What do you get when you mix a bucket list with New Year’s resolutions and a commitment to do something new? Well, “new-list-o-lutions” of course!!! New Year’s resolutions always seem too daunting to me; besides statistics show that 90-something percent of resolutions are dismissed or entirely forgotten by the close of January. For me, this percentage is more like 98%, LOL!!

With this in mind, I greeted 2012 in a completely NEW way. NO resolutions. Instead, I wanted to better my mind, body, and spirit with new people, places and things. New Year = New Experiences.  And, I thought why not combine the idea of a NEW thing with the concept of a bucket list and sprinkle in the notion of new years resolutions? New-list-o-lutions was born.

Let me forewarn you, this post is a bit long… outlining details of each experience, so please skip around as necessary. I wanted to share every juicy tid bit in hopes of maybe sparking interest in others. Here is the rundown of my new-list-o-lutions for 2012…

January

• Energy Healer:  Reiki is a Japanese form of therapy that uses simple hands-on, no-touch, and visualization techniques, with the goal of improving the flow of life energy in a person. So there I was on my back on a table, eyes closed, and deep breathing while Ann moved around waving her hands and other Reiki stuff. It was relaxing. She said I might cry. Huh? Cry? Really. Why? I’m just relaxing here.  Then all of a sudden tears starting flowing uncontrollably down my temples. I was weeping. Huh? Where did all of this come from? I wasn’t sad?  It was a phenomenal energy release. WOW. Sometime later, I felt this wave of cool air… kinda like when it is cold out and you have a mint in your mouth and you inhale the crisp air. At the very moment I was having this experience, Ann said, “Refreshing; this is what your spirit feels like to others when they come into contact with you.” Ummmm, ok… wow. How did she know that?  I walked away feeling rejuvenated. It was indeed the best hour spent!

February

• Swedish Massage:  Can you believe I’m nearly 40-years old and I’ve never experienced a massage before now? It was heavenly! Surprisingly, I was really sore though. I followed instructions and drank LOADS of water before and afterward. I even took an Epsom salt bath to soak out the toxins she released during the massage. But for nearly three days I was in a world of hurt and I couldn’t move without a whimper. It was as if I had performed an excruciating workout. So, I drank more and more water. Once all that was behind me, I felt like a new woman!! Guess she massaged out nearly four decades of toxins built up in my muscles. WOW. So worth it.

March

• Astrology Chart:  In natal astrology, a natal chart is a horoscope/astrological chart drawn for the exact time of an individual’s birth date and location.  My friend Carla and I met for several hours with an expert who walked us through our 30+ page chart which referenced planets, moons, signs, and more. It was extraordinary! At one point he told me, “You’d be best as a teacher or public speaker.” Carla looked at me and pointed… OMG, that is SO YOU!  Yep, I’m a corporate trainer (teacher) and public speaker. Thank goodness I stumbled upon a career that was aligned in the stars. Ha!

April

• MAC Spring Fashion Show Makeover:  During a visit to my lovely friend, Nikki in Atlanta for a girl’s weekend, we attended a MAC cosmetic’s fashion show event at Macy’s. MAC was the makeup behind the Spring Fashion shows, so they had a special event where you could have your makeup done just like the models wore on the runways. This was a hella-cool experience to have a professional doll me up!!

May

• Energy Rebalancing with stones/crystals:  Very similar to what I had done in January, but this time the woman laid stones and crystals on different chakra points of my body. According to Hinduism, each of the centers of spiritual power (aka, chakras) coincides with seven different areas of the body. The seven chakras has a stone and/or crystal that coordinates with the chakra; therefore, by placing a stone directly on the energy point during the Reiki session helps to expedite the rebalancing of energy. To learn about the chakras, where they are located, the stones associated with each, etc. visit: http://www.scribd.com/doc/240320/Chakra-List. Unfortunately, I really didn’t feel anything spectacular this time, but it was worth the experience.

June

• Reflexology:  This is a therapeutic method of relieving pain by stimulating predefined pressure points on the feet and hands that each corresponds with a different organ or part of the body. For nearly a year, I had an ache in my left foot. It hurt. There was a shooting pain in my arch nearly every day. Charles, the reflexologist, asked if I had anything in particular I wanted him to work on, so of course I told him about my left foot pain. He did his thing for nearly an hour. I felt relaxed and surprisingly my foot didn’t hurt. Well, duh, of course it didn’t… I just had my feet massaged for nearly an hour. Within about two hours, I was EXHAUSTED. My entire body felt heavy. I could barely lift my arms let alone my eyelids. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was OUT. I slept like a baby for nearly five hours. WOW. And now, over a year later… my foot pain is still GONE!!  Charles is a MIRCACLE worker!!!!

