New Years Traditions Around The World

By Rachel Matthews | December 31st, 2012 at 6:21 pm

It’s December 31st; the last day of 2012 and known to most of us as New Years Eve.  New Years Eve and New Years Day are as filled with traditions and superstitions as they are with parties and food.

image via StuartMoreton on flickr

Perhaps the most well known New Years tradition is the midnight kiss, you’re supposed to kiss the person you love at midnight to ensure you get to keep kissing them for the rest of the year.  From Midnight kisses and champagne toasts to  collard greens and cornbread – there are many ways that people sweep away the old and ring in the New.
From colored underwear to broken dishes, let’s talk New Years Traditions around the world.

1.  In Denmark, friends smash dishes on eachother’s doorsteps.  The person with the most dishes on their doorstep is thought to have the best and most loyal friends.

image via MaretH on flickr

2. Some Women in South America choose their underwear color by what they want the most luck with in the New Year! Red underwear is for luck in love and yellow is for luck in money.

3. Many people in Ecuador burn photos and scarecrows in an effort to banish bad memories from the past year.

4. In the Philippines, they wear polka dots because the round dots resemble coins and wealth.

5. The British place their fortunes for the coming year in the hands of their first guest, whom they believe should be male and bearing gifts. Traditional gifts are coal for the fire, a loaf for the table and a drink for the master. For good luck, the guest should enter through the front door and leave through the back. Anyone arriving empty-handed or unwanted will not be allowed to be the first to enter.
6. In Wales  at the first stroke of midnight, the back door is opened and then shut to release the old year and lock out all of its bad luck. Once the clock strikes 12, the front door is opened and the New Year is welcomed with all of its luck.
7. In Puerto Rico people throw buckets of water out the windows of their homes to symbolize “cleaning out” the old year; they will often clean or redecorate their homes to symbolize new beginnings.

 http://www.babble.com/babble-voices/southern-hospitality-rachel-matthews/2012/12/31/new-years-traditions-around-the-world/

To celebrate the role of the public domain in our societies 

1 January 2013

 On this day of great celebrations worldwide, we also invite to celebrate the impressive wealth of knowledge, information and beauty that today, like every year on this day, becomes freely available to humankind. Every year on New Year's Day, in fact, due to the expiration of copyright protection terms on works produced by authors who died several decades earlier, thousands of works enter the public domain - that is, their content is no longer owned or controlled by anyone, but it rather becomes a common treasure, available for anyone to freely use for any purpose.

Such works can also become a building block for new creations: people can transform a poem into song lyrics, or make a movie based on a public domain novel (check your local movie theaters to see how often that happens!). Literary works can be published on personal website and/or printed for friends or school distribution. Of course, you can also decide, for instance, to professionally print a beautiful hardcover leather-bound edition of a public domain book and sell it for a profit, while the book content will remain available for anyone to use freely. And the same goes for images, art works and other kinds of creative works entering the public domain under the same term expiration rule.
This Public Domain Day (each year's January 1st) website is an initiative of COMMUNIA, the European Thematic Network on the Digital Public Domain, with the special support of the Open Knowledge Foundation. Our aim is to raise worldwide awareness about the role of the public domain in our societies and to provide resources and information. Please feel free to browse our website and related links and pages - to find greater inspiration and enjoy the creative and entrepreneurial freedom granted to everybody by the public domain.

Sex Goddess Here I Come!

http://betterafter50.com/2013/01/my-resolution-to-be-a-sex-goddess/

My Resolution: Be A Sex Goddess

January 1, 2013

By Walker Thornton

inShare

If you’ve seen my profile at The Huffington Post, you’ll notice that I called myself “Writer, Sex Goddess.” Admittedly I agonized over that, briefly. I sought opinions from my friends on Facebook before submitting my short bio.
Why shouldn’t I call myself a Sex Goddess? Don’t we tell little girls they can be anyone or anything they want? Aren’t we able to recreate ourselves at every stage of life?
Right this moment it’s possible to see yourself as many things. Chef. CEO. Queen of Retail. Physician. Sex Goddess.
Sex Goddess is a big deal to me. Yes, I say it with a twinkle in my eye and a little smile. I haven’t put it on my business card, nor have I informed my adult sons or my mother of my new life calling. I’m not sure they’d understand but I’m guessing that you do.
Let me tell you how I got here and why I think this name is appropriate.
Goddess:

1. A female being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people.

2. A female being believed to be the source of life and being and worshipped as the principal deity in various religions. Used with the.

