Dear Family and Friends . . .

At this time of year, I’m always interested in what key thinkers around the world are predicting for the year ahead. And what a year 2025 has been! Many of us are wondering: “Will we finally move out of this heavy, stressful energy next year?”

I’d like to offer a brief Numerology lesson to help you understand the energy we are leaving behind — and the energy we are moving into as we approach 2026. Numerology, an ancient Tibetan system, gives us insight into the cycles we are completing and the new cycles we are beginning. It truly is a fascinating time to be alive. We’ve become increasingly aware that all life operates in clearly defined cycles of time and space, which can be measured and understood through numbers. As Christine DeLorey writes in Life Cycles: Your Emotional Journey to Freedom and Happiness, numbers reveal the emotional and spiritual landscape of each year.

2025 has been a 9 Year, or a “9 Cycle.” What does that mean? The number 9 carries the energy of completion — the closing of systems, processes, relationships, or work experiences. And indeed, 2025 has been a year of challenge and closure for so many of us. In contrast, 2026 will be a 1 Year, or a “1 Cycle,” and the number 1 brings the energy of new beginnings. As channel Lee Carroll has shared, “In 2026, the light will shine brighter and life will begin to feel much better. We have been in the midst of a great shift, and we will gradually find ourselves emerging from the heavier energies of this transition.”

Over the years, I’ve given away countless copies of Christine DeLorey’s book Life Cycles to friends, family, and clients — so many that I eventually had to start giving out her website instead! I’ll be using her insights on the numerology of the 9 Year and the 1 Year to share more about what we can expect as we step into the new cycle ahead. There is nothing supernatural about the science of numerology. Numbers are natural elements — fundamental expressions of space and time that help us measure and understand our world. Numbers are the pulse of nature and her endless cycles.

Christine DeLorey explains in her book that we are living in a time when vast quantities of new information are opening to us on every level. Every field of knowledge is expanding into higher understanding, and the numbers through which we measure our world are no exception.

Let’s explore the energy of a “9 Year.” A 9 Year brings us to the completion of a nine-year cycle. It is a time of endings: completing life experiences, tying up unfinished business, reaching conclusions about our relationships and choices, and cleaning up what’s behind us. These actions prepare us to step into the next nine-year cycle with clarity. When we are mindful of what we want to finish — and what we still want to create — new opportunities naturally begin to open. But if we resist closure or avoid the difficult work of releasing what no longer serves us, we can enter the new year feeling stuck or unprepared.

The 9 Year offers a powerful opportunity for evolutionary growth. In this cycle, intellectual understanding alone is not enough. You learn that your feelings are what activate personal freedom — feelings that motivate your choices, actions, and direction. The 9 Year teaches you how to release the aspects of life that have brought unhappiness, dissatisfaction, or stagnation, and in doing so, transform into a wiser version of yourself. And 2025 has certainly brought many of us face-to-face with what needed to change.

Because of this emotional focus, the 9 Year can feel intense. We often find ourselves processing old emotions while navigating new situations in the present. This can make forward movements feel more challenging — but there is good news. The 1 Year is right around the corner, beginning January 1, 2026, and it brings a completely different, uplifting, and forward-moving energy.

Let’s explore the energy of a “1 Year.” The 1 Year is the beginning of a brand-new nine-year cycle — a fresh start that opens the door to the life we truly desire. It is a time of great change, positive beginnings, and renewed direction. After a year filled with deep emotion and confusion, many of my clients (and I myself!) felt stretched in every direction. Those energies can now be placed firmly in the past so new possibilities can emerge. In a 1 Year, it is essential to release any emotions still tied to old experiences.

Christine DeLorey describes the 1 Year as “a 12-month journey of new interests, experiences, goals, and understandings about life, about you, where you have been, where you are now, and where you would like to be.” This is also a year of courage — because it takes courage to make the changes that lead to a new existence in the world. Throughout this cycle, we learn self-awareness, individuality, and self-appreciation.

