Ultimately, these cycles are about stepping off the old, familiar paths and walking toward a new future in the unknown. As I say to our community: to create a new life, you have to leave part of yourself behind. It is the overcoming process that is the becoming process.

Too often, we wait to be in crisis to take that first step off that old path. My question to you is: why wait?

The beginning of every cycle – be it a new year; a new month; a new day – is an opportunity to choose something new. A chance to ask ourselves: Who am I leaving behind in order to become my future self?

If it helps, make a list of what you’re overcoming – and what you’re becoming. Every day, remind yourself who you no longer want to be. And then review the list of who you do want to be, both in terms of your beliefs and your thoughts. Tune in to the vision and emotions of your new future – and the behaviors and choices you have to make to get there.

Every day, take yourself back to a state of creation. Relaxed in your heart; awake in your brain. And see if you can stay there the entire day. If you can, celebrate your efforts.

And if you slip, don’t worry. Every day is a new cycle; a new lifetime; a new opportunity to practice. Every moment is a chance to begin again.

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Though the holiday season has passed, “Wholly Days” is a great tool to open your heart and get into a state of reflection and dreaming. You can purchase it here.

And if you want to get back ... to your future, Dr Joe’s evolved, updated, Progressive Online Course is 20% off until January 31. Tune in to your unlimited potential with the teachings and meditations that form the foundation of this work.