I've Given Up the Christmas Spirit

On tv the spirit of Christmas is about buying things, about romance, about some kind of magic. It is not about the Christ within, not about the birth of possibility, not about spiritual connection and holiness.

I'm not about what Christmas has become on tv.

I cherish the vision once given to me and still vibrant in my memory. I saw that our hearts are potential cradles for the birth of the Light of Christ within. When Jesus said we would do greater things, he was challenging us to attune ourselves to the same Presence of God that led his life. He humbly said what he did was the Father within, not puffing himself up.

I can't help but wonder what would happen if everyone gave up tv Christmas and opened to an internal spiritual Christmas that led to attuning to God.

The Holy Spirit Is a Terrible Nag 😇

Today a friend said to me, "I don't know how you can constantly create. I have to be in the mood." I answered her with the above title. I know it's an odd way to put it, but it is actually sort of like that.

For as far back as I can remember, I've received incoming inspirations on an ongoing basis. It's a regular occurrence. It could be about most anything - recipes, quilt ideas, garment ideas, spiritual insights, things to write, solutions for this or that, places to go, etc. etc. etc....

I believe inspiration is always broadcasting from the Holy Spirit, but not everyone is tuned in. Just this very moment there are dozens and dozens of radio shows beaming in this place, but I don't have the radio on, so I cannot hear any of them.

The way we tune in to the Holy Spirit is by tuning up our instrument with regular spiritual practices, and with psychological healing of ego issues. Ego is crackling static and creates distortion, preventing our hearing Spirit clearly. Introspection, observation of self and counseling can help move out of egotistical life perspective. Regular prayer, meditation, contemplation, quiet time, time in nature, spiritual reading, spiritual conversation, practising the Presence all lead to awakening to what has always been there, if we would just turn to It.

Within us, original equipment, is the receptor to Spirit, the Christ Presence. We don't have to acquire it. We have to nurture it. All of us can live with inspiration on a regular basis. The Kingdom Is within.

I wish for you a life of inspiration.

Enlightenment

I just read: true enlightenment is free of animosity. 

To observe the world now and historically, we might conclude there is and has been very little enlightenment happening. It's more like hysterical attacks on one another and on oneself.

There have been just enough enlightened beings to let us know it is possible. We might be asking, is it possible for me, for my family, for society? Where do I go, how do I find it, who can teach me?

I think each must find our own way. For Buddha it was going all over the place and then finally sitting down under a tree, being still and receptive, maybe surrendering. He came to know our attachments keep us bound to the wheel of suffering. Jesus spent time alone in the wilderness and came to know the Kingdom of God is within and love is essential. (And of course they came to know much more).

It seems to me that we would do well to notice the testament of their lives. Our world is not easily conducive to quiet days of reflection, contemplation and listening within. We have to find our own version of wilderness.

Suggestions: turn off electronic devices for an hour or more a day and be still;  turn them off one day a week and be still; go out in nature and be with the trees and all that is natural; meditate daily; read inspirational thoughts and journal on them; practise the Presence of God as constantly as you can.

And, of course, we have to ask ourselves if we really and truly are willing to let go of all animosity, and if we are really and truly seeking enlightenment. Each answer "yes" lifts everyone a bit. Together we make a difference that is geometric, 1+1 is more than 2, and at the same time,  it is one.

Maybe Not Human Beings, Rather Human Becomings

For a moment let's loosen our grip on certainty.

We are always, constantly becoming more. Our life is not static. Change is a fact of life. Who we were at age 4 is light years away from who we are today. Who we were yesterday is at least a smidgen different from who we are today. Who we shall be tomorrow is yet to be determined.

Our bodies change, new cells form, neurons connect in new ways, we heal scrapes and cuts, we develop muscle in our exercises. Our understandings change. We hear new things, meet new people, read new ideas, engage in conversations.

It's all interconnected. Our new cells form out of nutrients from foods we eat which come from different parts of the world, nurtured by water and sun. It could be said we eat sunlight and rain. Our minds take in ideas from across history, from Moses to Plato to Jesus to Hildegard of Bingen to Thomas Jefferson to Einstein to the wisdom of Snoopy and everything in between.

