Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Tomorrow the sun will rise on a new day and a new year, and change feels like it's on the horizon.

Twelve years ago, the night before we were married, my husband, Mark, and I began a New Year's Eve ritual. At the suggestion of our beloved friend, Bunny Duhl, we held a burning ceremony. The intent of the burning was to offer the flames anything we felt ready to leave behind, making room for the new. For the inaugural ceremony, we were joined by the four people we were closest to, the adults who would be witness to our private ceremony the following day. It was a powerful experience for each of us, and Mark and I have continued the tradition nearly every year that has followed.

Through the years, we've expanded upon the theme to also include an offering of intentions. For example, one of my intentions for this year will be to welcome abundance! For the ceremony, I will jot this down on a piece of paper, and offer it to the flames, and to the universe, extending the energy out beyond me, and welcoming whatever may come back through the year.

Mark and I have been honored to share this ceremony with many friends and family members over these past years, and I am sending out this January newsletter a day early, so that I might also share it with you. If I take a peek at Google Earth tonight and see teeny tiny grills lit up all over New England (and beyond), I'll know you're giving it a try.

Wishing you well for 2009!

Warm regards,
Joanne Lutz