Happy Friday!
To end the week, a note on this year's special numerology
Dear friend,
How’s it going?
So, here we are, two weeks in to January, and I know there’s a far bit of strain going on.
I wanted to drop by because I’ve discovered something that I think is worth sharing, and thought it may help to cast a tiny bit of light on an otherwise shadowy time. January is dark (here in the U.K.), and it is long, and it can feel like a slog—even at the best of times.
Now, I am not an expert on numerology. In fact I know very little about it, and I wouldn’t even say that I’ve ever really paid it that much attention.
But something resonated when I read that the year 2023 creates a 7 vibration. Because 2 + 0 + 2 + 3 = 7. And, well, we all know that 7 is supposed to be a lucky number!
I’ve always liked the number 7. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because I can remember my 7th birthday, fondly, and it felt particularly poignant when my eldest child turned 7.
There are countless references to the symbolism of the number seven, especially in the mystical and religious realms, and in the Vedas (ancient yogic philosophy), it is thought that every yogi goes through seven stages of development before liberation.
But this current resonance goes beyond any of that.
What I am really interested in is that, apparently, according to numerology, this year marks the completion of a 7-year cycle.
Which means the end of an era, so to speak, and the beginning of an entirely new phase.
This is welcome to me because the last seven years have definitely felt like an era. Not necessarily in a good way or a bad way, but just in terms of it feeling like a time of immense growth. And I know I’m not the only one.
A lot has happened since 2016. Both personally and more generally throughout the world, and, in many ways, I have started this new year with a full-on urge to let go of so much, and put to use all that I’ve overcome.
To move on, optimistically. As a sort of foundation, and there’s a underlying feeling that there is still a lot of change to come. So, perhaps it’s down to this?
There’s a flipside to how I feel, though. The fears about climate change lurk ever closer, and living in a seemingly increasing divisive society is also a concern. Not to mention the world economy and the behaviour of certain dictators. There are some very real fears and issues that aren’t going to be solved by a lucky number. And while I try not to dwell on them too much, I’ve never been a fan of denial.
So, with that in mind, to the next seven year stint: Please, be kind.
Life is change. I know. And as Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher said, “change is the only constant in life”. But, sometimes, we have these chapters in our lives, don’t we?
I find they are usually identifiable in hindsight. I know that as I think back to various parts of my life, I can see the flowing moments of continuous change punctuated by the page breaks of the different eras. Like blocks of being.
I don’t know, perhaps we are entering a new dawn, and I’d like to think that we each have our part to play in making the best of things. It’s all possible. And, as the Buddha taught, we can’t always control what happens in life, but we can choose our response.
Keeping our chin up, somehow, is certainly a choice, and often it’s an admirable one. But so is feeling it when things are hard and still staying kind and open.
Coming back to 2023, the number 7 vibration is, by all accounts, a good thing, and the year ahead is said to be about nurturing our conscious minds. Which, again, ties in to everything that we have been thinking about this month: releasing the tired old stories that are holding us back; embracing what is really here and who we really are—the truth—and allowing this intention to refresh us.
Guidance for 2023 is focused on being careful about what we wish for. Because wishes do (sometimes) come true. Echoing the law of attraction, the idea is that we can create and manifest a lot more than we think. This year especially.
In particular, it was these words that I stumbled across earlier, by Glennie Kindred, that I’ve found myself reflecting on, and I want to share them in case you need to read them as well:
“Be alert to what you draw towards yourself.
Remember that the words we use and the things we say have power, and help influence what happens next.
Our positive beliefs and thinking will benefit our own wellbeing, create cycles of healing for our Earth, and will help unite humanity.
Acts of Loving Kindness reciprocate joy and lasting beneficial change.
There is a desire rising in us to trust, develop and follow our intuition and inner knowing, as a valuable part of our whole selves.
It is a time to gather towards ourselves the lessons that have been learnt.”
How about you? What are your thoughts on this potentially being a new phase, and, looking back, how has the last seven years felt for you? What are your hopes and fears for the next 7 years?
Remember: There’s light and dark in everything.
I’d love to hear from you and to talk about this. Please feel free to leave a comment, or reply privately to this letter.
Issue #2 will be out next week. Still working with January’s theme: Refresh, I have a letter about trees, including my take on Vrksasana (tree pose), to share with you.
And, for paying subscribers, I’ve created a bespoke guided relaxation audio, and will also have the second set of printable journal prompts for you. As well as an essay in which I attempt to begin considering Patanjali’s sacred text, The Yoga Sutras.
So, until then, with love, peace and endless kindness,
Louisa
x
P.S. I can’t stop listening to this song. It’s beautiful!
Lokah-Samastah-Sukhino-Bhavantu is a Sanskrit mantra which means:
“May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.”
If you’d rather just listen to the song, you can find it on The Yoga Letters playlist.
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