Christmas is for Miracles

The physical celebration of Christmas is always such fun with the beautiful lights strung all over town, the excitement of shopping and the giving of gifts. In fact it really breaks up an otherwise long, dark and dreary winter and creates a time when friends can meet, families unite and good tidings and cheer abound…

Still, others may find the holiday quite daunting for all of the same reasons and the shopping, family dinners, obligations and expectation can all add up to a holiday season filled with pressure or a sense of isolation.

Although Christmas in general can be a time most of us either love or hate (the pulling between ego and spirit continues), A Course in Miracles gives some clear advice on how we can all benefit from the real meaning of the day. It says:

"This Christmas, give the Holy Spirit all that would hurt you" (T-15.XI.3:1).

To apply this beautiful guidance, we must simply watch our minds during this holiday season for all those beliefs that hurt us—beliefs that the stores, fellow shoppers, traffic, family members and Christmas turkeys are not properly fulfilling their assigned roles; beliefs that we are the oppressed victims of social expectations and the commercial mentality; beliefs that we have sound justification for not being at peace. And when we find these beliefs, we simply turn them over to the Holy Spirit, so that He can remove them from our holy minds.

"Let us join in demanding no sacrifice of anyone... (T-15.XI.8:2)”

This means we make no inner (or outer) demands that anyone fulfill our expectations, especially any requirements that they pay us back either for something "bad" they did to us or something "good" we did for them. Releasing others from their past and from our expectations is one of the primary ways we can experience the time of Christ.

Overall, Jesus teaches us that Christmas is a time of the re-birth of Christ into our hearts and minds through remembrance of the truth of who and what we really are; love and nothing else. This is the real gift he gives to us and when we accept it we automatically extend it to others.

So my friends, this year, let us carry on with our laughter, chatter and fun, but not just on 25 December, but everyday of the year. Let us remember that Christmas is actually in our minds and can be celebrated in time any where and joining with others just helps us to remember better!