Although the shops are frantically trying to sell us quantities of stuff we don't need or even want, in the name of "Christmas", we must remind ourselves that we are in the season of Advent, not Christmas. Christmas does not arrive until December 24th, at midnight, and it will last for twelve days and nights. It is not yet here.
Advent is a feast that has largely been forgotten outside of the Catholic and Orthodox Eastern churches. Huge commercial pressures exist to manipulate the masses into believing that Christmas has already begun - and that it consists of worshipping Mammon, not Christ. An orgy of compulsive shopping annually takes over the Western world, and even reflective Christians can find it hard to disidentify and remember we are only in Advent.
Advent means that we are waiting for an important event to take place. It has not yet happened. We are not going to be ready for it to occur unless we prepare well, and for that we need a month of quiet reflection and inner work.
Not that we can't go out and buy some presents, of course. The best gifts are often those we've made ourselves, as they convey the message that energy, time and effort have been spent, and these are far more precious than mere money. One devout Catholic lady I know in West Wales makes 27 Christmas cakes every year. They are wonderful gifts, greatly appreciated, both because the person is an excellent baker and because the recipient knows the love and care that have gone into making each cake.
But a list of presents should represent only one aspect of Christmas, and each gift should be something thoughtful, something meaningful, not simply the ticking of a box or the crossing off of an item. Apart from offices or clubs who may operate a "Secret Santa" gift scheme every year, most Christmas presents are personal, given from individuals to their loved ones, family members or close friends. Considering their needs and perhaps unvoiced wishes is external considering and is a fine part of our Advent preparation.
We may decorate the house and office, but simply; evergreens are often brought indoors and wreaths and decorative candles lit, but the tree and its decorations are best left for the final few days of Advent. Then, in the last days before Christmas, perhaps on Christmas Eve itself, the atmosphere of hope and expectancy receives a huge boost and we are reminded of the celebration to come. Doing all this too early leaves many people jaded and bored. By the time Christmas arrives they may be thoroughly sick of the whole idea, not too mention out of pocket, hungover and with digestive problems!
During Advent, big parties and celebrations are inappropriate. We can't celebrate something that has not yet happened! It may be impossible to escape from office or club dinners, and so on, but while we may need to fulfil some obligations in this way, it should again be a question of externally considering those around us, rather than an invitation to guzzle and booze our way through December! We take part to help spread joy, not to over-indulge ourselves.
My teacher, Marian, used to point out that as the galaxy is sending us powerful energies now (see last week's post for a description of this process) these energies must be correctly received, and not allowed to become negative. In just the same way that meditation increases our higher hydrogens, but that energy may be dissipated uselessly unless we remain in attention, so the extra hydrogens that come to us freely from the heavens now must be treasured and used for good, not wasted.
She pointed out that people can very easily become negative about Christmas, due to the commercial pressures I've mentioned and to mental clutter from the past. We should watch out for negativity in our private thoughts and in our conversations, and when we feel this happening we should consciously transform the negative energies into positive ones. This may be done very simply and unobtrusively, and is a good Work exercise during Advent.
Christmas cards, letters and phone calls all increase our loving connections with friends and family and are very much a part of Advent. They help to prepare us all, even those who are unaware of the inner meaning of the season, so that the whole Earth may benefit from the spiritual energies we are all being showered with now.
So, repentance must be continuous during Advent; not a gloomy, condemnatory process, but an acknowledgement of our inner states, and of what needs to change. We wish to observe ourselves throughout this season, watching to see that nothing will impede the new birth, nothing delay or dim the transformation it will bring. We long to receive a new mind, the gift of metanoia, but first we must discard what we can of our old, useless I's.
All those selfish, False Personality I's that prevent us from relating properly to others must be allowed to die away in us. Far from going on a mindless shopping trip to acquire more stuff, we should be considering what we need to empty ourselves of, what we need to let go, so that when Christ is born, in our Essence, we will be in the right state of Being to realize what has happened.
That new birth in Essence is something to be devoutly wished for. And, just as a mother expecting her baby will make sure the house is thoroughly clean and ready for the precious new occupant, so we must be willing to "clean house" in our own internal world so that the Divine Child may live in us.
In the Eastern churches, Advent is a time of fasting in exactly the same way as Lent. Virtually a vegan diet is followed, preparing and "detoxing" the body ready for a healthy celebration at Christmas. Now is not the time to overeat and drink ourselves into oblivion. Recollection includes awareness of the body as well as of the mind. Sobriety is the watchword.
Advent is a season of quiet joy, happy expectancy, serene watchfulness. All the inner work that we have been carrying out since the beginning of Autumn will bear fruit at Christmas.
May we all enjoy a happy and fruitful Advent, and give the season its due importance in our yearly inner calendar!
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