The 1 Year of 2026 is the year of the great shift — the long-awaited AWAKENING that so many souls have sensed and prepared for. Rapid changes will unfold worldwide. We will see humanity at its best and its worst as both light and dark energies rise into visibility. But most importantly, these conflicting energies will not last forever. So much good is emerging on the planet now that the old, dense vibrations that once dominated us will gradually lose their power and fall away. This year invites you to live more authentically. At times, this may make you feel out of sync with people in your inner circle. In a 1 Year, you instinctively know when it is time to disconnect from situations, relationships, or beliefs that no longer support your growth. Independence is a key theme, which can sometimes bring feelings of isolation or loneliness. Those you once relied on may become unavailable — and if that happens, it is a sign to embrace change and explore what else life has to offer. The 1 Year gives you the chance to reorient yourself and choose the direction you want to move in. However, challenges may appear if you resist change. Stay flexible, set new goals, and allow yourself to move away from what no longer works. Begin a new project this year or update an existing one to align with your new vision.

Much love and happiness can also be experienced during a 1 Year. New or deepened relationships are very possible — especially when you do not depend on another person for your happiness or success. Rely on yourself first. And as you move forward boldly, remember that others may also be carving out new paths of their own. Allow time to pass naturally between one experience and the next, and this 1 Year will bring pleasant surprises. Aim high, trust your goals, and never give up the pioneering spirit that is so vital during a 1 Year Cycle. Do not be discouraged by mistakes — they may not be mistakes at all, but steppingstones toward wisdom. A mistake is never a mistake if it teaches you something and isn’t repeated.

As we say goodbye to the energy of 2025 and welcome the fresh start of 2026, I hope you give yourself permission to dream again, to release what weighs you down, and to step toward what makes you feel alive. This is a year to trust yourself, to try new things, and to follow the quiet nudges of your intuition. You deserve a year filled with possibility, purpose, and new beginnings.

My hope is that this coming year opens doors you didn’t know were waiting for you, brings you peace where there once was struggle, and fills your life with deeper meaning, joy, and connection.

I’m grateful to be sharing this moment—and this new cycle—with all of you. Wishing you a beautiful, bright, and hopeful 2026.

A Season for Faith and Courage

I asked Spirit, “What do I, along with my family, clients, and friends, most need to honor within ourselves this holiday season?” The response surprised me with its clarity and simplicity. Spirit shared that what we need most right now is faith and courage.

As our world continues to shift in ways that feel unfamiliar, and as more change approaches, we are being called to trust that our lives are unfolding with purpose…and to meet each moment, especially the challenging ones, with a courageous heart.

The holidays tend to illuminate whatever is already tender within us, and many people are feeling that tenderness more acutely this year.

2025 has carried an emotional heaviness for so many—through deep transitions, unexpected shifts, and profound personal growth. This season may feel more demanding than usual, inviting us to stay faithful, steady, and brave as we navigate it.

Of course, the holidays also bring real beauty—moments of connection, laughter, generosity, and grace. Yet the very brightness of the season can also magnify our inner contrasts.

When the world around us is celebrating, feelings of loneliness, uncertainty, or grief may stand out more sharply. Even without major struggles, it’s easy to compare our lives to the idealized, polished holiday images we see everywhere and wonder if we’re falling short.

Family dynamics can also feel more intense this time of year. Old patterns tend to resurface, and our expectations often rise.

We may worry about being judged, misunderstood, or pulled back into roles and relationships we’ve worked hard to outgrow. Showing up authentically—with honesty, compassion, and healthy boundaries—requires real courage. So does loving others with openness and acceptance, even when it feels complicated.

Some are entering this season while carrying grief, tending to illness, or moving through personal losses. For others, the challenge is a quieter one—fatigue, anxiety, or simply feeling unlike themselves. The holidays often amplify emotional, social, and energetic pressures, affecting us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s no wonder anxiety can rise this time of year.

And then there is the larger world around us—full of uncertainty, conflicting energies, and rapid change. We’re inundated with unsettling news and global instability, and many people are undergoing profound personal shifts at the same time. When life feels unstable externally and transformative internally, it’s natural to feel heavy-hearted. 

