2008 was a big, bad, busy year. For me, it seemed like one thing after another. One night in mid-December I took a book from the shelf that I'd had for years. It's called "The Life You Were Born To Live" By Dan Millman. It helps you to find your life path and gives you an in-depth explanation and suggested mantras to help you each day. I'd gone so far as to figure out the life paths of myself, friends , and family- but I'd never actually finished the book. So, I'm flipping through it and I get to the back. Here's a whole section I hadn't even seen before and I start to read. It was exactly what I needed at the time and once I decoded what year I was in everything began making sense. I found I was at the end of the 9-year cycle which is like the grand finale , and all the fireworks were ablaze. Thankfully, I also found that I was about to shift into year 1. New beginnings. And here I am. I hope this is as beneficial and insightful for you as it was for me. ♥
                                                                                                                             ~Finding Your Personal Year~
   To compute your personal year, you add your birth month and day - i.e. -for example : If your birthday is March 21 (5/21) of any year you add 5+2+1=8
This number is known as your achievment number.  Now (to get your personal year) add your achievment number to the Universal Year (whatever the current year
Is- 2009- 2+0+0+9=11 / 1+1=2/ 8+2=10 ~~~~So you would be in a personal year of 1.
 
                *Nine Year Cycles*
The power of the world always works in circles,
and everything tries to be round.
The sky is round, and I have heard
that the earth is like a ball,
and so are all the stars.
The wind, in its greatest power, whirls;
birds make their nests in circles,
for theirs is the same religion as ours.
The sun and moon, both round,
come forth and go down again in a circle.
Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing,
and always come back again to where they were.
The life of a person is a circle from childhood to childhood,
and so it is in everthing where power moves.
                 ~BLACK ELK~
 
 
Year 1- Creativity and Confidence The first year cycle is the year of creativity, of planting the seeds, of newness, of opening to new opportunity with confidence. The sprout is sown, but it hasn't yet broken through the ground. This may involve a time of planning as well as planting, of resoloutions as well as map making. It can also mean going back to school, retraining, or moving to a new location-beginning something anew. The snow is just melting in early spring.

Year 2- Cooperation and Balance The second year, the seed needs the help and interaction of others- the sun, soil, and water. In our life, the second year of the cycle means working with other people in some form, finding our boundaries, defining ourselves in our new course of work or activity in terms of our relationships with others. We form new ties, alliances, and support networks. The earth grows warmer.

Year 3- Expression and Sensitivity The third year, the seed breaks through the soil into the sunlight; this may mean a time of visibility and careful growth. The shoot is still green and vulnerable. This time may bring a feeling of vulnerability; doubts may arise: "Can I do it?" Our horizons grow wider; we see and experience more. It is now late spring.

Year 4- Stability and Process The fourth year the shoot grows thicker and stronger, extending the roots deeper into the soil. This is time to establish stability; a critical stage, a time not for show but for making sure our roots are strong. This is a time to review and reflect, a time to catch up on anything overlooked, a time to regroup our forces and make sure our preparations are complete. Summer is around the corner.

Year 5- Freedom and Discipline The fifth year in the cycle,the tree begins to blossom and attract other life- birds, bees, and forest creatures. Just so, if our work has been sound and the soil rich, if we have made good use of the first four years through our labors, now is the time of opportunity, of many options and choices. The orchard bears it's first fruit. This is a time of celebration. Summer is here.

Year 6- Vision and Acceptance The sixth year is a time to give back, to share the harvest with all those who would eat from the fruit of the tree, to pour out, with a sense of duty and high vision, sharing our good fortune. It is a time of generosity and abundance, but also a time to accept and appreciate the bigger picture of what has been, what is to become, and what is beyond. It's late summer.

Year 7- Trust and Openness The seventh year is a time for gratitude in remembering the Source of all the fruit of all the trees. Not as goal oriented, it is a time for enjoyment and ease, a time to look back and learn from the years that have come before: the first year's creative impulse, the second year's teamwork and cooperation, the third year's doubt and vulnerability overcome, the fourh year's harvest, and the sixth year's sharing. To this is now added the gratitude for it all, seeing how all prior challenges contributed to the present moment. Autumn has come.

Year 8- Abundance and Power The either year brings, for those with the willingness and command to reap the harvest, abundant rewards for the previous seven years. The harvest directly reflects the quality of all that came before. The tree now stands tall and strong, mature and valued, ready to harvest. Autumn leaves shower like gold, like rainbows, as the winds of change begin to blow, signaling the later days of autumn.

Year 9- Integrity and Wisdom This ninth year is a year of completion, of letting go, of quiet reflection that leads to wisdom- a time of looking backward and understanding that all cycles end, then begin again. Attachment never avails here, for all things pass; the fall has ended, and now is the time for plowing under, turning the soil, so that next spring cycle we can plant anew, with renewed hope and vigor, improving on this cycle through the wisdom gained. Winter's bittersweet presence brings a period of inner silence, as we wait for the light to come again. -The Life You Were Born To Live By Dan Millman- Blessings to ALL ♥