The 4 Year Cycle
A journey of breakthrough
- on a sea of obstacles
Now is not the time to cling to
what was, but to amend what is.
Helen Hayes
The 4 year cycle is
one of vision, management, priority, effort, limitation, restriction,
determination and breakthrough. Your sense of identity - who you
are and what you believe - is the principle theme. The events of this very practical year
will leave you in no doubt that the time has come to set new priorities and
strive toward a specific long-term goal. 4 is the number of organization and
work; how things work, making things work, and working towards something that
means a lot to you.
As the year unfolds,
you will need to develop a clear vision of what you want and make a firm
commitment to attaining it. Keep in mind that the reason the 4 year often feels
confusing and 'difficult' is because its nature seems to place obstacles in your
path any time your attention is diverted from reality. Setting realistic
goals not only helps you to stay focused, but often results in a very satisfying
achievement. Whatever it is you hope to accomplish, (and your priorities may
change several times this year), you can be assured that it involves mental,
emotional and/or physical hard work.
The 4 energy reacts
to the strength of your Will, which is comprised of all your feelings, both
pleasant and unpleasant. Denial of your feelings weakens and imprisons your Will
which, by its very nature, needs to be free. The natural response of the human
Will is that of complete acceptance of reality, along with whatever feelings
reality triggers. The Will thrives on truth, even if the truth hurts. Those very
sensations - the whole gamut of emotions - are our natural responses to reality.
Of course, you may want to keep your feelings to yourself if circumstances call
for a show of steadiness and resolve, but the long-term success that the 4 year
offers is going to come through your ability to fully feel your feelings and
gain the intelligence they contain.
Whatever you want to
happen, you have to make it happen. A strong Will is needed. However, it is in
the 4 year that we realize that our Will is not free at all because we have
repressed it with a limited vision of our potential. 4 can make you feel
restricted and boxed-in by circumstances that really are 'beyond your control',
and knowing how you feel is the only way to know what to do next. It is
from your feelings that creativity is born and, thankfully, your experiences
along the down-to-Earth 4 year road will make emotional denial almost
impossible.
The part of your Will
that is free is now trying to rescue the imprisoned parts of itself.
Don't worry if you do not understand this immediately. As the year unfolds and
you face the reality of the world and your own personal life, new
understandings, especially about the positive power of your emotions, will come.
The serious and
practical 4 energy needs a specific goal to work towards so that it can maintain
its profound sense of purpose. It responds best to routine, efficiency, order
and organization. There really are limitations on how far you can travel this
year. So, when you find yourself dealing with the inevitable frustrations that
come with such restriction, remember that the very essence of the human Will is
ACCEPTANCE, and think about the parable of the two frogs who fell into a pail of
milk. One of them could not accept its sudden new reality and drowned. The other
realized (accepted) what had happened and could not accept such a fate. It went
into survival mode and thrashed around and did whatever it could to stay afloat.
Eventually, all that effort paid off. The thrashing around turned the milk into
butter and the frog was able to climb out.
Last year, you
learned about the power of optimism. It was pessimism that defeated the first
frog and caused it to drown. The 3 year urged you to see beyond your first
impressions and face the reality of the situation. The first impression that the
first frog had was that nothing could be done to change things, so why even try?
3 is the number of 'the joy of living' and it seems that the second frog enjoyed
life enough to want to persevere in order to preserve it. His purpose was not
only to survive, but also to find a way to enjoy life again.
This year, you will
be developing a greater sense of your own purpose and you will be setting a
definite course or direction for yourself. You cannot drift aimlessly along and
just hope for the best. You need a specific and meaningful goal to focus on and
be responsible for.
Seriously consider
every aspect of your life and confront yourself with the vision of where each
aspect is leading. And, later in the year, when you find yourself churning
around in a situation that appears to place you out of your depth, be practical,
face the facts, and look for solutions that will change your circumstances, or
at least help you get through them.
Yes, 4 is a serious
and life-changing year, and as soon as you accept the nature of the 4
year, you will be able to relax into it. From a more accepting frame of mind,
you will have a better chance of shaping your reality as you would prefer it,
rather than have it shaped for you.
This year, you must
organize your life according to what is important to you. Things you believed
were important may be the very same things that are now restricting you. Blaming
others is just another form of restriction because it implies that you are a
victim when, in reality, it is you who is causing your own restrictions by
refusing to prioritize. That is what good organization is all about. Being able
to deal with various issues in the right way, at the right time, with the right
people, in the correct order of importance, and in the direction you want it all
to go.
