Slowing the Pendulum, Practicing Balance

This is my annual jetlag talk given around 24 hours after arriving back from Australia. It’s said that jetlag lasts one day for every time zone you cross. In that case I should be back to normal by September. When one of the kids asked me the time on the flight home, I said, “Where? In Sydney, Auckland, LA, Chicago or Michigan?” Jetlag is a strange, disorienting experience. You feel out of sorts, out of balance, for several days. I now understand that jetlag is caused by messing with the body’s need for daily cycles of darkness and light. The body clock considers light and dark its alarm for when to rest and when to get going for the day. So when the body clock is confused, your body loses its balance. It’s not just a travel problem. We spend too many daylight hours under unnatural light, and then at night we sit with the glaring light of fluorescent bulbs, televisions and brightly shining alarm clocks. Most of us are lucky if we experience solid darkness for 5 or 6 hours out of 24. The human body is built to follow nature’s patterns. It needs exercise and sunshine and it needs darkness and rest in order to heal and restore its balance.

Balance is my theme. Nature models balance. Spiritual traditions teach balance. We crave balance. While on vacation, I was struck by an intense, optimistic energy around 2011. It’s going to be an amazing year, and the space of vacation fired me up to get all aspects of my life in optimum shape. I want to take my relationships, my community, my health, all my life aspirations to the highest levels of excellence. I want to have it all. I can have it all, just not at the same time. I have to pace myself and create balance in my priorities. What are your priorities for 2011? Are you setting your sights towards excellence? What are your issues around balance?

We crave balance and yet balance is so profoundly lacking in our lives. We create our own jetlag of consciousness, out of sorts with who we are and out of balance with life’s natural order. We live in multiple time zones, allowing the past to rule our current choices and letting the future drift onto the radar of our present experience far too often.

We tend to charge recklessly from one thing to its opposite, and the natural pendulum of life becomes more like a wrecking ball. Even as you read this you may be imagining that this is going to be an encouragement to slow down or spend more time resting. That thought is part of the problem, as you swing to an extreme. We go all of one way looking for the answers and when we don’t find them we think “what’s the point” and swing right back the other way. We are misdiagnosing our unhappiness.

You imagine that work is the problem and if you could just retire all your problems would vanish, only to discover that you aren’t comfortable with all the extra time alone with yourself. You imagine that a person or a place is the problem, only to see the same issues turn up in the new relationship, the new city, the new job. You imagine that the Republicans are the problem only to discover that the Democrats aren’t strong enough for your tastes.

The problem isn’t work, and the problem isn’t Republicans. The problem is your inability to stay in the middle, sourcing your life from your inner core that isn’t dependent on outer circumstances for contentment. This inner realization liberates you to live appropriately in any context without fixating on any one mode. There is a time to slow down, and there is a time to get a wriggle on. There is a time to change and there is a time to pull up a chair and learn from the current circumstance. Rather than looking for solutions in one extreme or another, the answer is found in what musicians call “Tempo Guesto”.

Tempo Giusto is free will to a musician. It means “the right pace”. The musician is free to discern the intent of the composer. Tempo Giusto suggests that you follow your instincts and create the performance that matches the context. The German word eigenzeit serves a similar purpose, much like the famous words from Ecclesiastes “there is a time for everything under the sun.” Learn from nature. Everything has its time, and you have the inner capacity to adapt to whatever is needed to manage the moment. Please note that “right time” is not to be confused with Island time. Remember the man who asks God, “God, how long is a million years?”

God answers, “A million years is like a minute.”

Then, the man asks, “God, how much is a million dollars?”

And God replies, “A million dollars is like a penny.”

Finally, the man asks, “God, can you give me a penny?”

God says, “In a minute.”

It’s all about perspective. This notion of right balance or right time is not an excuse for laziness. It’s a license for flexibility and intuitive wisdom.

Balance in the Traditions

Balance is one of the perennial truths. Perennial truths are nuggets of golden wisdom that turn up in many traditions. They are universal truths that individuals and cultures come to realize and experience in their own language and stories. They are often shown to be true by science, nature and instinct as well as spiritual traditions. They tend to be life principles that we innately know but often forget. Balance is one of these perennial truths. Let’s take a brief walk through some traditions.

Balance is a major emphasis in Buddhism. 600 years before the time of Jesus, The Buddha coined the phrase “the Middle Path” in an address to his monks-

“Monks, these two extremes ought not to be cultivated by the recluse. What two? Sensual indulgence which is low, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, and conducive to harm; and self-mortification, which is painful, ignoble, and conducive to harm. The middle path, monks, understood by the Tathâgata, avoiding the extremes, gives vision and knowledge and leads to calm, realization, enlightenment, and Nirvana. And what, monks, is that middle path? It is this Noble Eightfold Path, namely: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.” I don’t imagine the Buddha would mind me adding “right time” to create a list of the Ninefold Path.

The Buddha understood the Middle Path, or balance, through his own life experience. He was brought up a prince, in great affluence. When he first encountered sickness and death, he realized that his protected life had not prepared him to deal with the reality of suffering. He rejected his upbringing and all worldly pleasures, and swung to the other extreme. He spent all his time meditating. He discovered that this also didn’t prepare him to deal with suffering. He concluded that neither extreme, indulgence or deprivation, was the path to liberation. Instead he proposed the middle way between these two. At one time the Buddha sat by a river and heard a lute player in a passing boat. He understood that the lute string must be tuned neither too tight nor too loose to produce a harmonious sound.

Now turn your mind to Christianity. On first reading, Jesus showed little patience with balance. He seemed to be a radical, an extremist. He said, “If you are not for me, you are against me”, ‘Give up everything and follow me” and “If you are luke-warm, I will spit you out.” In fact the word “balance” occurs very rarely in the Bible. When it does occur, it is the Hebrew word “Mozen” and the Greek word “Zugos”. Both words refer to the poles carried across your shoulders that balance two containers. Each container needed to be a similar weight and in right position in order to maintain balance. What is the meaning of the teaching? I like to think of this as two containers that hold two different but complementary things; like strength and compassion, independence and accountability, patience and urgency, hope and realism, conviction and openness. You need them both in some sort of dynamic partnership.

