New Year’s Day
January 1, 2026
Happy New Year to you. I pray that this is the brightest year of your life!
I was speaking with a friend recently who does deep spiritual work. At one point, she said about a decision she made, “This may be my ego’s wish, and if it is, I don’t want it to throw me off course. I will find a higher way to approach this.”
Hearing her speak so plainly of her aim was refreshing and inspiring. It reminded me how powerful it is to know the guiding intentions of our spiritual walk.
Today begins a new chapter of our lives. How do we want to walk spiritually in this new year? What will guide our thoughts, choices, and relationships? What will help us grow more loving toward others and draw closer to our Creator? What will help provide an integrity of being?
Preparing spiritually for the year ahead is not just about making resolutions. Resolutions are well-meaning but often fleeting. What truly shapes a new year is the realization of our aims.
Our aims arise from the soul. They come from our deepest purpose, yet they are not the purpose itself. They are what we intentionally “shoot for”—the guiding lights that keep our true direction in view.
Spiritual aims are how we make sure we express our spiritual identity. Teachers such as Sandra Maitri, A. H. Almaas, and Eckhart Tolle, name some aims which include being present, telling the truth, loving self and others, giving from the heart, staying curious, remaining with our experience, balancing being and doing, and transcending the ego. I have a few as well, such as embodying our true selves, our soul child, living from the qualities of our soul, and showing up. These are just a few.
We may think one broad aim, like “I aim to be good” or “I aim to love others,” is enough. But fulfilling our spiritual purpose usually requires a range of aims, each with its own connection to the Divine. One umbrella aim cannot hold the full breadth of what our soul is called to live.
We all have aims, whether we are conscious of them or not. Becoming aware of our aims is vital. Only then can we see whether our aims are serving us or need to be refined. A conscious set of spiritual aims can become a rule of life that carries us seamlessly from year to year.
May this year bring you all that you need for the progression of your soul.
Happy New Year!
Spiritual practice: As this new year begins, take stock of your aims. Reflect on the examples above.
Self-inquiry: What aims guide my decisions? How do they help me work with the inner critic, the ego’s impulses, and distractions from my purpose? How does knowing my aims shape the way I enter this new year?
Prayer
Dear God, At the beginning of this year, grant me awareness of my aims, and help me cultivate the aims I need to live consciously. Amen.
