The real meaning of Christmas gets lost in the mythology, and economics of religion and capitalism.
What is Christmas really about, anyway?
Is it to celebrate the birth of a prophet or a God (depending on your perspective), remembering the disadvantaged, gift giving, Santa Claus, fruit cake, alcohol, big meals, family and friend connections, or, perhaps, discovering and/or affirming the mystery and beauty of one’s own spiritual inheritance? .
America could really use a healing Christmas experience.  May the birth and development of America’s collective compassion for itself finally become manifested. If America and our citizenry could find its real individual and collective self, the birth of the Christ would no longer be relegated to one human event over 2000 years ago.
And the Christ would no longer be crucified moment to moment so that the thief Barabbas (Trump, the white Evangelical movement, and all of the other modern day dark side spiritual equivalents) could be cheered on by their base and be set free to continue to wreak their havoc, at the eternal expense of a life imbued with truth and love.
“The world is new to every soul, when Christ has entered in”.(in the chapel at Stanford University, the passage was selected by Mrs Stanford).
May a new world order reveal itself to our heart impregnated minds.  May the humbled, the poor and the displaced find comfort in the birth manger for our true spiritual potential.
In the words of Sy Miller:
Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.

There are three “wise men” within all of us, those facets of our own unique wisdom which gifts us with intelligence supported by timeless truth, love supported by peaceful intentions for all, and humility that reminds each of us that while we are not the center of the universe, we remain an essential part of the great whole of life, and that we are all created from the same Divine substance.

Wisdom does not initially develop within those who live unconscious lives. Yet, through the pain and suffering experienced from living such unconscious lives, the receptivity to wisdom’s presence is developed, with an enhanced willingness to embark on new paths of consciousness where truth, love, peace, humility, and a sense of the presence of the sacred may be found and experienced.

For many of us, it means leaving all that once was important to us, be it our personal philosophy, our family, friends, employment, social standing, physical health or illness, or economic prosperity, or poverty. It might mean leaving the church of our family, our community, or of our nation and joining a higher understanding for life populated by individuals who see beyond the illusions of dogma and other religious controls.

The new birth of our “higher self” or Christ, does not happen while we are luxuriating at the Hilton Hotel, but instead while we are present in the most humblest of abodes, which is the humility that comes upon realizing that even our best presentation of our self, or ego, pales in comparison to what the guiding star of Infinite Spirit will reveal to us, and through us, once we have made conscious contact with our highest possibility.

It is an immaculate conception within our minds and heart, this idea that we can be born again, into a higher possibility for existence. We do not need a mother or a father for the new birth, we only need a willingness to travel new paths of consciousness, and to gradually, or dramatically reduce all movement of time based thought that keeps us imprisoned in the past.

The world is new to every soul, when Christ has entered in. Christ does not belong to any religion, Christianity or otherwise. Christ points to an infinite possibility of healing, love, and truth that each of us is capable of achieving, if we are willing to leave the “Inn” groups, and explore life on the outside of socially accepted norms or controls for a period of time. For some of us, it is a life, though initially lived in the ‘pig pen”, or in the ” humble manger”, of consciousness, that we can eventually overcome to evolve into a place of higher understanding :

And, we can find that ultimate reality where “In my father’s mansion are many rooms. . . “

Christmas becomes an actuality for all human beings, pagan, religious, atheist, or otherwise, when we finally find our true self, the self unsullied by the ravages, and damages of time with its scattered wreckage of all of our broken relationships with Truth and Love.

If we are searching for Truth and Love, may we all find what we are looking for!

All of life is infinitely blessed, by all who undertake the hero’s journey towards healing and Truth.

All that we now see, or will ever see, unto eternity, is Our Self. How we see Our Self today, either with love and compassion, and forgiveness for all who have brought harm to us, or with hatred, continuing judgement, and condemnation determines whether the Christ is born and nurtured, or is once again crucified.

The choice is ours to make, moment to moment. All of the diverse members of humanity are our brothers, and our sisters, and deserve ultimate respect and love from each one of us. All of our animals and plants are made from the same divine substance as we are, and deserve ultimate respect and love from each one of us. Our planet Earth is made from the same divine substance as we are, and deserves ultimate respect and love from each one of us.

Merry Christmas to all human beings who yearn for the truth of being, be they secular, religious, pagan, atheist, or otherwise! May our entire planet be blessed by the highest intentions that each one of us cultivates within our healed hearts and minds.

Categories: Musings

Bruce

Presently, I am 67 years old, and I am learning how to live the life of a retired person. I am married to Sharon White, a retired hospice nurse, and writer. Whose Death Is It Anyway-A Hospice Nurse Remembers Sharon is a wonderful friend and life partner of nearly 30 years. We have three grandsons through two of Sharon's children. I am not a published writer or poet. My writings are part of my new life in retirement. I have recently created a blog, and I began filling it up with my writings on matters of recovery and spirituality. I saw that my blog contained enough material for a book, so that is now my new intention, to publish a book, if only so that my grandsons can get to know who their grandfather really was, once I am gone. The title for my first book will be: Penetrating The Conspiracy Of Silence, or, How I Lived Beyond My Expiration Date I have since written 7 more books, all of which are now posted on this site. I have no plans to publish any of them, as their material is not of general interest, and would not generate enough income to justify costs. I have taken a deep look at life, and written extensively about it from a unique and rarely communicated perspective. Some of my writing is from 2016 on to the present moment. Other writing covers the time prior to 1987 when I was a boy, then an addict and alcoholic, with my subsequent recovery experience, and search for "Truth". Others are about my more recent experiences around the subjects of death, dying, and transformation, and friends and family having the most challenging of life's experiences. There are also writings derived from my personal involvement with and insight into toxic masculinity, toxic religion, toxic capitalism, and all of their intersections with our leadere. These topics will not be a draw for all people, as such personal and/or cultural toxicities tends to get ignored, overlooked, or "normalized" by those with little time for insight, introspection, or interest in other people's points of view on these troubling issues. There also will be a couple of writings/musings about "GOD", but I try to limit that kind of verbal gymnastics, because it is like chasing a sunbeam with a flashlight. Yes, my books are non-fiction, and are not good reading for anybody seeking to escape and be entertained. Some of the writings are spiritual, philosophical and intellectual in nature, and some descend the depths into the darkest recesses of the human mind. I have included a full cross section of all of my thoughts and feelings. It is a classic "over-share", and I have no shame in doing so. A Master Teacher once spoke to me, and said "no teacher shall effect your salvation, you must work it out for yourself". "Follow new paths of consciousness by letting go of all of the mental concepts and controls of your past". This writing represents my personal work towards that ultimate end.