In Matthew 11; 28-30, Jesus offered the gift of balance (usually translated as yoke) to those who felt heavy with life’s burdens. What did he mean? I imagine that he meant that when life feels overwhelming you have more options than you realize, and more capacity than you give yourself credit for. In my opinion the Christian teaching on balance is close to the idea of flexibility or skilful means.

Hinduism teaches the balance of karma. We tend to think of karma in too literal and linear a way, as if each action is balanced by some specific consequence in this life or another. I saw a bumper sticker that read, “If you can read this, I can hit my brakes and sue you.” It seems to capture the way we think of karma. Karma is not about justice or some sort of reassurance that others will get their just desserts. The way other people treat you is their karma. The way you react is your karma. Karma is a general worldview about balance. Things tend to work themselves out whether we understand the timing or outcomes or not. Balance, as Osho said, is staying in the middle while the universe holds the pieces in place. Your ability to stay in the middle is your karma, because if other people can push your buttons you will keep suffering.

Balance is expressed as moderation in Islam. Despite the recent surge of fundamentalism in Islam, balance is the essence of the religion. Balance is extremely important in Native American spirituality, which emphasizes the notion of harmony. In Navajo spirituality, the word “Hozho” indicates a deeply felt inner harmony. They used rituals to reestablish Hozho when it was lost. They had a unique way to honor returning warriors for example. The family talked to the local medicine man about what the man had experienced at war and they chose a ceremony based on the experience. Families were involved in the preparation and in ceremonial prayers, songs and dances. The ceremonies helped the Navajo war veterans and their families return to a state of balance, or beauty, within the universe.

All the spiritual traditions use their own language and stories to teach about a state of perfect equilibrium; mind, body and spirit in balance. The storms and changes of life can’t shake this balance. Not even a leaf stirs on the well rooted tree that is balance. It is a pond without the slightest ripple. It is the silence of a star filled sky. You know how to access your inner balance. You just forget from time to time.

Balance and the Inner Ear

As a global community, we seem to have lost our Hozho mojo recently. Our world is profoundly out of balance as evidenced by the awful and senseless shootings in Tucson. We have greater freedom than ever, but we don’t have the maturity to use this freedom well. We’ve multiplied our possessions, but lack the inner character to use them with integrity. Our homes are bigger and full of more gadgets, but the relationships inside them are broken. We have impressive, tall buildings, but short tempers. We have vast resources, but narrow viewpoints. We have more convenience, but less time to enjoy it. We have more medicine, but less wellness, more knowledge, but less judgment. We’ve learnt how to add years to life, but not how to fill those years with more life. We’ve conquered outer space, but our inner space lays undiscovered. The world is out of balance. The traditions and your inner wisdom know the way back.

Science has now revealed that the tiny hairs in the middle ear are the place where human balance is controlled. Information is passed from these hair follicles to the brain to stop us from losing balance. Nature is astonishing. It holds its own sacred wisdom. Consider this amazing connection. The Hebrew word for balance (Mozen) shares the same etymology as the word “ear”. Thousands of years before science revealed that our inner ear is the control centre for human balance, the Hebrews used the same word for ear and balance. Is this coincidence or some sort of inherent wisdom?

Coincidence or not, balance is a universal law. And the human body is built to restore balance. I love the fact that our balance center is in the inner ear because it suggests that we have inner wisdom if we are able to “hear” it. In other words, you have within you the wisdom to know how to restore balance in your life, and you have the wisdom to find the middle way.

Balance is a Juggling Act

Balance is a juggling act. What is your current challenge with balance? Maybe it’s the balance between work and play. Maybe it’s the balance between justice and forgiveness. Maybe it’s the balance between self worth and humility. Maybe it’s the balance of your own needs and the needs of others. Maybe it’s the balance between changing what you can change, and accepting what you cannot change for now. Maybe it’s the balance between striving and just being.

The beautiful wisdom of balance is that it doesn’t have to be one or the other, and you can change from one moment to the next. Some problems are not meant to be solved, just managed. Imagine yourself juggling a number of balls; work, family, health, friends, economic crises, global suffering and your own needs– and you’re keeping all of them in the air. Some of the balls, some of the time, are made of rubber. If you drop them, they just bounce back. The economy is an example of a rubber ball. It will bounce back eventually so keep this in perspective. But some of the other balls are more like glass. If you drop them, they may be damaged, or even shattered. They may never be the same. Take greater care with these.

Strive for balance in your life. Know what is most important and when action is important. At your core you have a balance that is neither rubber nor glass. It is not rubber because it doesn’t bounce around with circumstances, and it’s not glass because it can never be broken. It’s more like water which can be both gentle and yielding and tough and corrosive depending on the circumstance. It knows what to do and when to act. It is the source of your deep seated wisdom.

May you hear your inner wisdom whispering to you about balance and inner capacity. When despair grows and you feel overwhelmed by the burdens of life, may you know the gift of deep balance. When confusion reigns and disturbed people open fire on children and civic leaders, may the earth and all of its people be restored to balance. Namaste.

Inclusive Christmas- The Recognition of Light in All

Merry Christmas… or Happy Holidays? Which do you say? Do you think it matters? How do you celebrate Christmas in an inclusive way? You may have seen the Ben Stein piece on Christmas that aired on the CBS Sunday Morning show, and has since been passed on by email multiple times. In it he said that as a Jew he wishes people would leave Christmas alone. Say “Merry Christmas”, and call them “Christmas trees” without apology. That’s what they are, so stop being so politically correct. He suggested that we have grown to worship Hollywood personalities more than traditions and because of that we have lost our values. What do you think? It’s an interesting commentary coming from a high profile Jewish man.

What does it mean to be inclusive at Christmas? Just as there is more than one way to skin a cat, there is also more than one way to be inclusive. You can be inclusive in a way that removes points of substance so as not to offend anyone. Or you can be inclusive by creating such a broad perspective on Christmas that many people and possibilities are included. The latter might be better known as Universal Christmas. The former is what we often call political correctness.

Take for example the story of one company’s attempt to create an inclusive Christmas party. A Human Resources Manager sent a memo to all staff about the Christmas party, scheduled to take place on December 23 at the Grill House; with a cash bar and small band playing. Gifts, not exceeding $10, were to be exchanged on the night.