3. An image of a female supernatural being; an idol.

4. Something, such as fame or wealth, that is worshipped or idealized.

5. A woman of great beauty or grace.

First of all, I’d love to be worshipped if that meant my followers would bring me offerings of love, gifts, sexy lingerie and money. How far out would that be? Worshipping would be fabulous. Young men (and women) would follow my every word, lift the hem of my gown as I walked and sit idly by, on pillows, soaking up my every word. Older men would want to be in my presence, eager for me to confer my wise words and knowing hands on their sexuality. And give gifts of money.
A woman of great beauty or grace. What can I say?
Seriously. My sexual awakening didn’t happen in my youth or during my 25+ years of marriage. I discovered myself sexually, over a period of years starting in the mid 2000′s. Post-divorce and in the midst of some unusual dating situations.
It was more than discovering that I enjoy sex. To me, being a Sex Goddess means that I have obtained some wisdom as it relates to sexuality. The sexuality we each possess as women, in our own rights, as well as the dance of men and women (or women and women) as they come together.
My goal is to spark the awkward conversations–push the comfort zone– and encourage women of all ages to develop a healthy, well-informed outlook on their own sexuality.  I’m not saying that we should spend all our time talking about, thinking about and pursuing sexual activities. What I envision for my worshippers (it has such a heady ring) is a healthy outlook on all things sexual. I’ll go into more detail as I begin to lay out my vision more clearly.
For now, I’m just like everyone else. I wear sweats around the house, I plan cookie parties with my grandchildren and I think about my next opportunity to exhibit my playful, sexual side.
As one last offering I’d like to remind each and every one of you, that you too can become a Sex Goddess. Maybe a lesser goddess, but a goddess nonetheless.

Another look at the coming year from


http://www.soulseeds.com/grapevine/2013/01/diving-into-2012/

Diving into 2013

January 1st, 2013

A bank robbery was foiled in London late last year, and it was the robber himself who foiled it. It seems he was a rooky robber, who was hit by nerves at the crucial moment. He walked up to the teller holding a gun in one hand and an empty bag in the other. He demanded 700,000 pounds and then got confused, handing over the gun instead of the bag. He then escaped on an employee’s bicycle. True story. I imagine him saying to the teller, “Hand over the money or I’ll….. bag you.”
His problem, well one of them, was that his actions didn’t match his intentions. His head told him one thing. His hands did another. The New Year is an awesome time to make sure you’ve got your head straight on goals and intentions for the year, put your best foot forward, and act in ways that are consistent with your intentions. Align your intentions and your actions, and then get out of the way, because amazing things will happen.
What are your intentions for 2013? Resolve a conflict? Change career? Improve your health? The size and scope of your intentions is not important. The important thing is authenticity. Set bold intentions to live more authentically than ever before, and then trust that the right people, circumstances and resources will surround you at every point in order to create the right outcomes at the right time.
I want to use an analogy for approaching the New Year. It’s an analogy from a subject I know next to nothing about. (Just to make you feel confident) It’s an analogy from child birth. When a baby is born in breech position, it comes out feet first. Some people say that babies are born in breech because they aren’t ready or feel some resistance to coming into the world. Maybe there is some unfinished business or some unresolved fear about entering the world. It’s as if the baby is digging her heels in, refusing to come out.
The analogy I offer to you is to come into the New Year head first. Everything is ready and waiting for you. There is nothing stopping you from having the most awesome year other than your own resistance. If you feel yourself digging your heels in, screeching into the New Year like a breech birth, get clear about your resistance, heal it, and come into the New Year head first. Feel your fear and keep going anyway.
If 2012 was a year of fear, make 2013 the year of seized opportunity.
If 2012 was a haze of confusion, make 2013 the year of incredible clarity.
If 2012 was the year to tend wounds, make 2013 the year to harvest wisdom
If 2012 was the year to go within, make 2013 the year to come out head first and live your insights.
Will there be challenges? It’s guaranteed. But let them be 2013’s challenges, and not yesterday’s fears.
Get behind me 2012. I’ve got intentions to live, and seeds of love to sow.
How are you going to deal with challenge? You can’t go around it. You can’t go under it. You have to grow through it head first. Even if someone outside of you had the ability to take your challenge away, you don’t want to be robbed of the opportunity to discover your strength, and turn challenge into incredible character. It’s all ahead of you. Challenge and opportunity.
Are you ready? Are you prepared to come out head first? When you come out head first, your body follows. Get your thinking right, and your body follows. Get your intentions clear, and let your actions follow. Say it out loud- “I’m coming out head first. I know who I am. I’m coming out head first, and my life will follow.”
This mantra from Patanjali is my hope for all in 2013-
May your mind transcend limitations.
May your consciousness expand in every direction.
May you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.

