One thing I learned in Lynn V. Andrews’ mysticism school is that if you feel something is missing in your life, become that something. In October 2014, I at one of our gatherings with Lynn in Los Angeles, I asked whether there’s a council in Michigan that I can join. There are numerous councils in the United States and abroad that come together every month and pass on the teachings of Lynn and the Sisterhood of the Shields.
I was told there isn’t one in Michigan, and someone easily suggested, “Why don’t you start a council?”
So I returned home and started the Ancient Wisdom Council in early 2015. Each of our gatherings has had a unique, magical, and learning experience. Yesterday was no different. In honor of the upcoming New Year, we sat in a dim room, amidst candles and smoky incense as we listened to Lynn’s audio “Act of Power.”
I first came upon the “Act of Power” teaching five years ago during this same time when I received The Mystery School’s welcome packet. It included a CD which taught us how to do an “Act of Power,” which is sort of like a New Year’s Resolution but much, much more powerful as it incorporates elements of the sacred. Therefore, it’s difficult to break and you end up achieving your goals (it is estimated that only about eight percent of people achieve their New Year’s Resolutions).
Ancient Babylonians started the tradition of making New Year Resolutions some 4,000 years ago. They made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts. For the Babylonians, the first new moon following the vernal equinox—the day in late March with an equal amount of sunlight and darkness—heralded the start of a new year. They marked the occasion with a massive religious festival called Akitu (derived from the Sumerian word for barley, which was cut in the spring) that involved a different ritual on each of its eleven days.
According to some, late March is actually a logical choice for the beginning of a new year. It is the time of year that spring begins and new crops are planted. January 1st, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary. The Romans continued to observe the New Year on March 25, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun.
Perhaps less tampering with nature and ancient wisdom, and more patience, faith and self-love, would help increase the percentage of people who achieve their New Year’s Resolution. Perhaps the way in which Babylonians did their New Year’s resolution was similar to the ceremony of an “Act of Power” since, in the second millennium BC, Babylon was the cultural, spiritual, and political center of the Chaldeans, and one of the richest and most powerful cities in the ancient world. How it fell from a golden city to rubble is another story for another blog post.
For now, have you prepared your New Year’s Resolution? This a powerful time for setting your intent and shifting your energies. It’s a wonderful and exciting journey, full of new possibilities for change and growth. I wish everyone a Happy New Year and may whatever you set your intent on manifests and prospers.
If you want to listen to Lynn’s Act of Power CD, you can visit this site: https://lynn-andrews-online-store.myshopify.com/
I also talk about the “Act of Power” in my book, Healing Wisdom for a Wounded World: My Life-Changing Journey Through a Shamanic School (Book 1)