Staff received another memo the next day- “In no way was yesterday’s memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees. From now on we’re calling it our ‘Holiday Party’. There will be no Christmas tree or Christmas carols sung. Happy now? Happy Holidays to you and your family, Pauline.”

The next day another memo was sent- “Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics
Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table, I’m happy to accommodate this request, but if I put a
sign on a table that reads, “AA Only”, you wouldn’t be anonymous anymore!!!! How am I supposed to handle this? Somebody? Oh, and forget about the gift exchange. No gift exchange allowed now since the Union officials feel that $10.00 is too much money and Management believe $10.00 is a little cheap. NO GIFT EXCHANGE WILL BE Allowed.”

And the next day- “What a diverse group we are! I had no idea that December 20th begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and drinking during daylight hours. There goes the party! Perhaps the Grill House can hold off on serving your meal until the end of the party – or else package everything up for you to take home in a little foil doggy bag. Will that work? Meanwhile, I’ve arranged for members of Weight Watchers to sit farthest from the dessert buffet; pregnant women will get the table closest to the toilets; Gays are allowed to sit with each other; Lesbians do not have to sit with gay men; each will have their own table. Yes, there will be flower arrangements for the gay men’s table, too. We will have booster seats for short people. Low fat food will be available for those on a diet. No, we cannot control the salt used in the food. We suggest those people with high blood pressure taste the food first. There will be fresh fruits as dessert for Diabetics; the restaurant cannot supply “No Sugar” desserts. Sorry! Did I miss anything?!?!?!?!?! Pauline.

The next day a memo arrived with the subject line, “Vegetarians”- “Vegetarians, I’ve had it with you people!!! We’re going to keep this party at the Grill House whether you like it or not, so you can sit quietly at the table furthest from the “grill of death”, as you so quaintly put it. You’ll get your salad bar, including organic tomatoes, but you know tomatoes have feeling, too. They scream when you slice them. I’ve heard them scream. I’m hearing them scream right NOW!! Hope you all have a rotten holiday !

The next day there was a memo from the acting Human Resources Manager- “I’m sure I speak for all of us in wishing Pauline Lewis a speedy recovery, and I’ll continue to forward your cards to her. In the meantime, Management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party and instead, give everyone the afternoon of the 23rd December off with full pay.

Maybe you’ve had your own experience with inclusive Christmas that lapses into political correctness. The traditions get lost in what you can’t say for fear of offending someone. You end up saying nothing, standing for nothing and meeting no one’s needs.

Universal Christmas

I heard a story that captures a healthier approach to being inclusive. I’m calling it Universal Christmas.

Under a cultural exchange program a Texan family hosted a rabbi from Russia. It was Christmas time. The family took him to a local Chinese restaurant. At the end of the meal, the waiter brought the check and presented each of them with a small brass Christmas tree ornament. They all laughed when someone pointed out that the ornaments were stamped “Made in India”, but the Rabbi began quietly crying. The family assumed that he was offended by the focus on Christmas but he smiled and said to them, “No. I was shedding tears of joy to be in a wonderful country in which a Buddhist gives a Jew a Christmas gift made by a Hindu.”

This gets closer in my mind to a truly inclusive Christmas. It’s a celebration that brings together people from different backgrounds, different perspectives, and we are reminded that we are all related. Christmas has always been a blend of many cultures, traditions and myths. 4000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia the legend of Marduk emerged- Marduk conquered the monster Tiamat and set the scene for creation. Each year however the monster fought back. As a result, the days got shorter, the crops lay barren and life itself hung in the balance. Each year in late December they celebrated rituals that they believed would help Marduk win his battle with Tiamat. The ultimate sign of victory was the return of light, the lengthening of days.

Christmas was never a purely Christian celebration. It was always a mixture of various cultural practices. Well before the time of Jesus, Romans celebrated Saturnalia, and gave gifts to loved ones at this time of year. The Anglo Saxons and the Teutonic tribes of Germany had winter holidays with things like the Druids sacred symbol of mistletoe and the German symbol of the evergreen, and even the Norse had ancient symbols of gods in sleighs. While we now understand that the Winter Solstice is punctual and reliable, most of the early Christmas/ Solstice myths emerged at a time when the return of the sun was an uncertainty each year. They created ceremonies both as reassurance and as an encouragement to the gods to return. They created huge bonfires on hills to imitate the sun, and to lure it back. They decorated their houses with greenery to imitate the greening earth and to lure the green earth to return. When the days lengthened and the sun shone brighter, the earth began to green again, they believed their rituals had something to do with it. When the light returned, they stopped all their regular activities and had a massive party.

Jesus wasn’t the only significant birth celebrated at this time of year. Apollo, Dionysius, Odin, Opalia, wife of Saturn, and the Phrygian god, Attis, were all said to be born around this time of year. It’s possible that first and second generation Christians were so inspired by their experience of Jesus, that they created a birth story fitting of one of the great gods of their time and located it in December to connect the birth of hope in their lives with the return of light.

Initially, in the years leading up to the birth of Jesus, and in the first years following his death, followers continued many of the earth based seasonal practices. It was only later under the influence of the Roman Empire that the Christian Christmas was set in competition with these pagan festivities.

One of the universal symbols is light. At this time of year we long for a little sunlight, or maybe just the hint of sunlight. It is the season of Winter Solstice when hints of light break into the heaviness of dark days. The Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Devali, Kwanzaa, even Ramadan lanterns if the lunar calendar aligns, are all festivals of light. At least in the Northern Hemisphere, nothing is more associated with Christmas than lights. Even in the Southern Hemisphere with their long, sunny days at this time of year, people typically decorate their houses with lights and attend candle light services on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Light in All

You don’t have to lapse into political correctness, because the essential history and meaning of Christmas is inclusive. As Bart Simpson said, “Aren’t we forgetting the true meaning of Christmas? The birth of Santa!”

We know a few things about light that the ancients didn’t know. We now know that the sun and the stars are always there whether we see them or not. It’s like walking into the dark night and shining a flash light. You see what is already there, awaiting your attention. One of the universal truths we celebrate at Christmas time is the recognition of light in surprising places. When it seems like you haven’t seen your inner light in months, it’s still there. Light a bonfire on the hillside of your consciousness and put yourself in the path of your own light. If seasonal depression is taking hold, and you haven’t seen the sun for what feels like months on end, and you begin to doubt even the changing of the seasons, let Christmas be a reminder of the light within. Put yourself in the path of its beam.

