How Can One Word Define Your Year?

How can one word define your year? Well, I’ve been thinking about my 2022 Word of the Year over the past couple of weeks, given how impactful the practice has been for me over the last year.

Let’s rewind.

For background, I started a practice over a year ago, where at the end of December, I will pick one word that I want to help define, guide, and exemplify my upcoming year. (Note: I also do this on my birthday for a second “Solar Return Word of the Year,” but for now we’ll focus on the annual).

When we put out the conscious intent behind our path of action forward, our subconscious will keep that set intention silently humming in the background while we go about our daily life. So much so, that it is estimated that some 95% of our daily brain activity is unconscious. Essentially, this means that the majority of the decisions we make, the actions we take, and our emotions and behaviors, happen at a subconscious “autopilot-like” level.

This is how the brain can adapt to situations to make it second nature.

Take your morning routines or habits for instance. You probably get up, go about your daily morning routine of brushing your teeth, showering, making your coffee, getting dressed, reading the headlines, and heading out the door without putting much thought into what you’re doing. Here you are directly seeing how the brain adapts to your habits. It begins to create efficiencies, so that you don’t need to spend excess energy and human battery power on what you have come to already master. 

Similarly, when we put out a conscious intent into the world and give our brains the instructions of a word we want to be a beacon for our year, it will remember the task we assigned it without us having to continually reprompt it. That is – so long as we put in the necessary effort at the outset! 

Let me explain.

Here’s my step-by-step practice for implementing my Word of the Year.

1. First pick a word. This can be one that you have given some time to contemplate, think about, and choose for yourself. Alternatively, and a more recent way that I’ve had a word come to me, is through an intuitive download in my morning meditation.

2. Once I have the word, I will go to https://www.merriam-webster.com/, https://www.dictionary.com/, or even just https://www.google.com’s Dictionary to define my Word of the Year.

3. Next, I’ll open to a clean page in my journal and write the word and its definition (or definitions) that most resonate with how I want that word to guide my year.

4. From there, I’ll reflect on what exactly I want that word to mean to me. How I want it to help define or be a beacon for my year, in what types of ways or situations it can help me to do that, in what areas of my life I want that guidance or definition exemplified, and any other thoughts – complete or incomplete – on what that word even means to me. There’s no right or wrong way to do this, it’s all about how it comes into your heart and what you feel is right for you.

Let’s take my 2021 Word of the Year for example. On December 21, 2020 (The Great Conjunction for any of my Astrology aficionados), I wrote the following in my journal for my word of the year. 

 —————–

Evolve (verb) – develop gradually, especially from a simple to a more complex form

• Evolve my mindset
• It’s not starting from a “ground zero,” but rather a becoming, a progression, a molting of the old and disillusioned
• Broaden my way of thinking while simultaneously narrowing and removing the negative, the excess, the “worldly” physical that may make me temporarily happy
• Grow more into my own
• Grow my self-trust, self-worth
• Grow to a more calm, level, higher consciousness mindset
• Morph, remove the exo
• To change at the higher level, while simultaneously remaining grounded
• To unroll over time
• See the truth
• Unpack and unwrap the mind
• Reveal what is hidden within

 —————–

I’ve certainly evolved in unbelievable ways this past year.

It’s amazing what one simple word can do for you.

I’ve started a coaching business, deepened my spirituality beyond what I ever thought possible, and have certainly grown into my own in this life path and life mission. I’ve developed loads of self-love, self-trust, and released into trust from intuitive guidance and Higher Wisdom. I’ve molted a lot of previous self-limiting and even non-self-limiting beliefs that were no longer serving me at this juncture in my life and where I need to be. I’ve removed some negative triggers (people, places, events, situations) and as a result made room to find more of my tribe and those who help elevate my vibrational frequency. I’ve evolved over the course of the past 365 days in a slow and methodical manner to open my eyes to greater truth and show me a much calmer, peaceful, and beautiful life.

I would also be remiss to mention that at times throughout the year, I’ve even consciously recalled my Word of the Year. I’ve brought it back – top of mind – and remembered that I want to make it a goal to evolve myself in the ways I laid out before the year began. I allowed myself to receive and open to guidance that would allow me to do that. 

For 2022, I was thinking “action” would be my Word of the Year. There is so much I want to put into action for myself over the next year. So much I want to do, achieve, accomplish, and it all starts with the first steps of taking concrete and concerted action. Not to mention, there is so much about action I could even write about in a blog post . 

But then something interesting happened. 

On the morning of Tuesday, December 14, 2021, I sat down for my usual morning meditation at 4:45am. 

Once I went deep into silence and stillness after practicing Kriya Yoga – life force control or pranayama – I sat in silent joyous meditation and asked for what was in my Highest Wisdom to have as my Word of the Year. It’s funny, because even after Ayahuasca (blog posts coming about this in early 2022), I should know not to have any expectations. Yet, I had one in thinking/knowing I already knew my word was going to be “action” and that I was just looking for confirmation and reaffirmation in meditation. 

Almost instantaneously after asking the question, a feeling arose in me. What was immediately “pushed” into or felt in my mind was the word “love”. 

I realized I was being guided away from “action” as my word because I already have a decent enough understanding and drive to put things into action for the near-term. If I want to stay on a path towards the most beneficial and most benevolent outcomes for my soul progression and evolution – love is what needs to come to the forefront right now. 

The journey to Peru and four Ayahuasca ceremonies showed me a lot in the way of love and provided me a newfound lens and perspective to view that through. 

The love I am to define 2022 for myself throughout the year is multifaceted.

It’s a love for myself, a love for all others, a deeper sense of self-love, a vibrational love for all I come in contact with regardless of what they may have done.

It’s a love of the oneness of human consciousness. A love that transcends just the physical touch and ending of a phone conversation. Although the love that is to define 2022 will encompass that; it’s also a romantic, open, and unconditional acceptance. 

It’s a love that elevates the frequency and energy of all of us. A love of forgiveness. 

So with that I accept this guidance with LOVING acceptance. Action will still be taken, but for 2022, love is taking center stage. 

 —————–

Love (noun) \ ˈləv  \

1. A strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties

   a. Attraction based on sexual desire: affection and tenderness felt by lovers.
   b. Affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests

2. An assurance of affection

3. Warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion

4. Unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another

5. A God (such as Cupid or Eros) or personification of love

6. The sexual embrace

7. A score of zero (in tennis)

Love as a verb:

1. To hold dear; cherish

2. To feel a lover’s passion, devotion, or tenderness for

3. To like or desire actively

4. To thrive in

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Think about what you want your Word of the Year to be heading into 2022.

What are your intentions with that word?

Chances are it just might shape you in greater ways than you can even imagine.

Wishing you a 2022 full of love, light, and guidance!