Blog #18--December Can Be Special for Many

Blog #18—December Can Be Special For Many, by Jack Tuttle http://dreamtime3.wix.com/jacktuttlebook

People all over the world participate in unique events during December. Christmas gets the most publicity, but there are numerous other reasons for celebration this time of year. Most if not all religions have some sort of celebration each December.

Jews have Hanukkah, Muslims have Ramadan and a couple other celebrations, Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists and others have their own festivals. And pagans throughout time have celebrated the winter solstice, when the sun reaches its farthest position from the northern hemisphere and is beginning to return.

Maybe there is a reason so many people feel like celebrating this time of year. I’d like to toss around a theory that I hope scientists will someday be willing and able to study. Like I stated in my book “It’s a Secret, So Pass It On: a Toolbox For Life,” I received inspired guidance that claimed all life is basically slow fire, a continuation of the original fires of the Universe. Thus, we are composed of two opposite polarity energies which work together to perpetuate our existence and are closely similar to the sun in our solar system and the Great Central Sun of the Milky Way Galaxy.

We are both attracted to and repelled by these energies. Thus, part of us competes with our sun since likes repel. When the sun is in the southern hemisphere, those living in the northern hemisphere feel a little less competition because the sun appears farther away. With less competition, there is greater opportunity for us to let down our guard and allow our hearts to open. When we do that, we have a natural desire to unify with family and friends. And we enjoy giving as much as receiving.

Therefore, December is the time when people regardless of their religious backgrounds feel most willing to share their good fortune with those in need. There are people who live by the Golden Rule who have never heard of Jesus or Christianity. They are givers rather than takers, and late December is the best time to express their true selves openly.

However, the human ego has a tremendous capacity for turning spiritually uplifting events into commercial operations, and Christmas is a prime example of this phenomenon. Devout Christians might attend midnight church services on Christmas Eve, but the rest of the month is usually devoted to decorating a tree and in some cases whole houses, shopping and gift-wrapping presents for family and friends, attending parties and many other assorted details.

I’d guess a December to-do list dominates the minds of most people. Attention to numerous details can tire out and frustrate the best of us; some are truly grateful when the Christmas season is completed so they can get back to their regular lives. There is little time to replicate all the traditions that have evolved over the years. Attempting to do so limits our ability to reflect on who we really are and the true meaning of our existence.

Christians co-opted pagan celebrations to attract converts and make their Christmas seem more all-encompassing than paganism. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as we look for the hidden symbolism in our rituals. For example, an evergreen tree is cone-shaped, thus representing the spiraling energy that surrounds and encompasses all living things, the “horn of plenty” of legend that opens to infinity.

Colorfully wrapped packages represent who we are: a surprise package. We think we’re human bodies living independently on a free will planet, but in reality our true selves are hidden from our own awareness. We benefit when we recognize the symbolism of revealing our true selves to the world upon opening our presents. Regardless of their origin, wrapped presents have a spiritual aspect we often overlook when we emphasize the materialistic gift inside the box.

The multi-colored lights on a Christmas tree remind us of the astral plane, where we spend considerable time in our dream state plus both before and after our lifetimes on Earth. My wife and I have had several cats over the years, and they’ve all loved lying under a lit Christmas tree. Perhaps it seems like lucid dreaming to them since everything is brighter and more beautiful there than the rest of the house.

There are spiritual aspects of all celebrations this time of year that remind us of our eternal natures, but we must put aside all the distortions our egos have created over the centuries to make money and produce more religious converts to find them. The results are worth the effort, especially this time of year.

Happy Holidays everyone! May your hearts find peace now and throughout the years.

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