Many people are standing at the threshold of new chapters, sensing that they’ve outgrown old versions of themselves but not yet knowing what comes next. When you’re in a growth period or standing at the edge of life changes, it can feel heavy to carry so much in your heart. The holidays can even feel like a test of who you are becoming versus who you once were.

Smiling, being festive, hosting, and buying gifts—especially when you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, or major life changes behind the scenes—requires a deep, quiet strength.

It takes courage to be honest about how you’re truly doing and gentle with your heart. The holidays can activate childhood memories, past losses, or unresolved feelings, and these moments from the past may surface quietly or arrive with unexpected force.

In truth, we need courage this year because the holidays call us to be present, open, and connected, and sometimes forgiving, at a time when so many are healing, transforming, or navigating the unknown. 

But we do not walk through this season alone.

Here are a few gentle ways to move through the season in a healthy way:

• Keep expectations realistic—“good enough” is more than enough.

• Protect your energy by saying no when you need to.

• Hold onto simple routines that keep you grounded.

• Honor your feelings, even if they don’t match the mood around you.

• Set compassionate boundaries with people and plans.

• Simplify your traditions and choose what truly nourishes you.

• Create small moments of stillness—breathe, pray, reflect.

• Stay connected to the people who make you feel safe and supported.

• Let joy in when it comes, without forcing it.

• Give yourself grace every single day.

I invite you to remember that you are surrounded by love from beyond the veil. Source—God—remains faithful to you, always.

Your angels and guides are close, ready to help, but they are waiting for your invitation to step in and assist you with any needs that you have at this time.

Speak your needs out loud. Ask God and your guides to step in and stay open to the gentle ways their support begins to unfold.

They love you deeply and stand ready to lift you, steady you, and bring you peace. I am here for you as well. I’ll soon share more about how we can cultivate courage this holiday season.

Until then, I send love from my heart to yours.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Embracing the Inevitable: Learning to Welcome Change By Steven E. Woods

There was a time in my life when even the hint of change would be very unsettling. I wanted things to stay familiar, stable, known. Whether it was a friendship, a routine, a spiritual practice, or even just the way I spent my free time, I found comfort in sameness. Change, by contrast, felt like a storm, unpredictable and unwelcome.

But over the years, life has shown me, again and again, that change is not a threat; it’s a certainty. It’s the one guarantee we’re given from the moment we take our first breath. Nothing stays the same. Not our bodies, not our relationships, not our beliefs, not even the things we once thought were permanent parts of who we are.

And slowly, with time (and a lot of stubborn resistance), I’ve begun to understand something essential: change doesn’t come to punish us. It comes to grow us.

The most difficult transitions I’ve faced, like saying goodbye to people I loved, letting go of work that once gave me purpose, and releasing spiritual practices that no longer spoke to me, were not failures. They were invitations-Invitations to evolve. To stretch, to become someone new.

But to do that, I had to stop treating change like a thief—and start seeing it as a guide.

So how do we learn to embrace change instead of fearing it?

1. Pause Before You Panic

When change appears, our first instinct is often fear. We want to grip tighter to what’s slipping away. But if we pause, take a breath, and ask, “What is this really about?”, we might find that the change isn’t here to break us, it’s here to realign us.

2. Let Go of the Myth of Control

This one is hard. We like to believe we’re in control of our lives, but control is often an illusion. What we can choose is how we respond. We can resist change and suffer or lean into it and adapt with curiosity.

3. Honor What’s Ending

Every change involves a loss of some kind. Acknowledge it. Mourn it, if you need to. Whether it’s a relationship, a role, or a ritual, give it the respect it deserves. Say thank you. Let it go with grace, not bitterness.

4. Stay Open to What’s Emerging

The space created by change isn’t empty; it’s fertile. It’s where new possibilities grow. When one chapter closes, another begins, even if the first few pages are unclear. Trust that something good can come, even if you don’t see it yet.

5. Remember Who You Are, Even as You Change

We often fear change because it threatens our sense of identity. But change doesn’t erase who you are. It reveals new layers. You’re still you—just a wiser, more expansive version.