One way of looking at things

F**k It All. ~ Carolyn Riker

Photo: Martinak15

*Warning! Strong language ahead!

The cookies are stale.

The garbage disposal spews rancid, slim-covered muck. The toilet doesn’t flush, but regurgitates like a geyser. The doorbell gets stuck at ding, but lost its downward facing dong. There’s a distinct putrid smell of something dead in the garage. I can’t find it and I don’t fucking care.
Do I have to feed the kids? Instead, I’ll put out an automated pet food dispenser.
It’s been a long day, week, month, life and the responsibilities keep adding up. The pain of living in this world is grueling. Trying to juggle it all without collapsing is next to immortality. I want to get off this fucking merry-go-round. My horse is dead.
Some days are fuck-filled and the harshness is real. The abrasiveness cuts to the core of our personal bullshit. Crazy how anger plays a part in this delusion; I use it to deflect and declare temporary insanity. It is a façade that befriends my triple-headed monster of anxiety, fear and sadness. I enter into an adult-size temper tantrum swearing, kicking and screaming. They are all ugly hues of shit. Staying angry creates avoidance from dealing with the inner crap.
When my negative emotions soar, I definitely take things way too fucking personally. My lid is screwed on a little too tight. I could combust and that’s probably what I should do. Let it go. Yeah, it’s another catchy cliché, with way too much significance to ignore.
So what to do when the shit-hits-the-fan and goes into a reverse, spiraling death-ray of internalizing torture?
I breathe.
Yes, breathe and not that shallow shit somewhere behind the ears, stuck in the jaw and balancing gingerly on the collar bones, but the deeper stuff.
I hate the simplicity of it too, but it’s free and portable.
When my mind even slightly quiets and my breathing gets a little deeper, I begin to relax and the bullshit gradually dissipates.
I notice the universe hasn’t and won’t give up on me. This is shocking and comforting. It’s a downright, aha moment.
Therefore, I breathe and rest in a small pocket of infinite, precious, crazy-fucked-up but truly unconditional love.

Settle down, it’ll all be clear
Don’t pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found
Just know you’re not alone….
~ Phillip Phillips, Home Lyrics
Carolyn Riker is a mom, private tutor and a novice gardener. She enjoys writing as a creative outlet. Carolyn finds spiritual balance through yoga, meditation and Ayurveda. If you want to say hi, drop her a line at: carolynra7@hotmail.com.

~Ed: Kate Konieczny & Brianna B.

A Revolution in Resolutions: 6 Steps to Calling Your Deepest Desires into Your Life.

The empty boxes are on the curb for recycling.

