Christmas, God, and Gifts

My 36^th lap around the Sun has been fascinating. I’m deeply grateful for all of the amazing people, influences, ideas, and creative energies that have been swirling about me this year. Christmas is an interesting time of year. It’s full of symbols, and I want to share some thoughts about them. I’m going to throw around some Jesus-talk; just hang with me for a second. I think it will apply to believer and non-believer alike. What I really want to discuss tonight is The Law Of Attraction.

But first, a few words about kids and Christmas!

Children at Christmas time are a symbol. They believe in a magical fat man in a suit that has the ability to bring them anything they ask for. Children look longingly at the bottom of the Christmas tree as an empty space that will, in a few weeks, be filled with their wishes.  But then something happens… we grow up. We figure out who Santa really is.  We stop believing in all of that.

But as adults, are we really all that different? You and I each have things we desperately desire that sometimes feel out of reach. Is it possible that we erect Christmas trees of our own, and then spend time staring at the empty space beneath it, wondering if somehow, somewhere, our grown up wishes will be fulfilled?

We really aren’t that different from the kids. Our belief in the possibility of our wishes being fulfilled may be the biggest difference between us and the 6 year old in footed jammies writing a letter to Santa. We all want, we all wish. But what of hope?  Let’s talk about what it takes to get what we want as adults:

Thoughts and words are the first acts of creation:

The Jesus story is full of fascinating symbols that directly relate to the processes of The Law Of Attraction and manifesting. In John1:1, we read:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Think of it. Everything around you can see, touch, taste, smell or hear right now started out as an idea in someone’s head. That thought was the first act of creation – spiritual creation, if you will. The first act of creation that was necessary to bridge the gap between an idea and a physical reality, was to put the idea into words. Words have real power – The Word was GOD. Think about the next time you have a bright idea and share it with someone that you collaborate with.   John continues, allegorically explaining Jesus as ‘the word of God’:

 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

When your thoughts and feelings are in sync, creation happens ….

Christmas is celebrated around the time of the Winter Solstice. It’s interesting to consider that on the 21st of December, we experienced the darkest day of the year.  On the 22nd of December, we see the “birth” or the return of the Sun. We begin our march toward longer days and shorter nights. Though we will begin to see more of the sun, our coldest days still lay ahead. The earth takes a while to catch up to the warming skies. There’s symbolism in this.   In my own life, I’ve found that my head and my heart receive and process information at very different speeds. Many years ago while in marriage counseling, our therapist helped me to see that although I can intellectually understand an idea, it takes a while for my heart to catch up. It’s one thing to “know” a new truth, it’s quite another to “feel” differently about it: my mind is the sun, my heart the earth.

I think it’s important to take a moment here and there to experience what nature is doing and to be reminded that the movement of the sun and the earth contain symbols of our human nature. It’s important to be at peace with our own natural rhythms, to accept them, to cease crucifying ourselves for failing to be some idea of “perfect”.   In granting ourselves this grace,  we actually take a step toward our own individual perfection, because it’s only when we grant ourselves grace that we can truly extend grace to others.

….whether you like it or not. The World is a mirror of who you are on the inside.

We attract that which we are. Jesus knew this, and was trying to help us understand how to use this natural law to our advantage. He taught us that bad things can happen to good people, and good things can happen to bad people. Jesus understood that getting all tripped up on judging the “goodness” or “badness” of people was completely beside the point and would get us nowhere closer to our own goals. In Matthew chapter 5:

43: Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

44: But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Jesus proceeds to explain that The Law Of Attraction does not play favorites. He’s trying to get us to understand that the world is simply a mirror of what’s happening in your own heart. He is trying to get us to understand that it’s impossible to manifest anything in your life that you don’t also wish for your neighbor. The Law Of Attraction is a force of nature just like gravity. It just works, and it doesn’t care who you are:

45: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

In the book of Acts, Peter elaborates on this idea:

“Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34)

Think of it. God / The Law Of Attraction / The Universe / etc / is no respecter of persons. It doesn’t play favorites. It just is – constant, steady, unrelenting or untiring, depending on your perspective. This knowledge can be exhilarating or overwhelming. Albert Einstein also understood the importance of this issue:

“I believe the most important question facing humanity is, ‘Is the universe a friendly place?’ This is the first and most basic question people must answer for themselves.”

Will you be in control, or a victim of “circumstance”? The universe will deliver whatever you decide to see.

Creation is ultimately for the purpose of giving.

Nature is gracious.The solstice brings balance; we experience the most light from the sun, and the earth has finally shook off the last shreds of cold from the dead of winter. The soil is warm, the nights are brief, and all things are alive. The summer solstice triggers events in the natural world that are key to the abundance of plant and animal life that provide us with sustenance.

The whole Jesus story is a tale of gifts: A gift from God to the human family, of humble wise men bringing gifts to the baby, a tale of a fully actualized human being giving his gifts fully to the world without any consideration of what we may give him back. Whether you want to call Jesus a wonderful legend, or the Word of God made manifest in the flesh, the message is the same: Jesus was the “superior man”.

“The way of the superior man is about giving. It’s about giving who you are to the world, and it’s about giving yourself more and more deeply to the world, to your woman, to your family, to everyone.”  – David Deida, “The Way Of The Superior Man”

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38)

Let us each realize the power of The Word in our own lives.  Let us go about doing good, liberating the oppressed and healing the sick by manifesting our own dreams into physical realities so that others may be inspired to do likewise,  because if someone doesn’t see you do it, they may never have the initial idea to do it themselves.  If that’s not God’s work, I don’t know what is.