Equinox Reset

March Equinox… when the sun crosses the equator, and there is an equal length of day and night. Equinox means ‘equality of night and day’. This happens on March 20 at 5:58pm Eastern Standard Time, and March 21st at 8:58am in Eastern Australia Time. Find your equinox time here.

This is the transition into a new season, and so it’s a great time to check in on your goals and dreams. Take some time to pause and reflect on where you’re at in your life. What can you do differently to be better aligned with how you want to live?

My “New Season Clearing” blog at the end of 2018 was about clearing the way for the new things you want to aim for. Now I am sharing the Dream Box Ritual, where you put your dreams and goals on a piece of paper and place them inside a special little box. We open up the box 4 times a year, at every change of season to check in.  This creates positive momentum around the areas of your life you want to improve.

The Dream Box Ritual is something I have been doing for a very long time. It began when I lived in East Vancouver with my friend Bess. She would write her goals on little pieces of paper and place them in a shoe box. After some time, she’d open the box, unfold the papers and say ‘done, done, done!’ It was always amazing what she achieved! Sometimes there would be a goal that wasn’t complete and she’d say ‘that one… goes back in the box!’

And then around that time, I went to Guatemala where I was practicing yoga and meditation. The equinox and solstice were big marker points in the year there and so I began to ritualize those times with the shoebox idea. My husband and I do this 4 times a year. We read our goals to each other and put them in the box.

Here is the way to do it:

START WITH CLEANING & CLEARING

A good place to begin is to have a spring clean. Clear some space, remove the unneeded, unwanted and unused. Go through your closet, bookshelves, pantry, fridge… declutter.

Look at your schedule and how you spent the past three months. What worked? What felt good? What was draining or what feels like a waste of time?

CHOOSE YOUR GOALS / DREAMS / INTENTIONS

What do you want to create in your life?  Here are a few realms you can look at.  It can be overwhelming to do too much at once so pick 2-3 realms you want to create positive energy around. Think of the next three months as a season in your life, what realms need your attention in this season?

• Wellness (Exercise, Nutrition)
• Career
• Family / Relationships
• Friendship
• Travel
• Spirituality
• Creativity
• Growth (Getting out of your comfort Zone)

Write out your goals on a real piece of paper with a pen.  I label each goal as either long-term with no definite time frame (with an arrow), or Quarterly (Q) for this season.

Write each dream in the PRESENT TENSE as though it is happening or has already happened. For example ‘I go for a run outside 3 times a week.’ Or ‘I work on my art every day.’

MAKE A DREAM BOX

Convert a shoe box or a box that came in the mail into your dream box. Make sure you have a place for it to live in plain view… you don’t want to hide your goals and dreams away in a closet! lol Seeing the box regularly reminds you of your intentions.

PUT YOUR DREAMS IN THE BOX

By yourself, with your partner or a friend, read out loud each of your goals and put them in the box. Feel and imagine each thing as though it’s already happened as a way to make the intention stronger.

DESIGN YOUR WEEKS

Some of the things you may want to achieve require some action steps to make them happen. Ask yourself ‘what needs to happen in order for that goal to happen?’

Get out your schedule and design your weeks. Make a plan to do the work, the practice and make the time for achieving these things. Magical opportunities do present themselves, but they’ve got to find us ready and putting in the energy too!

Hope this helps you kick-start your goal-setting!

HAPPY EQUINOX!

Note: The track playing on the Dream Box video is “Endlessly” from my album, Leopardwood.

Listen to “Endlessly” on Bandcamp.

Listen to “Endlessly” on Spotify.