Author Annie Dillard said, “I cannot cause light; the most I can do is try to put myself in the path of its beam.”

One winter day, a man discovered a thick layer of frost on his window. He started painstakingly scraping it off. “What are you doing?” inquired a curious neighbor.

“Removing the frost from my window,” answered the man, “so I can see outside.”

His friend saw that the labor was tedious and advised him, “Light a fire in your home – the frost will disappear by itself!”

The recognition of inner light is the universal Christmas message. Johns Gospel, the latest and most philosophical of all the gospels, doesn’t even tell a birth story. Instead the author speaks about the arrival of light into EVERY person. The author of John, writing around 100 years after the life of Jesus, had caught the universal Christmas message.

How will you celebrate an inclusive Christmas this year? See the light within. If only you could see yourself the way the rest of us see you, the beauty and hidden depths of your heart, you would fall over in astonishment. Thomas Merton put it like this-

“At the center of our being is the pure glory of God in us. It is like a pure diamond, blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody, and if we could see it we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely.”

If we truly saw ourselves this way, all fear and judgment would vanish. If we truly saw each other this way, kindness would overcome all darkness.

If I could give you one Christmas gift, it would be an awareness of your own light. Maybe a star would suffice. Maybe a house covered in Christmas lights. Maybe something you could put in the pocket of your mind and pull out every time you need a reminder. YOU ARE CHRISTMAS LIGHT! When the darkness feels heavy and burdensome, you are Christmas light.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Love, Light and Namaste.

Angels in Disguise

Have you ever wondered why angels are placed on top of Christmas trees? Apparently, Santa was having a bad Christmas one year. He asked Mrs. Claus to wake him at 5 a.m. and have his breakfast ready with a packed lunch. He then went to his workshop and told the elves to have all the gifts packed in the sleigh and the reindeer harnessed at 5:30 a.m.

At 5:30 the following morning he awoke and jumped out of bed, furious with Mrs. Claus for not waking him on time. His mood got worse when he realized she had no breakfast ready. Then he ran out to his sleigh only to find the elves all dishelveled, no gifts packed and the reindeer running loose in the field.

About this time a little angel walked by, dragging a large Christmas tree and said, “Santa what should I do with this Christmas tree?” Santa looked daggers at her and said “I’ll tell you what you can do with that Christmas tree……”

Now angels are placed on the top of the Christmas tree each year as a reminder that even the angelic Santa loses his cool from time to time.
Aside from this tall tale, there are many different ideas about angels. Some people think of them as literal beings. Some think of them as metaphors for surprising messengers. Angels are still widely regarded. A recent study conducted by Baylor University showed that half of all Americans believe they are protected by guardian angels. One-fifth of Americans say they’ve heard angels speak to them in a very specific way.

Maybe you feel skeptical like George Carlin, who said this about people who believe in angels-

“Has everybody lost their mind? You know what I think it is? I think it’s a massive, collective, psychotic chemical flashback for all the drugs smoked, swallowed, shot, and absorbed by Americans from 1960 to 1990. Thirty years of street drugs will get you some angels, my friend!”

Carlin is part of a long line of skeptics who have questioned the existence of angels. Johannes Kepler, the 16th century astronomer, was the first to document the Copernican revolution. When he began to question how the planets move, he challenged the common understanding of his day that angels pulled the planets by the corners of a giant canopy that sheltered the flat earth. By exploring the natural phenomenon of the movement of planets, Kepler finally concluded that angels were not needed as part of the explanation.

The original Christmas stories were crafted in a pre-Copernican context. Angels and spirits were used to explain extraordinary circumstances. Angels fluttered at the intersection between heaven and earth, bringing divine messages to people on earth and singing songs of peace. It’s a story that’s difficult to read literally with our modern understanding of the world.

And yet many of us long for a sense of something larger than ourselves and we seek explanations for experiences that we can’t fully explain. We long to believe in ideals such as peace and justice, even though we have no evidence that they are ever attainable. We want to believe in miracles without compromising our rational minds. Maybe the idea of angels can be reinterpreted in a way that satisfies our curiosity with the unknown without offending our contemporary common sense.

You could think of angels as nature’s voice, surrounding you on every side with the sounds of mysterious order and beauty. You could think of angels as inner voices guiding you to new truth or voices encouraging you to hold your ideals despite the evidence. Angels could be meaningful coincidences and moments of synchronicity. They could be other people who show up at just the right time with just the right words or actions of care. They could be these things and so much more.

A nine year old girl described angels like this- “My angel is my grandma who died last year. She got a big head start on helping me while she was still down here on earth.”

This Christmas, consider what angels mean to you and consider the possibility that you are an angel for others. You are the presence of what is divine and sacred and beautiful in the world. Your every thought, word and action is an opportunity to inspire another person with your presence and encouragement.

We are each other’s angels
And we meet when it is time
We give each other messages
And show each other signs. David Lamotte.

Whether you believe in the literal events of the first Christmas or whether you believe that the world is full of love and beauty, either way you get a Christmas miracle. You get your Christmas miracle if you choose to see the world that way. Something angelic is waiting to be born in your life and in the world this Christmas. It may require some labor pains as the waters of new consciousness break, but do not shrink back. It is urging you forward. Do you hear the divine messages? Love filling the earth. Justice rising. Hope and history rhyming. Memory and imagination harmonizing. Do you hear it? Faint whispers speak to you, the voice of God heard through nature and through the fragile and angelic tones of human life.

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Putting a Little Reason into the Season

Picture the scene. Mary and Joseph are huddled together in a manger surrounded by farm animals. Joseph is drifting in and out of various dreams. Angels fly in and out of the manger singing songs and bringing earth shattering messages. Three eastern kings gather around Mary and Joseph with gifts. Out of the window a large star can be seen in the day sky. Two sheep sit beneath the window having a conversation. One says to the other, “I don’t know why you’re being so stubborn. Let me go through this one more time. The virgin is having a baby. They’re naming him Jesus because of a dream. Angels told them that their baby would become the savior of all humanity. Kings travelled hundreds of miles to find the place of birth like a needle in a haystack because they were led by a giant star moving through the day sky. Now which part of this are you having trouble believing?”

