1. Unplug Your Television
Television has more of a disruptive influence on our lives and does more to affect our sanity than most other modern appliances. Since it was invented in the early 20th century, TV has slowly become an integral part of our daily lives and today influences how we think act and behave as individuals and as a society. Far from being an entertainment device, modern day television has become more of a platform for delivering incessant advertising messages, political propaganda and mind-numbing reality shows with little redeeming values.

Setting new year resolutions appears to be passe amongst spiritually-aware personal development experts. More people are recommending using intentions or themes to guide our directions at the start of a new year.

Since two years ago, I have also personally found it more helpful to be setting intentions rather than be engaged in traditional resolution setting. In fact, I have found that the use of power words and phrases – to encapsulate the essence or the meaning of the intent – very effective.

Usually the first thing everyone talks about when the New Year rolls around is their New Year’s resolutions. What didn’t happen during the previous year and resolving to make it happen during the coming year; promising to become happier, healthier, wealthier, or more productive; promising to take more time for your family or yourself — all noble resolutions to be sure, but somewhat less than certain that they will ever come to pass.

Often thought of as part of our journey from the imperfect now where we are today to the perfect future where we want to be, New Year’s resolutions serve as guideposts to dreams. We do not often allow ourselves to dream about our future, but we have given ourselves permission to place particular importance upon the ones we value the most when the calendar year draws to a close and the promise of fresh new beginnings is raising optimistic glints in everyones’ eyes.

You live in a dream world. Depending on your point of view and the nature of your dreams, that may sound derogatory or pleasantly affirmative. But it’s really just a statement of fact.

We process life at deep levels of the mind to which we do not have conscious access. We fall in love with someone but do not know why. We become angry but cannot articulate a reason for our anger. We laugh at things without having the slightest idea what makes them funny.

The source of these mysteries lies in the Shadow.