Unity in Fort Walton Beach will conduct their annual Burning Bowl Ceremony at 10:30 a.m., on January 3. In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions, and thereby of gates, doors, doorways, passages and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, because he looks to the future and to the past. It is conventionally thought that the month of January is named for Janus. Many New Thought churches such as Unity look backward in January to remove any unwanted behaviors or beliefs through a Burning Bowl Ceremony. That ceremony is followed looking forward into the new year with a White Stone Ceremony.

The performance of this ritual helps us to let go of old hurts, grudges, resentments, regrets and suffering; indeed, to relinquish anything that is holding us back and which we wish to release. In the Burning Bowl Ceremony, we write down on a small piece of paper whatever it is—it may be more than one thing—that we want to be free of.

There is great power in the act of putting in writing what we want to release from our life, and it is a very important part of letting go.

Then we gently fold the piece of paper and spend a moment or two in quiet prayer or meditation of personal commitment and surrender before placing the piece of paper in the burning bowl. If there is anything holding us back, we become aware of what it is and let that go, as well. As we ignite our paper and drop it into the bowl, we release whatever it is that no longer serves us.

The White Stone Ceremony is derived from an ancient teaching which helps individuals to focus on what lies on their path by selecting a new name. This new name is written on a white stone tablet, indicating our freedom from the past. In this ceremony, we are given a flat, white stone that can be written on. As we welcome the New Year and enter the deep meditation of the ceremony, we clear our mind and gently release the random thoughts that chatter through it.

As we deepen the meditation, we keep our mind clear and remain open to any image, color, name or word that comes clearly to us. As our consciousness begins to focus clearly on that one word, it is calling forth a new name for us in this unique ritual. “Name” means nature, and as our word is revealed to us, it indicates changes that will be important to us as we move forward through the new year. We write our word on our white stone and keep it where we can see it often and reflect on what it means to us.

Location: 1797 Hurlburt Rd., Fort Walton Beach. For more information, call 850-864-1232 or visit UnityInFWB.org. Patricia O’Neal is board president at Unity in Fort Walton Beach.