TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

Inside this issue, you’ll find my favorite holiday rituals I do every year: reflection and question prompts I have been collecting through the year.

I like to dream about a better year ahead while also reflecting on how I have made dreams into memories this past year.

WHY

Irrespective of religious affiliation, I do find magic in the closing of one year and the prospects of another beginning and the promises yet to be unlocked.

No matter how hard I try to stay on schedule, there is some vortex that opens up the week between Christmas and New Year's. I lose track of time, pajamas are my suited choice, and I dream of possibilities for next year.

So I’ve developed a little ritual that I like to unofficially call “Making Dreams Into Memories.” This name comes from long conversations with my husband–who is the ultimate dreamer–and how we can realize our big dreams and pull them from our imaginations into the tangible present.

WHAT

Here are a bunch of questions I have been collecting over the year. I have a Google doc that I just add to when I see a good question and I distill the best ones for my “Making Dreams Into Memories” session.

Here are some of my best ones. I hope you’ll look through and find several that are meaningful for you to answer for yourself.

• What was I doing a year ago?
• Do you enjoy how you’re spending your time?
• Am I happy with how my money is being spent?
• Who do I spend the most time with and are they filling my cup?
• What do I want to learn next?
• How can I be most helpful to myself and those around me?
• Are you satisfied with your career? If so, how or how not?
• What can my most aggressive judgments about others tell me about myself?
• If I knew everything would be okay in the end, how would I act, show up and think?
• Do I take time to articulate and get clarity on my thoughts before expressing them to others?
• Does my daily routine reflect my short-, medium-, and long-term goals?
• What do the things I envy in others tell me about what I want to give to myself?
• What would it feel like in my body to release all my anger, hurt, and frustration?
• What did the people who hurt me most in my life ultimately teach me?
• Do I embody the qualities of the person I always dreamed of marrying?
• What is the most common way I self-sabotage and what does that tell me about my unmet needs?
• If it is the last day of my life and I look back at all I have done, what will stand out as moments of pride and joy? What will I wish I did less of or did differently?

HOW

As you can see, these are not simple one-word answers. They require you to be in a vortex of sorts, with poor perception of time, deadlines, and to-do lists. That is why I like to do them in the next few weeks, as there feels (at least to me) like there is more spaciousness and more expansion opportunities.

And I can do it in pajamas. So it's a win-win.

Reflecting on these questions requires, in many ways, getting into your body and attuning to the sensations and areas of your body that activate with these questions. Some may invoke a tightening of your chest, heat moving up your neck, a flutter in your stomach, or a relaxation of the belly.

No “right” or “wrong” physical sensations or responses exist. There is just observance of them.

In doing so, you allow yourself to become an even better steward for yourself, being able to check in and figure out what is happening, and what messages your body is sending you. If you are quiet, your body will even tell you what it is she needs right now.

NOW

Take one, two, or all of these questions and make space to think, journal, and muse over the prompts.

I often do this individually, and then discuss some of the answers with my partner and children, for them to reflect on their own year and what dreams they want to make into memories for next year.

Wishing you a magical holiday season filled with wonder, dreaming, and memory-making.

Love,

Dr. Stephanie

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