The 3 Year Cycle
A Journey to Personal Happiness
On a Sea of Appearances
Simply seek happiness, and you are not
likely to find it. Seek to create and love
without regard to your happiness, and you
are likely to be happy much of the time.
Dr. M. Scott Peck
After a year in
which other people's needs eclipsed your own, it is your turn now. This
is a simpler and more casual twelve-month cycle in which you must constantly ask
yourself: "What do I want?" Your own long-term happiness and fulfillment
are the central issues, and the 3 year cycle gives you the opportunity to
discover, and then create, what you believe will make you happy. What you want
is attainable regardless of what appears to be standing in your way. However,
before the direction of your happiness can be uncovered, you first have to
detect and heal the sources of your unhappiness which, you will find,
have as much to do with what is taking place in the world as it does with your
own personal situations, relationships, and memories.
You will have to
feel what you are feeling and to express those emotions in a way that is
natural for you. Only then can you know what you want. Happiness is a feeling -
an emotion - which can only come from inside, and there will be at least one
opportunity this year to feel joy as you have never felt it before. Yes, pure
joy.
As the 3 year
progresses and you find yourself in some kind of spotlight, you will certainly
need to express your alternating fears of failure and success. This release will
bring you to a more comfortable state of knowing who, what, and where you are
now. From this realistic perspective, a new spectrum of options will open up
for you. The past will become the present you have created. And the present will
become the creative springboard from which to build your future.
You may have to
take a few courageous leaps in the dark. Fear will be experienced and this will
help you to significantly develop courage and to know that you are far more
capable than you allowed yourself to believe. With this level of
self-acceptance, your leaps will turn to bounds, and this year could turn out to
be your most fulfilling ever.
Just remember that
courage is not the absence of fear. If you are not afraid then courage has
nothing to do with it. Courage is the acceptance of fear and the belief
that you can deal with, or get through, whatever is causing it.
In addition to
courage, the 3 energy is comprised of lightness, happiness, innocence, peace,
truth, friendship, creativity, communication, youth, beauty, optimism, laughter,
and love. Of course, everything has its opposite extreme, and the 3
energy is no exception. This cycle of 'light' certainly has its dark side which
can include depression, sorrow, guilt, gossip, oppression, destruction, lies,
enemies, ugliness, pessimism, cynicism, coldness, rejection, scandal, and
even cruelty. If you experience any of these things, try to understand
that they have their purpose too. These elements often enter our lives in the 3
year to show us just how easily we equate happiness with superficial and shallow
things. This year's experiences will bring you into deeper waters - and the
potential for deeper and more meaningful forms of happiness.
3 emphasizes
independence within loving relationships. This is not a contradiction, but an
opportunity to love deeply without constantly worrying about what others think.
The more you approve of yourself and do what you want to do, the more
others will accept you as you are because they will be witnessing the
astonishing beauty that comes with authentic confidence. When this inner beauty
is expressed outwardly, it is so hard to resist. 3 is the energy of
attraction and charisma.
However, displays
of false confidence, otherwise known as keeping up appearances, cannot
work in the 3 year. Pretending you are happy or fearless is an impossible role
to maintain and eventually becomes painfully apparent by a conspicuous lack of
personal satisfaction. This year's events will make it plain that you do not
require the approval of others.
Observe the
three-sided or triangular nature of your relationships. Friction will
arise if you try to keep or bring together certain individuals who do not belong
in the same set of circumstances or social framework. By trying to please one,
you may be upsetting another. All you can do is please yourself first and allow
others to decide for themselves who their friends are. Friends play an important
role in the 3 year, so try to create more free time for social interaction. What
is your idea of enjoyment? Is there any imagination or creativity
involved in your social life, or is it always the same old boring routine? Are
you living by your own design or just following the crowd? Are you seeking
friendship or approval?
This year, you are
likely to become aware of how you have outgrown certain friendships and
associations, and this may come as a shock to you. Your Will, which is made up
of all your feelings, wants to be free. It wants to be around others who also
value freedom and uniqueness. Your experiences will show you that Free Will is
an accurate measure of human evolution which, in your case, is about to expand
dramatically.
Maintain your
precious individuality. You have many good qualities which need to be expanded.
If you discover a talent you didn't know you had, pursue this new interest
passionately. Focus on self-improvement, at all levels. You may want to change
your appearance to better suit your new ideals, and this may require the
elimination of an addiction.
Your
responsibilities will be easier to fulfill if you put your own happiness first.
Keep your goals firmly in mind as you make new discoveries about what you
desire. Be prepared to make some drastic changes. Focus. If your attention
becomes too scattered, you will have all the opportunities that the 3 year
offers, but your mind will be too muddled to utilize them effectively.