The Christmas story is fantastic in the literal sense of the word. It is mostly fantasy. Which parts of it do you have trouble believing? You’re in good company. This story is as unlikely as talking sheep. The laws of nature tell us that sheep don’t talk, virgins don’t have babies, stars don’t travel across the day sky and then hang like a blip over one home and angels don’t sing choruses. Even if a reliable source suggested that something happened that broke the laws of nature, you would demand evidence and there is little evidence for the details of the Christmas story outside of the Bible which has contradictory details. All in all, the Christmas story is highly unlikely.

But don’t let details get in the way of a good holiday story, right? If you’re like me, you’re torn between the desire to be true to your common sense that is skeptical and your heart that just wants to let the story be a good yarn. The good news is that you can have both. You can question the literal account of the story AND you can enjoy the timeless message of the story. You can put a little reason into the season, and still take a yuletide joyride of inspired meaning. The Christmas story is mostly myth, but the message is real and powerful.

The Power of Myth

The word myth has two related but different meanings. No, myth is not a female moth. The first way that we use the word myth is to say that something is untrue. Do you remember when your parents used to tell you not to swim for 30 minutes after eating? It’s been shown to be untrue. It’s a myth. Along with a flat earth, a 6000 year young earth, and the earth at the center of the universe, these are examples of things people used to believe and we now call myths. A few weeks ago I spoke about the myth of closure and there are many cultural myths like the beauty myth and other media creations. It’s a sign of maturity to discern myth from essential truth. Believing in myths that your mind has decided are untrue is a form of delusion. If there is no evidence for something, or if something is dehumanizing, then it is right to question it. We no longer believe that the earth is flat because of evidence. We don’t believe the beauty myth because it is dehumanizing. I would put the myth of the virgin birth in the same category. It dehumanizes the bodies, sexuality and childbirth experience of women.

The other use of the word myth is to describe timeless metaphors and stories. For example we speak of creation myths and Greek mythology. The point of this sort of myth is to make sense of the world, to dig into the deepest human longings and fears and stretch the boundaries of our limited perspective. These myths could be completely fictional like the creation myths or else some blend of fact and fiction like the Christmas story. Levi-Strauss, a French anthropologist found that myths are an innate part of the structure of the brain. 99.99% of what we know comes from what we believe, and what we believe comes from the stories we tell. He compared myth to grammar. The basic structure is the same around the world even if some of the details, like language and style, differ.

There are two opposite dangers in relation to myth. Some people will fight to the death to protect the facts of their stories. As someone said to me over the phone this week, “If the details of the story are fictional, then how do you know the message isn’t also fictional?” Exactly right, I said. Myth is not absolute. The point of myth is NOT to give the answers but to invite self reflection. The point is not certainty but a quest for new perspectives.

The danger at the other extreme comes from a completely rational approach that sees all myth as pointless superstition. Both extremes miss the power of myth. Consider this story about the artist Picasso. He was asked in an interview why he didn’t paint pictures of people “the way they really are.” Picasso asked the man what he meant by “the way they really are,” and the man pulled out of his wallet a snapshot of his wife as an example. Picasso responded: “Isn’t she rather small and flat?”

We see the world through our own eyes. Experience is subjective. Art, music, emotion, mystery- the point is that our perspective on these things and more includes both a rational response and also a visceral or gut level response. Can you imagine looking at a painting in a gallery and asking, “Did that really happen?” or listening to a song and asking, “Was that true or false?” Art, music and emotions elicit something that is true for you or moves you in some way. The experience is true and real. Just don’t cling to the experience because it is sure to change.

Birth Myths

Let me bring this back to birth myths. Do you know the story of your birth? Maybe your family has its own birth myths. Here is some of mine. My parents were missionaries in a remote part of Western Australia when I was born. They moved back to the city when I was 6 months old so I have no memory of the place, but many stories have been told. The stories have grown in my mind over time. This is how I recall the stories. The place was so remote that my Dad had to travel for days at a time to visit members of his congregation. If the car broke down on the way, all he could do was lie underneath the car where it was coolest and hope that someone drove past. This was a time and place so deeply racist that my parents were refused service in some stores because their accent gave them away as being from the East Coast.

I was born in a tiny, two bed hospital in this small town in 1968. My mother had one bed, while the other bed remained empty. Another baby was born at the same time as me, but because this was an Aboriginal baby he had to be born in the shed out the back of the hospital. Legend had it that this Aboriginal baby was named Ernie Dingo who went on to become a famous Australian television personality. I told that story to anyone who would listen when Ernie Dingo started appearing on television.

Only later did I discover that Ernie Dingo was born in July of 1956. He was the second oldest of nine children so it’s possible that another one of the Dingo clan was born at the same time as me. The Dingo family was certainly a famous family in this small town.

While the details are muddled, the message has always been clear to me. I was born in a situation of obscene injustice. In 1968 in Australia, Aboriginal children were still being stolen and put into white institutions in an attempt to destroy aboriginal culture. It was official government policy until 1969. I was the beneficiary of good fortune because of the color of my skin in a world that put other people in the outhouse because of the color of their skin. The memory of my birth story lies deep within me, factual or not. It has shaped my worldview and my core values. Racism offends me at a soul level because this is where my mythic memory lies. The difference between the privilege I have enjoyed and the struggle of the other boy born at the same time as me is staggering. One of the Dingo brothers, possibly the one born the same day as me, was killed in a car accident a few years back. Two lives began at the same time and followed such a different path of fortune and opportunity.

The story of Jesus’ birth has a similar effect on me. The version of the story that inspires me, with its muddled mixture of fact and fiction, is the version where Jesus is the underdog and survives against the odds. I resonate with the myth that Jesus opposed the dominant and oppressive culture of his day from the beginning. He challenged it, fought it and ultimately lost his life because he challenged it. The Christmas myth resonates with my own birth myth and fills me with passion to do whatever I can to break down hatred and fight injustice.

Evolving Myth

The myth around the birth of Jesus has evolved. You can see this even in the different biblical texts. There is no ONE consistent story of the life of Jesus. Each author muddled various details with fiction to make the point they wanted to make. Notice how each author progressively expands the myth.

