Jews are told that on the Jewish New Year "it is written" and on the Day of Repentance "it is sealed." What is "it"? Our fate for the next year. Where is it written and sealed? In the proverbial Book of Life.

So, is the Book of Life figurative or literal? Is it a poetic or a concrete use of words? Most say it is both figurative and poetic. Yet, just as God supposedly can seal our fate for the coming year, we can do the same. We can "write" it by coming up with our targets - our goals and resolutions - and honing our aim and practicing our skill. Then, we can "seal" our fate both by taking action towards those goals and resolutions and also by visualizing ourselves having achieved our goal. We can see ourselves shooting that arrow and the arrow landing right in the middle of the bull's eye.

Many athletes use this methodology to help them succeed in their sports. They see themselves running the race and crossing the finish line ahead of the other racers, connecting the bat with the ball, performing their gymnastics routine to perfection. And then they see themselves standing on the podium receiving their gold medal or award.

If we can see ourselves having followed through on our resolution or having accomplished our goal - if we can see that arrow suspended from the bull's eye - then we will find it much easier to actually do so in real life. You see, the subconscious mind does not know the difference between what we visualize and what we actually do. So, when we visualize our resolutions achieved and our goals accomplished, it thinks we have done so already. In fact, as we visualize ourselves achieving those goals, for instance, shooting an arrow and hitting the target, the mind causes our muscles to react as if we were actually placing the arrow in the bow, pulling it back, and releasing it. Our eyes even respond as if we were watching it sail through the air and hit the target. If we can muster up the emotions that would go with seeing the arrow actually hit the bull's eye, our body will actually register those emotions as well. If we visualize this often enough, then when we actually shoot the arrow, our body has been conditioned to aim, shoot, and hit the target. We've mentally performed target practice. We've improved our aim and our ability to hit that bull's eye. We've sealed our fate.

So, how do we write and seal our goals for the New Year in our Book of Life? We do so by visualizing our new goals in fine detail and feeling exactly what it would be like if we had already manifested the results we desire. In other words, we imagine the life we want, the behaviors to which we aspire as if they had been published in that book - sealed, already done, accomplished. If you'd like to try visualizing writing and sealing your goals for the New Year in the Book of Life, here's a brief meditation: Imagine a beautiful book, a quill pen and a jar of ink lying on a table before you. You open the book and find that it contains the story of your life up to this very moment. You turn the page and discover that tomorrow's entry and the next and the next are empty. The pages are a beautiful white, waiting for someone to write down the details of what you will do next, what will happen next. You pick up the quill, dip it in the ink and begin to write. Imagine not only the next moment, hour, day, but the next week, month and year. Below, write down your vision of the next year in the Book of Life as if it is happening now. As you inscribe each word, feel as if you are experiencing all that you are writing - as if each event you are describing is happening to you at this moment. As you finish your entry or entries, take another piece of paper and blot the ink as if you were going to seal it.