The circumstances of
the 4 year can make you feel 'stuck' and, yet, their true purpose is to point
out where you are stuck on the road of life, and help you to break free from
situations and beliefs that are keeping you physically, emotionally, creatively
or intellectually restricted. These issues are preventing you from evolving into
the person you know you can be. This year, you will be facing the reality of YOU
- and it may not always be a pretty sight, especially when you find yourself
more afraid of change than you thought you'd be.
It is time to weed
out the useless and trivial aspects of your life, especially those beliefs and
attitudes that simply don't matter in the grand scheme of things. These
trivialities are distracting you from the larger picture. Focus on what
really matters to you and, even then, face the possibility that half of
those things don't matter either. What does matter is your freedom to exist as
you want to exist, and the level of loving intent in your heart.
Take an honest look
at those aspects which you believe are holding you back. Many of them are of
your own making. Are you too set in your ways or too frivolous and uncaring? Are
you too stubborn to learn from your past and present mistakes? Are you
unrealistic about your talents and potential? Are you unhealthy due to poor
diet, substance abuse, or lack of exercise or sleep? Are you unrealistic about
finance and materiality? Do you distract yourself from reality? Do you base your
actions on your own feelings and beliefs, or those of other people? Are you
freeing your Will, or giving it away?
Be honest with
yourself. Identify what is not working and, through the process of elimination,
you will soon see the direction you must take if you are to build the
identity and new circumstances you desire. 4 is the number of the builder, and
it is time to construct what you want. Hard work is inevitable and
careful planning is essential. Visualizing what you want, in great detail -
using ALL your senses - is the key to bringing it all together. A certain dream
or goal may have emerged last year but, this year, you are dealing with the hard
work that comes with reaching and then sustaining a goal.
Review and organize
your finances and material assets. The events of April and May will bring these
matters to your attention. Conserve all your resources, and be aware of what
your resources actually are. Skills, abilities, knowledge, contacts, family,
friends, are all potential resources. Use them only as needed, and take nothing
and no one for granted. Next year's 5 cycle will provide the atmosphere and
opportunity for you to invest in yourself or in something else that excites you.
Be practical and efficient with this year's limited reserves. Understand how
money works and be aware of what is happening in the deceptive world of politics
and economics. Any time you feel yourself struggling this year, stop what you
are doing and face the facts, just as they are.
The 4 year is a road
of limitations and roadblocks - life's very own obstacle course. It brings you
to what you believe are your personal limits. In turn, you will learn to expand
your Will to such an extent that the increase of energy you're emitting will
push your limits further away from you. Then, although you will still have
limits - we all do - they will not be boxing you in or otherwise pressuring you.
At some point this
year you could find yourself a lot less trapped or restricted than you thought
you were and, perhaps, even sitting on a cushion that seemed to appear from
nowhere but which actually manifested from the power of your determination not
to give up. There is often a magical effect when one's determination is
generated towards reality, and not just wishful thinking.
You will be coming to
terms with your own identity this year and "who am I?" and "what is my
purpose" may be two of your most frequent questions. Your sense of identity
does not come from what you do in life but from the way you feel about
life and your place in it. Your professional life, or just making ends meet, may
predominate, but there is more to you than what you do for a living. The
question is, what do you do for a life? In these unpredictable
evolutionary times, nothing is out of the question. Keep your imagination OPEN,
no matter how practical you feel you have to be. Most people on Earth cannot yet
imagine alternatives and possibilities, but there is no going back to way life
was. The more freedom you give your imagination, the more likely you are to find
a way forward that is just right for you.
Although there may be
a spurt of highly accelerated action this year, progress is usually not rapid in
the 4 energy. You may often encounter delays and hurdles, and bouts of
loneliness, pessimism and frustration, only to regain your acceptance of
reality, and with it, your balance, vision, belief in yourself, and
determination.
Why must the 4 year
be so frustrating? To show you that many of your restrictions are unnecessary
and that no matter what situations arise, you can deal with them in the best
possible way and perhaps even use them to your advantage. If you are able to
adjust to new realities as you go, you will be able to break through limiting
circumstances that you or others have built. This may not be the easiest of
years but, with the combined strength of your feminine will and masculine
intellect, it can be one of the most fulfilling cycles you will ever experience.
