Today is Christmas.
Merry Christmas, dear one.
We’ve just celebrated Solstice, the beginning of the return of the light, and this morning the sunrise over the city is brilliantly painted with glorious colors of existence.
Last night I attended a late-night service at the Swedenborgian church. Much of the service was focused on the birth of Jesus, celebrating this day as a birthday, not only for Jesus, but for us all.
I was wonderfully surprised when the pastor spoke words from multiple faiths, including words from Krishna and about Buddha. And then we spoke this prayer:
“O God, place light in my heart, light in my tongue, light in my hearing, light in my sight, light behind me, light in front of me, light on my right, light on my left, light above me and light below me; place light in my nerves, in my flesh, in my blood, in my hair and in my skin; place light in my soul and make light abundant for me; make me light and grant me light.”
(which is very close to one attributed to Muhammad).
And then there is this Navajo prayer, which I find evokes the same feeling in me:
“Beauty is before me, and beauty behind me, above me and below me, hovers the beautiful. I am surrounded by it, I am immersed in it. In my youth, I am aware of it, and in old age I shall walk quietly the beautiful trail. In beauty it is begun. In beauty it is ended.â€
Light, love, beauty… all words that point to something that no word could begin to capture…
At the end of the service we each lit our candle and carried them outside back into the world. It was moving.
I felt the thread of Oneness of all religions, the love and the light.
Perhaps some might feel this mixing of religions to be upsetting. Perhaps, though, this coming together of ways of seeing God and ourselves is exactly right-timing.
Isn’t the realization of our Oneness what we must come to know to survive?
Isn’t the very-real lived experience of the love and light we truly are what will help us to lay down our separateness?
Isn’t that what we all really want? To be loved. To be loved simply as we are. To know the light within us, and the light that surrounds us, as our true nature.
May you know the great love that you are.
May you be filled with the Light of this great love.
May you radiate this Light, simply as an expression of your true nature.
yes. as answer to ever question, in response to every statement, in every way, at every level . . . yes.
Thank you, Julie, for this blessing of Light–today and every day.
What a beautiful way to celebrate Christmas, dear Julie! I so much wish I could have been next to you, holding that candle in the night and celebrating intercultural faiths. That’s one thing I miss most, in traditional churches, especially Catholic churches. One reason why I didn’t go to church this year…and very much missed the shared, closeness of meditation and joy together. This “sacred flow” as our friend Marjorie would call it, can be sometimes much better experienced thanks to social media, which is a very “unorthodox” thing to say…almost blasphematory 🙂
Sacred is in the little things of everyday’s life. In the tweets that reach right to your heart, across the generations, across the languages, across the nations. Suddenly, someone is there and understands, listens, “sees” you. You feel connected in your humanity, smallness & greatness altogether. Isn’t it what faith is about? Someone’s there somewhere in the universe and it all makes sense…for a while…
One day, we shall share the same place, physically and I know it will be awesome. It already is. A blessing to know you. Merci, Julie. A wonderful holy day every day for you and yours. Marion.
Julie – this is a beautiful post. When we awaken we are the light of consciousness. May we all light up 2012! Have a wonderful holiday.