For me, this shift in perspective hasn’t been quick or easy. I’ve had to unlearn a lot. I’ve had to sit in the discomfort of uncertainty. But every time I’ve leaned into change, instead of running from it, I’ve discovered something surprising: I’m stronger than I thought. More resilient. More alive.

Change is not the enemy. It’s life itself, moving us forward. And the more we resist it, the more we suffer. But when we welcome it, even with trembling hands—we begin to grow into the people we’re meant to be.

So now, when I sense change coming, I try not to brace against it. I take a deep breath. I listen. I let go of what no longer fits. And I say, “Okay. Let’s see where this takes me.”

Because life isn’t about staying the same. It’s about becoming. And that becoming begins the moment we stop fearing change and start dancing with it.

Blessings,

Steven

StevenEWoodsRise.com

The Role of Lightworkers in Today’s World

Who Are Lightworkers?

Lightworkers are souls who have chosen to incarnate on Earth at this time to bring more love, truth, healing, and light into the world. They often feel a deep sense of mission, even when the path isn't always clear. Whether you identify as an intuitive healer, spiritual guide, life coach, energy worker, teacher, counselor, or empath, you are part of a growing wave of awakening souls anchoring a new frequency on the planet.

Why Now?

We are living in a time of profound planetary transformation. Old systems are breaking down, internally and externally, making space for a more conscious, heart-centered way of living. This period of global shift can be disorienting and emotionally intense, which is why the presence of Lightworkers is so vital. You are not here by accident. You are here on purpose, by choice and with purpose. And most importantly, you are needed now.

What Does a Lightworker “Do”?

The role of a Lightworker is less about “doing” and more about “being”. Even if you never speak a word about spirituality, your frequency is your offering.

Lightworkers often:

- Hold space for healing through compassion and presence
- Transmit peace, even in chaotic environments
- Offer guidance, whether through intuitive readings, energy healing, or teaching
- Awaken others simply by being authentic and aligned
- Anchor light in dark or dense situations
- Serve as bridges between the seen and unseen, the earthly and the divine

Facing Resistance as a Lightworker

Being a Lightworker isn’t always easy. You may feel the pain of the world more deeply. You may have gone through intense personal challenges that cracked your heart open. You may question your worth or feel isolated in a world that sometimes doesn’t understand your gifts. Know this: Your light is needed, even when you don’t feel radiant.

A Loving Reminder

You are not just observing the shift. You are part of the shift. Your light, your presence, your willingness to walk the path of awakening—it ripples out further than you know.  By being present, loving and kind when you are out in the world or home with your families can assure you that you are making a difference.

A Further Message from Lee Carroll, Original Channel for Kryon

Your Light Helps! It doesn’t matter what you do! Your light helps this planet, not your works. Your search for who you are helps this planet. Even walking through the grocery store and smiling at those you meet helps this planet. That’s how powerful you are! ~Message from KRYON 

Who is Kryon? A loving, benevolent Spirit energy that offers teachings on human evolution, spirituality, and the shifting energies of Earth.

With gratitude,
Jane Marino
Spiritual Medium/Energy Healer/Intuitive Guide 

P.S. If you're ready to go deeper into your own healing journey or would like intuitive support, I’m offering 25% off all sessions for the remainder of September and October to support you during this time of awakening. If you choose to schedule at this time, please call or text me directly at 303-718-1738.

Trust in Spirit . . .

What a miraculous time! You are living in a moment of extreme change on your planet. A time of unequivocal energetic movement upon the physical planet impacting all inhabitants. There are tender mercies available to all as these changing energies move through you and it is most beneficial and helpful to call on those in the world of Spirit who are available to support you, who love you and who are ready to serve your every need. Start a dialogue with us today! Trust the unseen. Reach out to us and know that we are waiting for your blessing to step in and assist you. You are not alone. You have never been alone. It is said that you enter your Earth life alone and leave this life alone. Nothing could be further from the truth as you have master guides and angels who are with you from the moment you take your first breath and are the first to welcome you home when this life is through. In moments of quiet, talk to us, your guides, and let us know what you need, what you wish to have happen in your life, and what your greatest dreams are, for we are ready to be of service. We wish you peace and love on this day. —Channel from Spirit by Jane Marino