The New Year is a special opportunity to press the reset button. In a time when many make New Year’s resolutions, I’m thinking of where my resolve lies. I want to focus on Being—on ways of being, consistently and dependably, that shift something in myself, in my heart and mind, and in my field of influence. We all must believe in ourselves and the impact we have in our world and be conscious of what that impact is.

I’ve noticed reactions in myself as the political situation in this country has reached a new level of ridiculousness—feelings of frustration, anger, hopelessness and despair. When I notice that energy I say, “No! That’s not what I’m about and that’s not what I’m here to bring.” I want to be aware of what’s happening in the world and consciously offer blessings to it all. But it’s so easy to go down a rabbit hole of negativity. My resolve is to live in a way that is generative and creative, and that provides positive messages of joy, hope and peace. Even a small shift in the beingness of a person changes everything!

I made a list so I can consciously choose where I will invest my life energy and what my heart will feed. I call it Six Tools for Entering the New Golden Age. Because it’s not just a new year—it’s a new age. It’s the dawn of a glorious new day for humanity. We’re experiencing an amazing transition, and there is so much to be thankful for and hopeful about, and to celebrate. Here’s my list:

1. Acceptance and Patience. See and accept things as they are in this moment. We’re in a major shift. Everything is in a process of being made new and it isn’t yet complete. So accept where we are right now and know there is purpose for the unraveling of our world. We will rise out of the ashes as the glorious phoenix to bring a new way. That’s what we came here to do and victory is assured. We have this essential knowing to bring, along with many other people around the globe.

Acceptance and patience imply nonjudgment. It’s so much a part of the human experience to judge everything and everybody. We have all of our preferences, opinions and criticisms, but of what use are they, really? My friend Heather Ryan recently described the “choice point” so beautifully. Something happens and you find yourself going into judgment, but you see it and stop. You consciously choose nonjudgment to allow something else to flow through your consciousness and into the situation. It’s one of the most important choices we can make, and we may have the opportunity to make that choice several times a day. I will not block the creative process by judging and criticizing what is so in the moment, because that is resistance to effects. It is resistance to what is happening now because of previous cause. I want to focus on cause—not effects—and to be true cause. I want to be the cause of what I want to create. With acceptance and patience, we clear a path. We shed the filters that prevent us from seeing what is possible and how to create it.

Forgiveness is also a part of acceptance and patience. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) There’s idiocy, greed, fear and manipulation in our world. But we can forgive it all. Focusing on what’s wrong doesn’t assist the process to move forward. It just keeps us bogged down and limits our capacity for change, growth and expansion.

Here are two of the key things we can do to change the world: nonjudgment and forgiveness. It is not enough to be loving and caring. We must heal shame and separation. We have to be with others in a way that they know we are not judging them. We are accepting them the way they are, and we’re patient with their process of awakening as we are patient with our own. We have to be consciously deliberate in nonjudgment because people will assume that we, and everybody else, are judging them.

In our deepest wisdom we know that some things must unfold over time, at their own pace, and there may be factors we are unaware of. We can be patient and trust the timing of life’s design.

2. Assurance. We must trust ourselves—our intuition and wisdom, and our natural ability to navigate life. And we must trust life itself. When I look back on my life there are so many times when I thought, Oh, this isn’t going to go well and I have no idea what to do about it. But the most magical things have happened when I surrendered and let go of expectation.

Two of my favorite sayings speak of assurance. In his poem Thus It Is, Martin Exeter said this:

The truth is true and all is well. Unconquerable life prevails.

And in the poem Desiderata, there is this simple statement: 

 No doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

When we express assurance, we know it. Just like anything else we express, it moves through us. And when assurance moves through us it washes away fear, hopelessness and despair. Fear constricts. But when we are free of fear, the heart and mind can open and see clearly what is needed and how to bring it. We become a portal for heaven to be known on earth.

Look deep in your own heart. Is there an inner knowing of a grand awakening that has already begun? That message is a gift we can give to the world and we need positive messages to break the spell of negativity. This is from the Christmas song O Holy Night:

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees!
O hear the angel voices!

