Article first appeared in Prediction Magazine, Special New Year edition, 2009, page 67

As you look forward to 2009 it is too easy to look back at the crisis that was 2008; banks failing, emergency financial rescues, high oil prices, people losing jobs, the threat of famine in Africa, stories of climate change, war in Afghanistan and chaos in so much of the world. It is too easy to despair of the future, to think that we have nothing to look forward to in 2009; to only see a lack of hope and to question why we are in such a vale of troubles.

In 2008 our certainties were undermined, and the world we knew seemed to be vanishing into the mists of time. The future is not what it used to be and it's not what we expected it to be. Yet, we stand at a moment in time when we do have a choice, when the world is being newly formed. The past is dead, what we knew is fading and the future is being created with new principles and new opportunities. As always, you have a choice, to look back, or to seize the new, to go forward and grasp the possibility of transformation.

Here's a thought, how can you use this forced change, how can it help you on your life's path? Throw out the New Year resolutions that you never keep, take a pen and write down what you would really like to do, what changes you would really like to see in your life. As I keep on saying, write your own script.

I think that we can forget the clichéd dream of 'making lots of money' (that was always a false goal). Why not focus on getting closer to the people in your own community, offering to help the elderly, working with a children's charity, being more creative, focusing on what you really enjoy? Be a gardener, try baking your own bread (it's easy and has no additives), learn a new skill, meditate every day and see the joy in life. See your relationships as loving and then you can see your fears and cares in their true light.

You will see the world anew with fresh, unhampered eyes.

A very happy New Year to you all!

Dear Anna,

First you need to ask yourself a few questions: What are your resolutions, why do want to make them? And do you really want to keep them? Most women regularly make such decisions such as, losing weight, taking up a new diet, remodelling their home or making their children watch less television.  Unfortunately, these resolutions, which generally last a week or two at best, rarely result in a genuine change of behaviour.

New Year resolutions, like any other plans to change one’s life, need to be based on the firm foundations. They should be practical and involve planning, but above all you must really want to keep them. So, the short answer is to follow simple rules:

1- Decide what you really want to do, or change (if nothing really drives you, don’t make the resolution to do it!)

2- Decide on a practical goal.

3- Establish a clear and achievable objective. (For example, lose 1kg a month over a year- and not 8 kg in 2 weeks!).

4- Decide on a clear course of action, like a walk for an hour a day or eat no white sugar, or have fizzy sugary drinks.

Sit down, pick up a pen and paper, and write down few paragraphs to clear your mind. In my experience, that beats thinking in my head. When your brain sees what’s on your mind something clicks into place and you will feel clearer about what you want to achieve. Ask yourself: “What is my intention?” and “What are my motives?”

All the ground work you do will help you achieve your goals any time- not just at the New Year,

Love and light

Sahar