This article by John-Roger was first published in Rod&Staff 1983 Winter Christmas Issue. Christmas is more than a celebration of an historical event; it is a celebration of RIGHT NOW.

Celebration means having the freedom inside to look at your thoughts and feelings–no matter what they are. As a matter of fact, we should be able to celebrate our greatest and our lowest feelings equally, because it means we’re alive. Some people only want to celebrate the highs. I decided I would celebrate both ends and the in-between times, too.

How do we find the strength to reside in inner celebration and harmony? We can’t reside in strength out here in this world until we can reside in strength in the interior environment. If we look inside and do not find happiness, strength or purpose, we won’t have it out here, either. We have to go inside and confront the very negativity we have created, and find the strength. Most of us look in and get so scared at what we see that we immediately run out into the world to be distracted by what we think may save us. It won’t save us; it will distract us all the more.

It’s important to prepare for any event that may occur, Start fortifying the ability to maintain and hold by establishing greater self-esteem and self-worth. How do you do that? By seeing, in your mind’s eye, that which you want to take place. And when you see it in enough detail–when you can smell it, taste it, feel it–then the Soul extends energy to the strength of the inner one and it starts moving out into the world.

Until you really do know that the essence of God was breathed into every human being–and that includes you–and until you go in and find that, then the doubt sits with the celebration. Doubt is not negative; it is your inside prover. You cannot really doubt another person, you only doubt yourself because you did not prepare the place inside of you to live in the fullness of your Spirit. All you’ve done is cheated yourself. You listened to the voice of doom and believed yourself. You listened to your inharmonious situation and believed it. You ran false beliefs and believed them. Then, when things didn’t happen the way you wanted them to, you became upset and did negative celebration.

Many times, out of that discord or disorientation will come a direction–a direction of new thoughts, new feelings, new action, new conviction, new upliftment. Inside of you, something develops like an iron rod. And you’ll know that the inner man has been transformed because integrity speaks inside of you. It’s not rigidity nor stubbornness. It’s integrity. You will not run false standards or beliefs and your wisdom and strength will grow with your experiences.

And, miracle of miracles, you become the Beloved. The very one for whom you’ve been searching was hiding back inside of you. And all the mental trips and all the vocabulary terms and all the how-to-do-it books didn’t do it–because that’s not the way it’s done. The value in those experiences may be to point you in the right direction and urge you to go to the Beloved inside yourself.

Don’t be afraid to climb the mountain. And, if you’re going to climb, prepare yourself at the bottom to reach the top.

See yourself having the strength to climb to the top when you’re at the bottom. Secure each level inside yourself. If you slip back a step, you won’t have to start at the beginning because you’ve secured the last level you were on. Then you just pick yourself up and keep moving. In the midst of trial and tribulation, you stand as a source of integrity.

At that moment of insight, the celebration begins. Your heart lights up and your total beingness transforms and becomes radiant. You will find yourself walking around with a body that has emotions that contact other emotions to see what they’re feeling and a mind that contacts other minds to tell what they’re thinking and a Spirit who kisses their Spirit–because you know what it’s all about.

Can we celebrate and live in this life? Yes, as the Beloved within. When we sacrifice the existence of this life in terms of it controlling us, and instead we complete and finish it, life starts to sing through us as wonderful feelings, thoughts and actions. That’s worth celebrating!

Baruch Bashan
John-Roger, DSS