Paul was the earliest writer and he made no mention of the birth of Jesus. He was mainly interested in the end of Jesus’ life. Mark came next and he also made no mention of the birth story. Not only that, but Mark made no reference to Joseph and only brief and unflattering mention of Mary. Mark emphasized the adult baptism of Jesus and the beginning of his public ministry. Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels with Mark’s information in front of them and for some reason added in a birth story but with quite different details and facts to each other. John, the latest of the gospels said nothing about a birth story. He wrote at length about the myth of Jesus, the indwelling spirit, stretching all the way back to the beginning of time.

John introduced the idea that Jesus is born mythically in every person across all times and cultures. Jesus modeled what it means to be at peace within yourself and live in tune with your highest calling. The emphasis should be on the potential for every one of us to attain the same peace and harmony in our lives. This is where the myth of Jesus resonates with the myth of awakening that every one of us senses deep within. The myth now evolves beyond one man who lived two thousand years ago to include all people. The myth is universal like any good myth should be.

The ultimate question to ask yourself is whether you are attached to the details of the Jesus story or are you allowing the myth to evolve through you? Consider this story about clinging.

Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river. The current of the river swept over them all. Each creature clung tightly to the twigs and rocks at the river bottom, for clinging was their way of life, and resisting the current what each had learned from birth.

But one creature said at last, ‘I am tired of clinging. Though I cannot see it with my eyes, I trust that the current knows where it is going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I shall die of boredom.’

The other creatures laughed and said, ‘You fool! Let go, and that current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the rocks, and you shall die quicker than boredom!’

But he refused to listen to them, took a deep breath and let go. He was immediately tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks. Yet in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current lifted him free from the bottom, and he moved with the current.

Downstream the creatures who didn’t know him were amazed. They cried, ‘This is a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies! This is the Messiah, come to save us all!’

And the one carried in the current said, ‘I am no more Messiah than you. The river wants you to be free, and all you need to do is let go. Our true work is this voyage, this adventure.’

But they cried even more, ‘Saviour!’ all the while clinging to the rocks, and when they looked again he was gone, and they were left alone making legends of a Saviour.

Let this Christmas be a time of liberation for you. Let go a little. You don’t need to cling to Jesus as your savior. Instead, look where he was pointing you- to your own innate ability to let go and swim with the current. The myth surrounding his life resonates with parts of you that you might have forgotten but they are very much alive and awaiting your attention. Inner peace is born in you when you let go and allow your mythic memory to guide you to the life you are destined to live. It’s the Yuletide joyride. Namaste.

Whats In Your Stars These Holidays?

Sue Monk Kidd writes in her book Where the Heart Waits, ”When my daughter was small she got the dubious part of the Bethlehem star in a Christmas play. After her first rehearsal she burst through the door with her costume, a five-pointed star lined in shiny gold tinsel designed to drape over her like a sandwich board. ‘What exactly will you be doing in the play?’ I asked her. ’I just stand there and shine,’ she told me.”

What a beautiful image! She just stands there and shines. Life gets so confusing at times, and the Holidays can be a dark time for many people. Bring yourself back to the simplicity of a young child in a Christmas pageant radiating light from a sandwich board.

You don’t have to uncover the meaning of life. You don’t have to solve world hunger. You don’t have to be perfectly together and on top of things. You just have to shine your own unique light in the world and trust its glow. When life is overwhelming and you can’t see your way forward, remember that you don’t need to map out all the steps or plan your whole future. Just follow the star of your inner light to reveal the next step and know that you are part of a universe that will carry you with its momentum if you stop resisting.

Biologist Ursula Goodenough said,

“The realization that I needn’t have answers to the Big Questions has served as an epiphany. I lie on my back under the stars and the unseen galaxies and I let their enormity wash over me.”

The star is a universal symbol of guidance, and a popular symbol at Christmas. No matter what your perspective on religion, Christmas is an awesome time to reflect on stars, light and new birth. They are all related. The painter Van Gogh once said, “When I have a terrible need of – shall I say the word – religion. Then I go out and paint the stars.”

Every new birth is a miracle forged in balls of gas burning billions of miles away. Every person, every thing in the world, shines with the glow of a supernova. For each person born there are 1.5 trillion stars. The mind boggles. Which is more miraculous; a star or a birth? Are they even separate? As above, so below. Life goes on. The Christmas miracle.

This Christmas, when you have the need for fresh perspective or encouragement, look to one of your 1.5 trillion stars and let its immensity wash over you.

Abraham Heschel, 20th century Jewish theologian said, “We can never sneer at the stars, mock the dawn or scoff at the totality of being. Sublime grandeur evokes unhesitating, unflinching awe. Away from the immense, cloistered in our own concepts, we may scorn and revile everything. But standing between earth and sky, we are silenced by the sight.”

What are the stars saying to you? Your intuition can be trusted. It often points you beyond the life you have planned and on to the life that is waiting for you; a life of extraordinary goodness and beauty. If the wonder and clarity of your intuition eludes you, then gaze at the stars and know that you are as much star as you are flesh and blood.

Above you are the stars. Beneath you is the earth. Within you is the light of life. Like the stars may your vision be clear. Like the earth, may your life be grounded. Like the light within, may your spirit shine.

I am star struck by the wonder of it all. Namaste.

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Running Away from Christmas

A young kid was in big trouble with his Dad. He was sent to his room, where he stayed for an hour. His Dad came in and found him packing some of his clothes, his teddy bear and his piggy bank. The kid said indignantly, “I’m running away from home!”

“What if you get hungry?” the father asked.

“Then I’ll come home and eat and then leave again!” said the child.

“And what if you run out of money?”

“I will come home, get some money and then leave again!” replied the child.

“What if your clothes get dirty?”

“Then I’ll come home and let mommy wash them and then leave again,” he said.

The Dad shook his head and exclaimed, “This kid is not running away from home; he’s going to college.”

Sound familiar?

Did you ever run away from home as a kid? I remember packing a bag and heading out the back gate. I did a couple of laps of the block, passing a neighbor each time I went by. She eventually asked me what I was doing. I said, “I’m running away from home but Mom says I’m not allowed to cross the road so I’m trying to find a way around it. I wasn’t the smartest kid.

It turns out that running away is a lifelong habit for most of us and it can get a lot more serious than childhood tantrums. I met many runaways when I worked in the inner city of Sydney. They were running away for a variety of reasons- abuse, mental illnesses, debt, crime, confusion. Many of them used different names and kept their cards close to their chest.

