Christmas, for me, is a celebration of Lights. The lights on the houses in the West Adams Boulevard neighborhood that I love hearing Rita describe in enthusiastic exclamations as we walk the streets near Prana. The lights on the tree in the foyer that are the backdrop for hanging ornaments, drinking hot cider, and sharing songs with Prana residents. The Lights of the spiritual beings who I glimpse through my inner vision celebrating the birth of Christ. The Lights of the Prana residents who share brunch after exchanging gifts and laughs on Christmas morning.<\/p>\n
But even without any of these Lights, there\u2019s such a sacredness that comes present for me during the Christmas season. A kind of reverence, even awe, that pours through me in the quiet moments of doing absolutely nothing. And I\u2019ll find myself awash with quiet joy and then start wondering how in the world I can share this experience with others. And sometimes I\u2019ll be moved to write little love e-mails to friends, or make up silly songs, or give people hugs when I wouldn\u2019t normally. And sometimes I\u2019ll be too moved to do anything but continue silently reveling in the sacredness. And that will be more than enough.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not sure why the Christmas season is so sacred for me. Maybe I\u2019m tuning in to the energy that so many create through giving gifts and celebrating togetherness. Maybe it\u2019s the focus on the wonder of a baby, so innocent and so vulnerable, who holds the key to the salvation of his age. Maybe it\u2019s the imprint left from J-R receiving his spiritual mantle in December of 1963 that can still be felt by initiates of our line. Or maybe it\u2019s all of these things, and much more I\u2019m not even aware of.<\/p>\n
Whatever the reason, I\u2019m grateful for the Christmas season and all of the delight it brings. Another chance to watch Charlie Brown buy a crappy tree and discover the true meaning of Christmas. Another moment to laugh as the Grinch\u2019s heart grows three sizes and he returns all the presents he stole. Another time to sit through any number of movies or songs that might otherwise be cheesy but thanks to the innocence of Christmas are wonderful.<\/p>\n
Sure, there\u2019s still commercialism and packed stores and heavy traffic and after-Christmas blues, I don\u2019t deny any of that. There\u2019s still running late to the party and \u201cwhy wasn\u2019t I invited?\u201d and \u201cwhat am I going to wear for New Year\u2019s Eve?\u201d and family karma. But inside of me, it\u2019s still just as sacred as ever. That amazing joy is there just waiting to be rediscovered during any quiet moment. Just waiting to be sung in a Christmas Carrol or shared in a thank you card or remembered in the Lights.<\/p>\n
Probably the biggest key I\u2019ve discovered for myself in maintaining Christmas joy is staying with what\u2019s authentic for me. I\u2019m best when I\u2019m giving gifts not because I\u2019m expected to but because I truly want to. Or going to a party not just to give me something to do but to talk with someone there I care about. Or writing an article for the NDH not from any sense of obligation but because I truly love sharing my Christmas cheer with you.<\/p>\n
So I pray that this Christmas be the best one yet as you celebrate in the ways most authentic to you. And that if you find yourself stuck fulfilling an obligation that you laugh and let your heart grow three sizes into it. And that when January 25th rolls around and the Carrols and gift-giving have stopped that you are still aglow with the Lights that are bright all year round. That you keep singing the music of the spheres right into next December, right into the next life where ever-greater gifts lie in store.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Christmas, for me, is a celebration of Lights. The lights on the houses in the West Adams Boulevard neighborhood that I love hearing Rita describe in enthusiastic exclamations as we walk the streets near Prana. The lights on the tree in the foyer that are the backdrop for hanging ornaments, drinking hot cider, and sharing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":110821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[258,266],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christ-consciousness","category-featured"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}