July

• Life Consultation with psychometry:  This was a pretty unique experience. Psychometry is the ability to discover facts about an event or person by touching inanimate objects associated with them. I decided to meet with Melissa (she is a gifted psychic/medium who is married to Charles the reflexologist). The items we have with us every day are supposed to carry our energy, so I handed Melissa my keys and she proceeded to tell me all about myself and my life. It was fascinating. She knew so much simply from holding my keys! Amazing.
• Deep Tissue Massage:  Okay so this was only semi-deep tissue and I felt like she was reaching BONE when she was massaging away knots!! The massage hurt at the time, but wow did I feel like a new woman the next day!!

August

• Gun Range:  I’ve always wanted to shoot a gun… at least once in my life. With a group of girls along for the ride, we set out to give this gun thing a try. We shot a 9mm, 36 special, and .357 revolver over the course of an hour. It was a nice experience and a little scary at the same time. I really do not see me purchasing a gun anytime soon!

September

• Haunted Tour of Cincinnati:  Over the Rhine (OTR) is a historic district just north of downtown Cincinnati which is rich with history. It was a pleasure to take my friend Shawn Boyle with me on this one new experience!! The tour guides took us into really old buildings and told us loads of ghost stories saturated with local history.

October

• Carriage Ride around Cincinnati:  My sister and teenage niece came into town for a visit, so we rode around downtown in style in a horse drawn carriage. It was so fun!!
• Political motorcade:  WOW, the sirens were deafening. I looked out my balcony door window to see if we were being attacked (Ha!) and saw nearly every Cincinnati cop car and police motorcycle was on the protection detail for Mitt Romney while he was in town during his political campaign. He was staying at the hotel across from my apartment. It was interesting to see so many black escalade SUVs rounding the corner!!

November

• Victory of Light:  I’ve always wanted to attend a holistic, metaphysical, type conference. My friend Laura and her Mom, Doris, went with me. I loved it!!
• Balluminaria:  Oh, Wow… my close friend Shawn and I made our way through loads of traffic to Eden Park to watch the hot air balloon glow. It. Was. Amazing!! We met up with our friends Renie, Bonnie, Joey and Lauren. I couldn’t stop taking photos!!
• Underground Tour of Cincinnati:  My dear friend Beth attended this one and half long tour with me. We went 30 feet underground to see beer cellars from days gone by in Cincinnati. It was neat to roam around nearly 30,000 square feet of history underground. Tour guides explained that there are all kinds of tunnels under the city.
• Numerology:  This is the study of numbers, based on the person’s name and the year of birth, to determine the supposed influence on one’s life, future, etc. My 22-page chart outlined why I am the way I am. It was pretty interesting and I must say a SPOT ON description of my traits, personality, and preferences. Numerology took horoscopes and astrology to a whole new level of detail.  

 December

• Geminid meteor shower:  December 13^th at 9pm I made a last minute call to my open-minded friend Carla, Hey, you wanna participate in a once in a lifetime opportunity?  Her response? “How much is it gonna cost me?” Ha! Luckily, Carla was along for the ride, so we bundled up, made hot cocoa, and headed for the Cincinnati Observatory by 10:30pm. As luck would have it, we actually crashed a University of Cincinnati Biology Department Christmas party. Ha! As soon as we walked in the door, professors were shoving beers in our hands. WOW, beer and falling stars. Cool. Next, we sat outside on the hill, freezing our buns off, but it was so worth it to see more than five falling meteors!! Wishes were indeed made!!
• Met Ron Clark:  This man is a phenomenal educator! In 2000 he was named Disney’s American Teacher of the Year, he has written several books, and is a close friend of Oprah, Ha! My employer helps fund his non-profit school in Atlanta, the Ron Clark Academy, and he happened to visit our office this month. It was great to finally meet him, shake his hand, and have a brief conversation. What an inspiration!!

As 2012 comes to a close, I reflect on each of the new experiences that have enriched this year beyond measure. I’m grateful to the pals who accompanied me on new adventures throughout the months. My friends kept a close eye on me too and were my built in accountability. Never before had ANYONE asked me about my New Year’s resolutions… perhaps the whole idea of resolutions was daunting for them too. My life has definitely been greatly enhanced by this journey.

Next up? Hmmmm… what else to do? What else? Yes, next year will be jam packed with more new experiences!! When was the last time you tried something new?  Can’t wait to see what 2013 has in store… each new-list-o-lution at a time!!

© Renae Rossman and Candy Coated Reality™