I became friends with one particular homeless guy who was running away from some big problems. He was the kindest person I’ve ever known. They called him “the bear” in the neighborhood because he was fiercely protective and he gave big hugs. We spent hours chatting about life and pain and meaning. He didn’t tell me much about his past and I didn’t ask. But he hinted that there had been abuse at the hands of a Catholic Priest. He became my guardian angel in the neighborhood, telling people I was “okay” and introducing me to some of the most desperate people I have ever met.

When he got bronchitis, I let bear sleep in the church. That was when it happened. As soon as I opened the door of the church I could tell that something was wrong. I was devastated to find him dead with a stick of heroine in one arm and another stick lying next to him. We posted notice of his death hoping that family would come forward but there was no response. So a few of us put some money together to make sure Bear got a proper send off. At the funeral I had a church full of free spirited streeties. They were impossible to control, so I just let them do their thing. People wondered in and out of the building, went outside to shoot up before coming back in to weep and pay their respects. It was what it needed to be.

About 6 months later I received a phone call. A woman on the other end of the phone said she was Bear’s mother, although she called him “Brad”. She had just heard the news about her son. She was inconsolable. Meg and I hosted bear’s parents and sister in our home. I took them to the places where Bear used to hang, introduced them to his friends and we did another ceremony at the gravesite. They told me some of his story and their shock that he ended up on the streets. They told me about the abuse. They described how he got on the wrong side of some bikers in another state. He needed to protect his daughter, so he left behind his family, moved to Sydney, grew a long beard, changed his name and lived anonymously on the streets. They hadn’t heard from him in two years. If only you could have heard bear’s mother describe her boy, bear’s close relationship with his daughter, how he cleaned the house with her draped over his shoulder like a tea towel. This was like any young guy you have ever met. He just had some awful secrets and made some tragic mistakes. So he did the only thing he could think to do. He ran away.

As much as I admired Bear, running away didn’t work for him. His past was right with him everywhere he went. We’re all running away from something, aren’t we? Whether it’s an extreme situation like abuse or debt, or more everyday situations like haunting memories or poor choices, we are all running away from something. What are you running from? Why are you running? Sometimes you’re right to move or change locations, but don’t run away. You run because you’re afraid. You run because you’re in denial. You run because you think there’s some safer, better place. Stop. You can’t run away from a problem because you will still be there and you and your voice of judgment are at least 50% of the problem. Wherever you go, there you will be with the same unresolved issue and the same self loathing. Maybe it’s time to stop running and start accepting the fragile beauty of your humanity. See yourself the way the rest of us see you.

What Are You Looking For At Christmas?

Christmas is often a time that brings our deepest insecurities to the surface. I don’t know what it is- maybe it’s the traditions, maybe it’s time with family or in-your-face consumerism that makes global suffering more stark. Something about Christmas brings the realities of life into new focus. Some of us would like to run away from Christmas some years. So let me ask you a question- what are you looking to get from the Christmas story? Are you looking for a Disney style story that helps you run away from the realities of life or are you looking for an affirmation that life is tough and some real world inspiration to stick with it? Are you looking for the romantic myth of a virgin birth or the stark reality of a young couple trying to make the best of a confusing situation?

Are you looking for the sugar-coated story of angels with golden wings floating in from outer space with divine messages, or the reality of a frightened couple trying to follow their instincts and discern some meaning in their struggle?

Most of us don’t live sugar-coated lives. The sickly sweet fairytale Christmas story that is often presented offers little to the harsh reality of our lives; teenage pregnancies, unwanted pregnancies, ethnic genocide, global poverty, religious rivalry, family betrayals, personal demons and relationship anguish.

On the other hand, the historical context which paints a more accurate backdrop to the beginnings of Jesus’ life says something profound to the realities of life. From the time Mary became pregnant, to the decisions of a family struggling to make ends meet, to the life of a struggling revolutionary, this was a story of survival against the odds.

The real world Christmas story names the struggles of your life and our world. May you hear in the raw, the real, the radical, the earthy struggles of the family of Jesus, echoes of life as you know it to be. You don’t need to run away. You have all you need right here and now to live fully and survive against any odds, and to be an angel of compassion in the world. Stand in the fire of life without flinching. Your strength will carry you through.

Running Away From Secrets

One part of the Christmas story that has very little historical basis is Herod and the slaughter of the children. Herod was a corrupt tyrant, but there is no evidence that he chased Jesus and his family nor ordered any babies to be killed. It’s more likely that Matthew fabricates this part of the story to connect Jesus’ birth with the Moses story to connect with his Jewish audience.

The birth story was written by people who had second hand experience of the adult Jesus. The impact of Jesus seems to have been so great that they created a birth story that would be remembered, maybe even retold each year for thousands of years. The star, the angels, the dreams- these are all details that fit the birth of a God/king. But the escape from Herod patterned after Moses’ escape from Pharoah. Why include this seamy detail? Maybe to show that life is tough and complicated even for great leaders like Jesus. He too was running in fear. Maybe to show that life is rarely black and white, and decisions are made in the heat of battle.

Stories like this take place in all times and all places. In 2006, in the town of Samarra, 100 kilometers north of Baghdad, Khalib was in a rush to get to the hospital. His pregnant sister was his passenger. She was in labor and Khalib had to get her to the hospital. They made their way down the usual streets. But down one street the U.S. military set up a checkpoint. The soldiers perceived the approaching vehicle as a threat, so they opened fire and ended up killing Nabiha and the child in her womb.

This is one among many such horror stories. I don’t tell the story to criticize the soldiers. I’m not interested in second guessing what other people do in situations in which I have no knowledge or experience. The significant thing about this story is that no one knew about it until Wikileaks published documents this year outlining specific accounts of civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are some uncanny similarities between Wikileaks and the story of Herod – the mysterious sources of information, the backroom deals and corruption. Wikileaks is on a mission to expose the secrets of modern day Herods. I’m fascinated by the conversations around Wikileaks, It seems at root to be an issue of trust. The people who have little trust in world governments are supportive of Wikileaks, and want to be given more information. The more trust governments have in the people, the more information they will disclose. Trust is a two way street and the existence of Wikileaks is a symptom of lack of trust.