We are living in a
world that is rife with misery and suffering, and you may wonder if seeking
personal happiness is appropriate or realistic. Guilt will tell you that it is
wrong or impractical. But 3 reminds you that life was never meant to be an
unhappy experience and, by allowing guilt to suck you in, you will be giving it
more power to spread itself further into the world.
Take your happiness
- your right to exist as you want to exist - seriously. Does this mean
that you should ignore what is going on around you or refuse to help where
needed? The 3 year may sound like a selfish one, but it is not. You will be
unable to attract success through blatant self interest. On the contrary. Life
is urging you to reach out to others in a friendly, optimistic, and well meaning
manner. A pleasant and generous nature will attract the success you are seeking.
Think in terms of what you can contribute to a situation, rather than what you
can get out of it. Then you will see your generosity and kindness being returned
to you in different ways.
Know the difference
between love and guilt. Where guilt exists, love cannot. 3 is the number of
innocence. This year's events will show you that guilt really is the biggest
obstacle in your quest for fulfillment. The only way to remove it is to stop
prejudging what is right and wrong and develop total acceptance for your own
natural capacity for decency and compassion.
3 is the number of
communication and self-expression. Spoken or written words, images, sound,
humor, and unusual ideas all play pivotal roles now. However, it is essential
that you take your ideas seriously and are able to take a concept beyond the
"idea stage" and actually create it in the material world. But a word of
warning must be given here. These elements can also create many problems for you
if they are used without regard for the reality in which you are using them. It
is not uncommon in the 3 year for words to be blurted out thoughtlessly, or
images to be pushed in other people's faces in a way that offends or hurts. This
should not be taken lightly because if this does happen to you, you could find
yourself in a difficult position that will not be easy to put right. Words and
images are creative tools. The damage incurred by using them in a destructive
way is often beyond measure.
It is so important
that you check the facts out for yourself. It is often in the 3 year that we
discover how easily we succumb to hearsay, the loudest voice, or the voice of
'authority'. The truth is likely to be buried beneath layers of deception or
misconception, so try to keep an open mind. 3 is the number of appearances.
What appears to be the case must be seen for what it is deep down and
not just what it appears to be on the surface. Look more deeply into whatever
you are dealing with, and remember that there is a big difference between
struggle and effort.
3 is the number of
optimism which, if correctly understood, is an important tool for clarifying and
attaining your goals. You attract to you what you expect, whether you do so
consciously or subconsciously. Guilt tells us that optimism produces false hope
and, indeed, it does if we do not act to take advantage of the potential
it reveals to us. The purpose of optimism is not to deceive us into denying our
problems but to show us that greater possibilities do exist. Optimism is
wanting to make the best of whatever your circumstances happen to be.
Ideas, plans, or
projects you started two years ago are now likely to show signs of movement and
progress. This will increase your optimism considerably and provide a new basis
for action. Aim high. Give your very best effort.
One of 3's unique
abilities is to spread itself to others, positively or negatively. For instance,
the beauty that comes from genuine confidence transmits inspiration to others.
Pessimism, resentment, or criticism transmit ugliness and gloom instead. The
spreading quality of the 3 energy can have a monumental effect on you and those
around you. Whatever you feel, say, do, or create, will actually rub off on
others, affect their mood, and influence the atmosphere.
You will meet your
fair share of cynics and those who love to criticize. For a while, you may even
be one of them. Other people will have the effect of mirrors reflecting your
innermost feelings back to you. This year, you will discover many feelings and
beliefs that you have kept well-hidden, even from yourself. You will learn that
your unhappiness is the result of your refusal to truly feel your
feelings and, most importantly, express them.
One of those
feelings is bound to be anger. In a year that is supposed to be about you
getting what you want, dealing with people and situations that appear to
be stopping you from getting it can trigger the kind of anger that you did not
know you were capable of feeling. However, others are not holding you back. You
yourself are allowing old beliefs and expectations to curb your progress. It
really is up to you to create what you want.
You will have your
fair share of problems this year, but you are perfectly able to deal with them
as they arise. Your personal happiness is the theme, and it is important to
understand that happiness is an emotion that needs to be expressed as and when
you feel it.
Although the 3 year
often starts out by emphasizing what is making you unhappy, its purpose
is to help you see yourself in a positive new light. There are likely to be some
exquisite surprises in store for you this year if you allow your Will - your
deepest feelings - to guide you to them. Even as you are reading this, the 3
energy is offering you the gift of optimism, which is a positive beginning.
Enjoy your trip with the 3 energy. It's going to be an interesting and
creative one.
