Burning Bowl Ceremony? A little late, but Happy New Year!

This past New Year's Eve I attended my first burning bowl ceremony.  It's not what you are thinking.  That initiative didn't pass here in California.  I wasn't sure what it was either.  My dad had a few jokes about this, too.  It was actually quite cool.  We walked into the room and meditation music was playing.  We grabbed two pieces of paper.  After we took a seat, we wrote down things from 2012 that we wanted to be done with and not carry into the new year.  You could put down as few or as many things as you wanted.  A couple of examples from mine were: the anxiety that I felt about leaving my job and the confidence I lacked when taking a new class.  When we were done writing, we crumpled up the paper and tossed it into a fire.  Watching it burn was the best part.  The woman running it talked about how we were releasing some of the negativity.  This is where my husband started to crack up, almost uncontrollably (shoulders shaking), about what (gas) he could release.  Thanks sweetie!  We sat quietly, listening to the music while the others finished.  Then we got out our second sheet of paper and wrote our intentions for the new year.  I love that they were called intentions, as opposed to resolutions.  This way there is nothing to really break.  Some examples from mine were: I am healthy, I am enjoying my classes, I still fit into my same jeans, I am confident in myself when it comes to school, creativity, and new career choices, etc.  Now, these are things I intend to be/have happen.  Next year, I will take out my paper and see how things went.  If I need to put something on my list again, I will.  Simple as that.  Anyway, I'm glad I went.  It was great to try something new.   Have a wonderful 2013!