 Have you ever noticed how, in the Bible, whenever angels come, the first thing they say is, “Fear not”? In my own journals, when I ask for divine guidance the first thing I always receive is this message: Dear one, all is well. We would be wise to notice what the angels are telling us.

3. Peace. A tranquil heart and mind calm reactionary thoughts and feelings so that consciousness can be clear. Decades ago Uranda, the founder of Emissaries of Divine Light, and Martin Exeter both taught extensively about that—what today we might call emotional intelligence. We can bring peace to ourselves and others when we have some level of mastery over our thoughts and feelings, when we have our thoughts and feelings instead of them having and controlling us. With peace and tranquility in consciousness, we can open fully to divine inspiration, and believe in possibility and magic from that state of spiritual grounding.

Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled.” (John 14:1) It’s not just a sweet thing to say. It’s essential! Let not your heart be troubled because when your heart is troubled you lose the power to know and bring what is needed most in the moment. The ability to experience whatever upsetting things are happening and stay in a place of calm assurance is a masterful way to deal with all that’s happening in the world. It creates an environment that is nurturing for us and for everyone else. Many people pray for peace and they long for peace in the world. I pray for peace, too, but let’s pray first for peace in our own hearts. Peace in our hearts can bring peace to the world.

4. Joy. It’s not the nature of life to be despairing. The nature of life is joyful. Gratitude brings joy. When we’re grateful we fill our hearts with an awareness of how loved and blessed we really are. That naturally leads to joy—not in an artificial way of getting all the right things to make us happy but as a way of being. Consider with awe and wonder the vastness of the cosmos, our own wondrous planet, the grandeur and magnificence of the natural world, including our amazing bodies, the unspeakable beauty and preciousness of the human experience, the miracle of love… There are so many things to be grateful for, and in an ongoing awareness of those things we are filled with joy. We can even be grateful for the unknown, wondrous things that are yet to come, including who we are becoming, individually and as a people. We can give thanks for a new and glorious golden age.

I grew up in the South and I’ve heard a lot of gospel songs in my time. Gospel songs are exuberant. Have you ever noticed that? “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” There’s a reason for that. It’s the natural attitude for people who know the truth. So many Christmas songs are joyful and exuberant too: “Hark! the herald angels sing!” “Joy to the world!” Because there’s much to be joyful about.

5. Vision. When our hearts are at peace and our minds are tranquil, we are open to inspiration and we receive new vision to bring to the world. We can access the great wisdom that is within us and act on that wisdom. When faced with something negative in the world at large, or more personally, stop and think of what you value most related to that, and declare it. And then bring what you value most every chance you have. For example, if someone is being manipulated and taken advantage of, you may declare, I stand for all people being honored, respected, loved and supported in the expression of their highest self. In that declaration you bring a vision and a field of potentiality, fueled by your intention. And opportunities will arise for you to live up to that declaration.

We can be the portal through which the pattern of heaven is replicated on earth. But we have to honor our visions and be willing to act on them. We were designed and created to have dominion and sovereignty in our world, but that’s only possible when we embrace the vision that is latent within us.

6. A generous, loving spirit. Bring the power of love into everything you do and say, with such generosity that you are overflowing with unconditional love and can’t stop yourself. Freely give compassion and understanding. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt all the time, and be quick to forgive and forget. Empower and encourage others, and show your appreciation every day in all things. This is the great awakening—the union of God and humankind. Express your Divine self in every way imaginable.

I have a declaration I say each morning:

When I trust life and love, I am fully present with an open heart and an open mind, ready for whatever arises. I am grounded, at peace, and one with the glory of life and our shared cosmic purpose. 

We are the savior we’ve been waiting for. And now we must wake up to truth and love, and come in all of our glory to save our world, each other and ourselves. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope you’ve already joined us, and the world will be as one. May we each bring our joyful hearts into the New Year and see all that’s possible when we do.