It’s the end of another year. For some of us, 2017 was a very challenging year, and, now, the idea of wrapping it up and stepping into the New Year feels good. Hopeful. Uplifting. It feels like what an artist would feel like in front of a new, blank canvas.

Of course, each day, each moment, gives us this “new beginning,” but somehow, it’s easier to make a new commitment to transform our lives when everyone around us is trying to do the same. So, why not take advantage of the energy and momentum of these next few days and commit to a new life – one which would bring you the change you desire?

Whether you hope to have more financial freedom, a better relationship with your spouse or a family member, or more joy in your life, you can make it happen!

Ten years ago, I was wrapped in a deep depression. I prayed to God to help me, and I expected a miracle that, ultimately, wasn’t coming. I sat in sacred chapels, cried in silence, got down on my knees and begged, and stayed in the same place asking why my prayers weren’t being answered.

My marriage began to fall apart. After an emotional breakdown, I started seeing a therapist. She helped me heal. Several years of therapy got me to a point where I felt better and could deal with the past, but I was still unable to move forward.

I then found a coach who helped me identify where I wanted to be, and she guided me on my quest to get there. During that journey, I learned many amazing tools and “secrets,” which weren’t really secrets at all – I just never saw them as powerful and useful. (Much like Dorothy’s ruby red slippers.)

This past year WAS a huge turning point in my life. During the nine months of my husband’s battle with cancer, I practiced all the tools I had learned, developed and rediscovered. I lived what I believed. It was a combination of discipline, intentional choices and surrender to God (the source of Life.)

Mindful breathing was one of the tools.

It was like an anchor that would quickly bring me to a place (state of mind) still and calm, from where I could make those intentional choices as well as surrender.

You see, with each breath, our bodies expel CO 2 (carbon dioxide) that is toxic to us. We exhale what we don’t need and inhale what renews our cells and keeps us alive. (This became more than a biology lesson during my husband Matthew’s last months of battling non-smoker’s lung cancer … when his body couldn’t get rid of the toxic CO 2 fast enough, he would quickly get confused, lethargic and comatose.)

This exchange of the carbon dioxide that our body doesn’t need for the life-giving oxygen it does need is a strong metaphor for the point I’m making about purposeful breathing.

What if, with each breath, we could also get rid of thoughts that are no longer serving us: thoughts that can grow into a mindset or belief and truly become toxic; or thoughts that can turn our memories into a source of regret and sadness; or thoughts that trigger behaviors we want to change but have been unable to do so.

What if, with each exhale, we made room in our hearts, minds and spirit for Love, grace and healing?

What if your transformation, the change you desire could begin with that one purposeful breath?

It happened for me.

In 2016, I put together an online course based on Five Elements of Transformation. I included everything I had learned and everything that eventually helped me through my challenges.

In 2017, I used the course for myself – to get me through Matthew’s illness and, especially, his passing.

A few of my team members helped me put my course on a very user-friendly platform, and I’m excited to announce that we will be launching it in January.

If you have a moment, check it out at Quest.WakingUpRevolution.com/

For now, exhale all the toxic junk that your body, mind and soul don’t need, and in its place inhale grace, love and new life. It will carry you through the New Year and beyond!

Happy New Year!

Tatiana ‘Tajci’ Cameron