The vacuum cylinder is coated with sparkles and stray pine needles are strewed about the house. The Christmas commotion has settled and it’s perfect time to appreciate all we have, let go of what weighs us down and make space for new dreams in this New Year.
This year, why not toss your resolution and try a Sankalpa—it’s a powerful way to start any endeavor. A Sankalpa is a simple but specific intention; a spiritual resolve. It is like a blank canvas. Kalpa means, idea, imagination of the mind, creation. Each New Year or any new beginning is the time to choose your Sankalpa.
The difference between it and a New Years Resolution is the direction of the energy, behind the determination.
New Year’s Resolutions often require that we give something up—sweets or alcohol—the focus is more on what we have been doing wrong and implies that we are not enough.
But, a Sankalpa focuses on what we want to call into our life, the focus shifts from lack to receiving and abundance.

Here are the six easy steps to follow that will help you set your Sankalpa:

1. An Internal Vow.

New Year’s resolutions are often shared and discussed. Telling a goal makes it less likely to happen—it actually extinguishes our drive. When we share ambition and it is acknowledged by others, the mind tricked into feeling satisfaction and we are less likely to do the work required. The mind mistakes the talking for the doing.
Write your Sankalpa down and keep it for yourself. Repeat it before bed, or during a yoga class or whenever you like. But, your Sankalpa is only for you. When you keep a promise to yourself, it’s sacred.

2. I am, not I want.

Focus on a positive result. Don’t give attention to what you don’t want or are lacking in. Word your Sankalpa with care, in the affirmative and present tense; I am rather than I want.
A Sankalpa is not “ I want to make new friends in my community.” It is “I have new friends in my community.”This slight adjustment makes a big difference; the word “want” signals lack. You attract what you think, so if the mind is focused on lack, you cannot receive.
Imagine your best life and be clear and remember that where your energy is directed, your future goes.

3. Align with your Dharma.

Dharma is the desire to be what your soul was meant to be. Ask yourself; how can I serve my highest potential?
When the individual aligns with the universal it is powerful—you know when you are moving in the right direction in life. Your energy carries and sustains you. Sometimes our resolutions don’t serve our Dharma. When we force situations to be as we wish rather than accepting what is, we exhaust our prana. When you feel this way, it is likely that you are not in alignment.

“You are what your deep driving desire is,

As is your desire so is your intention.

As is your intention so is your will.

As is your will so is your deed.

As is your deed so is your destiny.”

~ Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

4. Let go.

We cannot receive until we let go of expectations and actions. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have desires, goals and dreams. Rather, it means we have a clear view of what the spirit is calling for and faith in the abundance of the Universe.
A Sankalpa is not about achieving a specific thing within a certain time frame; it is broader and far more encompassing than that. It is a steady, internal, energetic shift. It changes you.
Be clear about what you desire, keep an open mind about outcomes and sustain effort and faith.

“Once you make a decision the whole world conspires to make it happen.” ~ Emerson

5. Make space in your home and your life to welcome the new.

January first, we start our first 24 Things cycle for the year 2013. Let go of one thing, each day, for the next 24 days. Let go and create freedom, in the home, mind or body and create a sacred space. Inside this sacred space, you can develop the faith that you will be provided for and cherished without the aid of material things.
We are more powerful than we know and can call in the wonderful, when we learn to let go. Make space in your life for your Sankalpa to enter.
The only other requirement to 24 Things is that you cannot make purchases for the 24 days. If there is something you think you want make a list. If you can remember what is on the list by the day 24 then by all means…buy it!

6. Blog

Write a little something every day about what you are letting go of; it can stir up a lot of discomfort and sometimes confusion when we rid ourselves of clutter in our lives. But, only by clutter holds us back and weighs us down.
We have a growing list of bloggers that join in on 24 Things and share their experiences. If you are blogging, let me know. I love hearing about the experiences of others and will link you up to the 24 Things website.

Make a magical New Year.

~
Ed: Bryonie Wise