In other words, we are in a constant state of becoming. In this dance of life, we do best to just relax and dance the dance, letting go of ego's urgent need to hold on, to grasp, to try to control. Our insistence on having it our way, our attachments/addictions, bind us to the impossible, and keep us from awakening and in a state of suffering in varying degrees.

Let go and let God. Judge not by appearances, but with righteous judgment. Let the mind/energy that was in Christ Jesus be in you. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. These and more words come to teach us from early Christianity. Let's listen and enjoy becomingness.

Defeated?

We just returned from doing a variety of errands in several parts of town. I spent some time observing people, and was sad to see so many unhappy, angry or defeated faces and bodies.

The majority of people had no sparkle in their eyes or spring to their steps. I saw sad faces, downcast, shoulders stooped, and stomachs as if punched in. I saw angry faces, disgusted faces, blank faces. I saw so many who looked like they had given up on life and were just going through the paces.

Of course I also saw some sparkly eyes of people full of the zest of life. However, they were definitely in the minority.

I wondered what made the majority give up??? Was there a final straw? Were they more sensitive to negative experiences than those who hadn't given up?

I certainly have had a ton of deeply distressing experiences over the entire course of my life, but I refuse to let "them" win. Perhaps it's my faith that lifts me through it all. Perhaps it's all the forgiveness work I've done. Perhaps I have an optimist gene.

I'd like to be able to lift the defeated, heart-sick, downcast sisters and brothers. That's not the way to live on this gorgeous planet. Every moment is pregnant with possibilities. No matter the current circumstances, there are positive choices that can be made. Hope can bring light into seemingly dark corners.

I send love and light to all co-inhabitants of our beautiful planet. May the Joy of the Divine fill one and all. May defeat turn into celebration. This is the day to shine. Walk into the day as The Light. BE contageous with uplifting energy. Let's lift each other. To God be the glory.

In All Things Give Thanks

I am thankful for you who read my words and are partners in the quest for spiritual awakening. Have a blessed and fabulous Thanksgiving day.

There is so much for which to be thankful. I suppose I could go on for hours if I were to list all of my blessings.

This morning, as I was thinking about all of my family being elsewhere, I had a new way to look at it. My memory can take me to Thanksgivings past. In my heart of hearts we are together. I can see my kitchens past filled with busy hands, laughter, and amazing foods. Hugs and kisses long past still live in me. In the realm of memory,  we are together.

This is a new Thanksgiving with opportunity for new memory-making. We are blessed to share it with some of our spiritual family. It is storming right now, a huge storm for California, but the feasts will go on.

Each day of our lives we have the power to choose to make memories that are with us the rest of our lives, warming and nurturing us. May your day be blessed and filled with glorious memory-making moments.

Why Are We Here?

Depending on our worldview, our answers tumble from our understanding, often in a haphazard way. I addressed this in some detail in my book, What On Earth Is Going On - Spiritually Speaking. Some thoughts are urging me to say a bit this morning.

What is going on here is opportunity for spiritual growth. Each person, each event, every moment, all of it is our teacher. How we react or respond is feedback, although often ignored, that can mirror for us how we are doing in our process of spiritual awakening. It could be said that we currently inhabit a giant biofeedback device.

Really what is needed is the view Jesus suggested when he said to look beyond appearances. It's not the obvious thing shouting in your face. It's a check to see if we can love, even then, even in the face of this person shouting, even with a major challenge presenting itself, no matter what life throws at us.

Buddhism and Christianity agree that compassion, unconditional love and non-attachment, free of ego, are signs of awakening. As we look into the mirror of our lives, we can see how we are doing in these areas. And we can change, heal, grow, for we don't have to stand and defend ourselves as we are. We are in process. It's not only okay to be in process, it is necessary. We are not going to ever fully be perfect or fully comprehend The Infinite. SO, let's get comfortable with the ongoingness of our journey of awakening.

This is a golden opportunity to move more and more into the joy of love, compassion and freedom from painful egos. Look into your life mirror today with an open heart, with love and compassion for yourself and your life.

Let the life, the Spirit, that was in Christ Jesus be also in you, so said Paul and so say I.