When it comes to throwing clay on a pottery wheel, the first thing the potter does is center the clay. Centering aligns the clay particles in the same direction, giving the potter the best chance of success at creating the intended piece. Centering is the starting point. When I opened the Akashic Records of 2024, the advice that kept coming through is the importance of being centered. Similar to when the clay on a potter’s wheel isn’t centered, being out of personal balance can lead to wobbles and unintended results.
Being centered can be defined as being fully present in the moment. It creates your best chance of responding from your authentic self rather than allowing external pressures or the emotions and intentions of others to unduly influence you. Being centered forestalls worry about the past or the future. It doesn’t mean you don’t experience strong emotions or that you’re happy all the time. Being centered means you are present in the here and now, aware of your emotions, and better able to respond to what’s happening around you.
Being centered is an experience you can always return to, even when the pressures of daily life push and pull you in every direction. The Akashic Records say this year is filled with surprises around almost every corner, which is why centering practices can serve you especially well.
From the Akashic Records
What’s the energy of 2024?
This is a year of surprises. 2024 is going to be one of those years that will challenge all of us — personally, professionally, and socially. It’s going to be an emotional year with lots of ups and downs. Sometimes this energy of surprise will feel invigorating, like being on an amusement park ride where you swoosh down a water flume in a hollow log raft, laughing and getting drenched all the way to the end of the ride. Other times this energy will seem like you’re in a washing machine, being tossed around and feeling wrung out by the experience.
What’s the gift of 2024?
This is a year to learn flexibility. It’s fine to create a plan to help you know where you’re going. But what you might anticipate being a straight path could instead unexpectedly take you up a hill, around a blind corner, require a left turn, only to double back to the halfway point. You take a breath, scratch your head, and take a few more steps. Suddenly, you’re at your destination. Where, how, and when you arrive may not be what you had in mind. Yet, magically, the new destination is better than what you had intended. The unexpected journey changed you and allowed you to encounter experiences you otherwise would not have had. Getting to your destination took longer than you planned, and the path was wildly different, but the unforeseen journey changed you and brought you to a destination that is just right for who you are now because you went on this unexpected journey.
If things are shifting in unexpected ways, should I spend any time planning?
Planning is another form of setting an intention, and setting your intention is always a good thing to do. This year, try not to have a preconceived idea of what your completed intention will look like. Things are simply going to shift. As these shifts occur, new doors may open and take you to places you had no idea were available to you. This is where fun and surprise come in. Keep your intention, but remain open to how the intention will play out, because the finished form of your intention might not look anything like you thought it would.
How can I best show up for this year?
Stay engaged. The force of this year will stir up a lot of things all at once. If you try to hold on to what used to be, you will miss the surprise gifts that are along your path. It’s tempting to try to hide away from all the swirling changes. By the time 2024 wraps up, you’ll be able to look back and say, “I had no idea I was this strong.”
This exceptionally active energy is why it’s important this year to know what brings you back to your personal center. It could be meditating, breathwork, running, hiking, fishing, walking the dog, or snuggling your cat, for example. Keep in mind, though, there’s going to be a bit of a trick to staying centered this year. Know that your centering practice will probably vary by the day; what centers you on Tuesday might not work on Thursday, and on Friday you’ll have to try something else. Those who have trouble bringing themselves back to their center will have some of the biggest emotional ups and downs this year. The point of centering yourself is to help keep you from feeling unmoored as changes you have no control over happen around you.
It’s a powerful year. Keeping yourself centered is not only important for you, it also has a larger impact. The more personally centered, aligned, and balanced you are, the more of that calming energy you ripple outward. When you stay in your center, the greater opportunity you will have to contribute to creating balance around you. Keep showing up and keep engaging in your centering practice. When you are in your center, you are contributing to the whole.
About Maribeth Stephens
Maribeth’s clients describe her as a gifted Akashic Records intuitive. The Akashic Records are an energetic record of all thoughts, actions, feelings, and experiences across time and space. Your individual Akashic Records can be used to better understand the underlying energy of relationships, patterns, and spiritual connection. The flow of knowing that is available through your Akashic Records can support your well-being and spiritual growth through every phase of life. As a natural empath, Maribeth acts as a witness and relays without judgment what is fundamental to you, in the moment, from your Akashic Records. Based in Seattle, available worldwide. Schedule your personal reading at akashicbalance.com.