55 -Megan Sheldon: Embracing Transformation: Crafting Year-End Rituals for a Purposeful New Year

This is the first instalment of our very special 2 part series: Rituals for the Thresholds of Time: Practical Ways to Shape Your Year with Intent and Clarity

Part 1 (Ep. 55. Dec 22)  Embracing Endings: Reverence & Presence in Farewell focuses on how to harness the power of ritual to close out 2023.  In this conversation, Megan Sheldon and Kate Shepherd discuss the power of ritual and ceremony in closing the year and setting intentions for the new year. Megan offers practical ways to invite ritual into your life to integrate the past and move forward with clarity and openness. 

Part 2 (Ep. 56. Jan 5th)  Lunar Alchemy: Cultivating opportunities for Growth with Intention will be released in January. Moon Cycle Coach Beth Suter (episode 11) will guide us through a set of rituals we can turn into habits for aligning with the rhythms of the moon to grow in our lives with intention and clarity. 

Part 1: Embracing Endings: Reverence & Presence in Farewell

In this conversation, Megan Sheldon, Founder of Be Ceremonial, discusses the importance of ritual and ceremony in personal growth and reflection. She shares her journey to becoming a life cycle celebrant and the inspiration behind launching Be Ceremonial.

Megan emphasizes the potency of end-of-year rituals and the role they play in acknowledging and processing emotions. She encourages listeners to choose a word for the year and offers guidance on creating their own closing ceremony. Megan also highlights the community aspect of ritual and the power of coming together to share and witness each other's experiences.

In this conversation, Megan Sheldon and Kate Shepherd discuss the power of ritual and ceremony in closing the year and setting intentions for the new year. They explore the importance of personalized ceremonies and the role of ritual in fostering connection and vulnerability. They emphasize the significance of embracing the present moment and reflect on the past year to gain insights and choose words of guidance. 

Megan introduces the Be Ceremonial app, which offers a variety of rituals and ceremonies for different life events. They highlight the transformative potential of rituals and the importance of building a community of ceremony seekers. 

This episode is packed with specific information about how rituals make up ceremonies and how to create your own. She offers us four rituals each rooted in one of the four elements (Fire, Water, Air & Earth) and walks us through a ceremonies that are immensely supportive for navigating the complexities of time of year to help us with everything from how to simultaneously hold two polarities like grief and joy (Two-Sided Coin) to how to let go of specific difficult events from the past year (The Calendar Burn, and The Release Boat) 

She shares the beautiful ritual she does with her husband (that you could also do with a friend or sister) on the last day of each year that helps her both stay deeply connected with him and herself and her goals and dreams. 

She gives us a simple yet powerful prompt for something to reflect upon over the next couple of weeks to help us prepare to close out the year. 

She also provides us questions to contemplate now, in advance of our actual end of year rituals and ceremonies that will make them that much more potent. 

This episode is POWERFUL support for bringing more intention and presence into your life in a living, breathing way. I am not exaggerating when I say that this episode could change your entire life. 

Takeaways

• Ritual and ceremony provide an opportunity to pause, reflect, and pay attention to the moments of change and transition in our lives.
• Acknowledging and validating all emotions, including the difficult ones, is an important part of the ritual and ceremony process.
• Choosing a word for the year can serve as a guiding intention and help shape our experiences and actions.
• End-of-year rituals can involve releasing what no longer serves us, being present in the moment, and setting intentions for the future.
• Rituals can be adapted and personalized to fit individual preferences and can involve elements such as fire, water, air, or earth. Setting intentions for the new year can be done through personalized ceremonies and rituals.
• Rituals foster connection, vulnerability, and a deeper sense of community.
• Reflecting on the past year helps gain insights and choose words of guidance.
• The Be Ceremonial app offers a variety of rituals and ceremonies for different life events, providing ongoing guidance and support.

What We Talk About 

• The Importance of Ceremony and Reflection
• The Role of Ritual and Ceremony in Personal Growth
• The Potency of End-of-Year Rituals
• The Community Aspect of Ritual
• How to Choose a Word for the Year
• Guidance for Rituals to Close the Year
• Setting Intentions for the New Year
• Creating Personalized Ceremonies
• The Transformative Potential of Rituals
• Building a Community of Ceremony Seekers

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About Kate Shepherd

Kate Shepherd, Founder of Morning Moon Nature Jewelry and Creative Genius Inc., is a celebrated artist and podcast host, making waves in the world of creativity. Her jewelry has appeared in Netflix's "Yellowjackets" and Disney's "Once Upon a Time," while earning recognition from stars like Andie Macdowell (a repeat customer) and Meghan Markle, who once called her on the phone to tell her how much Kate’s jewelry meant to her. 

But Kate's story is not just one of artistic achievement; her true passion and calling is for supporting the human spirit to return to its creative roots. Kate believes Humanity is Glitching™ because we have collectively become disconnected from our inner creative gifts, and through her podcasts, meditations, writing, and workshops, she dedicates herself to helping as many people as she can to find and activate their intuition and creativity. 

Despite a challenging childhood and discouragement from early “teachers” Kate forged her own path with creativity at the helm. Her podcast, "The Creative Genius Podcast," empowers others to find their creative voices, too, it ranks among the top 1% of podcasts, globally.

Kate resides in North Vancouver with her two kids and rescue dog, Maggie. Join her newsletter for art classes, workshops, exclusive content, and a chance to win a piece of her work.