Time will tell if Wikileaks serves the greater good by raising the level of integrity among leaders, or whether it will get in the way of essential leadership functions and puts lives in danger. It’s certainly not a black and white issue. We are living in gray days of information, secrecy and a new world order. At least Wikileaks serves as a balancing force between leadership and the people. Greater transparency and higher integrity are clearly demanded.

If the Christmas story and the Wikileaks revelations achieve anything, it will be that they call every one of us to be the Christmas miracle that we hope for. If you aren’t proud to have anything you say or do be reported on a website, then don’t say or do it. Live with such integrity that you would be pleased to see your words and actions live on in public record for generations. And don’t give up, even on the grayest day and in the deepest despair. For every Herod, there is public official leading with integrity and a family doing the best they can. For every Wikileaks report of corruption there is another story of people living with extraordinary integrity. Keep at it. Don’t run away. You have all you need right here and now. Shine your own Christmas light in the world. Namaste.

Breathing New Life into the Holidays

Now is the time to make sure that you are prepared for the Holidays in EVERY way. Breathe new life into traditions, into relationships, into consumerism. Maybe even just breathe a little.

There is an inspiring story told in the Bible (Ezekiel) about a valley of old bones that had new life breathed into them. Ezekiel used the image of dry bones to describe the feeling that the Israelites had lost all their familiar traditions while in exile. Then he gives them the good news. He says that even the driest old bones can have new life breathed into them. How? With grounding, healing breath. In Hebrew language they used the same word for breath as they did for spirit. No accident, I suspect. For the Hebrews, spirit was the whole person in harmony. The ancient Rabbis had a beautiful image for spirit. They saw spirit as being a house guest in the body. Therefore, you should care for all aspects of your life as if God is present. In your very breath, the divine dwells.

Introduce a breathing practice into your day and watch your energy increase, your mood improve, your body strengthen, your mind sharpen and your spirit revive. Start now and be ready for the Holidays.

Combine a breathing practice with don Miguel Ruiz’s Four Agreements to prepare for an awesome Holiday season.

1. Don’t make assumptions
Before you see family, take some cleansing breaths. Breathe out assumptions, and breathe in acceptance.

Albert Einstein said, “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” The story that you carry with you about family is persistent and makes all the sense in the world to you. But what if most of it is fictional?

An old Buddhist tale tells of two monks traveling through woods. They come upon a woman standing at the bank of a river. She needs to get across, but is unable to make it alone. The elder of the two monks picks her up and carries her through the rushing water. Once they’re all on the other side, the woman leaves the monks. The younger monk is stunned at these events. They’re not allowed to touch women so intimately, and he doesn’t know what to make of his older friend’s behavior.

Finally, after stewing over the incident for several miles, he says to his traveling companion, “How could you touch that woman back at the river the way you did? Have you no respect for our vows?” The elder monk turns to his young friend and says, “Are you still carrying that woman? I put her down at the river bank over an hour ago.”

What stories about family are you carrying into this holiday season? Someone is quiet, therefore they must be angry with you. Someone is late, therefore they don’t care about you. There may even be some truth to the story, but it’s still a story. You choose whether you carry assumptions into the holidays or start afresh. Breathe new life into family by letting go of the stories and assumptions that drag you down.

2. Don’t take things personally
How much of the tension you feel around family are you making about yourself? It might not be about you at all. Take some cleansing breaths before seeing family. Breathe out drama. Breathe in acceptance.

An Irishman once came upon two people brawling in the street and asked, “Is this a private fight or can anyone get involved?”

Don’t you often do the same thing with family? When someone is pushing your buttons, most of the time they are involved in their own drama. Is there anything gained by getting involved? Just smile and breathe and move away.

You don’t need drama to feel alive and important. You are alive and important because you house divine love in your mind and body. Drama doesn’t help you to thrive. It distracts you from your essence as a vessel of peace in the world.

Try this holiday visualization-

Picture yourself as a harp with all kinds of large and small debris swirling around you – words, feelings, innuendos, assumptions, drama. Some float toward you, passing right through the spaces between the strings, and glide on by. But others hit the strings, striking a chord that reverberates way back to your past, bringing up old hurts. It strikes a long, discordant note that jangles your nerves and throws you off balance. Notice what passes you by but don’t chase it. If something sticks, say to yourself, “Okay, what can I learn here to make beautiful music in the world?”

3. Speak the truth
Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Before you see family, breathe out pretense and breathe in authenticity. More good can come from working through even the harshest truth than concealing it behind a veil made up of spared feelings or saved face. Speak your mind, and share your truth clearly.

Know your own boundaries with family, be clear about them, and stick with them.

There is a powerful scene in the movie The Family Stone. With all the Stone family home for the holidays, including a narrow minded and uptight new girlfriend (Sarah Jessica Parker), the dinner scene is explosive when the girl friend suggests that a gay couple should think twice about adopting a child in case the child becomes gay. She suggests that being gay is abnormal and is a challenge that people don’t need in life. Her opinion is like a red rag to a bull at this table. Various people around the table try to save the situation with humor, until Mr. Stone slams his fist on the table and says “Enough!” He won’t have this talk in his home.

Maybe there will come a time for you to say “enough!” this holiday season. Thrive in your own truth this season.

Vietnamese Zen Teacher Thich Nhat Hahn offers this reminder:

“Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech . . . I vow to cultivate loving speech. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering . . . I vow to learn to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self-confidence, joy, and hope. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain, and not to criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or community to break.”

4. Do your best
We’re all human and we all make mistakes. The question is how forgiving you will be – with yourself and with others. Your life experience to date brings you to this point. Your accumulated wisdom and strength enable you to bring your best to this moment. Do your best, stop expecting perfection and your best will be enough.

In the words of the Tao Te Ching, “’Do your best then step back. This is the only path to peace.”

Choose to thrive this Holiday season. Choose to breathe new life and spirit into the traditions and relationships that are important to you. Even if they appear dead and lifeless, there is always hope. Breathe in peace and breathe out drama. You don’t need drama. It doesn’t help you to thrive. It’s a distraction from your essential purpose on earth, which is to live and love fully and liberate others to do the same.

Please visit Soulseeds for inner peace, breathing, and other Holiday resources, as well as some awesome Christmas gifts for all ages.