For those of us who experience four seasons, we’re no stranger to the October shifts. As we watch the leaves change colors, or maybe experience an early frost, we start anticipating the new routine of bundling up, indulging in warm foods + beverages, and perhaps spending less time outdoors.

For some of us, it brings on a feeling of change and contemplation. Where was I this time last year? Where do I want to be this time of year next year? And how do I get there- be it in regards to our mental health, physical well-being, habits, finances, relationships, etc.

Well since you can’t google the answer to these questions, the best way to find them is through stillness. Firstly, it’s important to remember that your life is a work of art. Every year you write chapters of a story, and while you can’t go back and rewrite chapters, you make decisions everyday that write the next one.

So perhaps trying some creative visualization can help guide you forward through the season and incite a ‘click’ of clarity when it comes to your goals.

Think of a goal that is important to you. It can be a long-range or short-range one. Write down the goal as clearly as possible in one sentence. Underneath that, write “Ideal Scene,” and proceed to describe the situation exactly as you would like it to be when your goal is fully realized.

Describe it in the present tense, as if it already exists, in as much detail as you wish. When you have finished, write at the bottom, “This, or something better, is now manifesting for me in totally satisfying and harmonious ways, for the highest good of all concerned,” and add any other affirmations you wish, and sign your name.

Then sit quietly, relax, visualize your ideal scene at your meditative level of mind, and do your affirmations. Keep your ideal scene in your notebook, in your desk, near your bed, or hang it on your wall. Read it often, and make appropriate changes when necessary. Bring it to mind during your meditation periods.

One word of warning: if you put it away in a drawer and forget about it, you are very likely to find one day that it has manifested anyhow without your consciously putting any energy into it at all.

(This exercise, and others like it, can be found in Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain.)