Setting Your Spiritual Intentions for 2026: Aligning Purpose, Healing, and Service

Jan 16

While I don’t typically celebrate New Year’s Eve, I have always believed in setting intentions for the year ahead. Each December, when time allows, I meditate on what I want to cultivate. On New Year’s Eve, I write those intentions down and keep them beside my bed as a reminder of where I am headed.

This year, however, something shifted. As 2026 began, I found myself revisiting and rewriting my intentions in a way I never had before.

When Loss Becomes a Teaching Moment

Recently, one of my dearest friends passed. Throughout December, I spent time in prayer and meditation, speaking with his mother in the upper realm and calling on Archangel Raphael, the angel of healing. Ultimately, my friend made his own choice to cross the Rainbow Bridge.

When someone we love becomes ill or passes suddenly, anger and confusion often arise. We search for meaning, yet what we may not recognize right away is that loss can also be a teaching moment offered by the universe. My friend lived a life of service. He held board positions for charitable organizations, gathered donations for those in need, and devoted time to sewing Quilts of Valor for military veterans. Reflecting on how much he gave reminded me that we sometimes witness angels walking among us.

This realization caused me to reexamine my intentions and ask whether they were centered only on myself or whether they truly served others. As a result, I rewrote my first intention for the year: to complete an AIDS quilt in honor of my dear friend Scott Igo.

If you have read my book When the Birds Stopped Singing, you already know Scott. He was my best friend, and although he passed in 1998, his presence has never left me. As my spirituality has grown, so has my understanding of his guidance. Completing this quilt is not only an act of remembrance but also one of service and healing.

When my husband and I moved to SaddleBrooke, there were only ten homes available. The house we chose did not have the pool or casita we originally wanted, yet we felt it was the right place. That intuition proved correct. Not long after moving in, we met our neighbors across the street, who have since become dear friends. One of them, without question, has been an angel in our lives.

Watching their lives change reminded me how quickly circumstances shift and how important it is to evaluate priorities. With my neighbors only five years older than I am, their experiences encouraged me to think carefully about how I want to live the years ahead.

My husband recently retired, and a relative asked what my retirement plans were. Having lived with disability for over a decade, I realized I have been defining my life too narrowly through illness. I no longer want my days to revolve solely around physical limitations.

Because of this, I revised my second intention to focus on genealogy. I plan to complete a DNA analysis and finish my family tree. I have already joined a genealogical club, which will now take a higher priority. Exploring lineage is not only about history, but also about understanding where we come from and how ancestral stories shape us.

Deepening Angelic Study and Teaching

My third intention builds on work I began in 2025. I feel called to deepen my study of angels. I have begun working with angel cards and texts, and I plan to launch a small trial angel class in the coming months with advanced students who are ready to expand their spiritual awareness.

Learn more about my Angel Class.

Writing as Healing and Advocacy

My fourth intention is to complete the next book in the Caroline series. Writing is deeply healing for me, but it is also a way to support others. My books address how spirituality can help those who have experienced rape or abuse, especially at a time when these topics were rarely discussed.

When I was growing up, child abuse was not openly acknowledged. I never found closure with my parents during their lifetimes. It was only through spiritual work and the community I built that I was able to have those conversations energetically and emotionally.

As I continue writing, I find it striking that issues surrounding abuse remain in the public eye today. Many women never reach recovery, and I still feel called to write and speak for those voices.

Strengthening the Body and the Spirit

My fifth intention, and five is a powerful spiritual number, is to engage in daily physical movement. Exercise is not always enjoyable for me, and pain often follows, but strength matters. Life is unpredictable, and the future remains unwritten. I want to be physically and mentally prepared. I also see movement as a way to connect with others and build community with people who share similar values.