The Christmas Industry

[Angela]

I also love the Bloody Jesuses. They used to give me the creeps, but now I think they're wonderful. My Nicaraguan aunties all have lots of 'em -- these ultra-lurid Jesus paintings and sculptures that almost seem to be day-glo, and they have little chips of rubies (okay, red gems) to represent the blood (you know, from the crown of thorns), and these are treasured works of art for my seriously Catholic aunties. At Christmastime, they light them up specially and put candles around them. I saw a giant Bloody Jesus when I lived in Brazil -- he must have been 7 feet tall, but he was lying down in a glass sarcophagus. This one had real rubies for the blood. It was amazing.

[royster]

Truth never damages a cause that is just.
Mohandas Gandhi

[ZephyrusX]

I really like Inri's posts in this thread.

I'll tell people that my family celebrates Christmas, but technically, we don't really. Our celebrations have nothing to do with Christ; I just call this time of year Christmas as everyone else seems to regardless of their actual beliefs.

Christmas is really the only time of year when I have time off from school and work. In the past, I would go home and visit my family for two weeks, sometimes even a month. It is a time to put aside work and worry in order to spend time with people who I love. It is simply a time to relax and feel grateful for what I have.

I've come to associate peace and joy with snow. I love that warm, fuzzy feeling I get waking up in the morning and seeing snow outside our windows. If only it wasn't so damn cold.

[ZephyrusX]

I’m not sure what people mean when they are referring to the spirit. I suspect I have a very different understanding of the term as I am an atheist and a materialist to boot. I see the spirit as metaphysical, which I interpret in the most materialistic way possible. My human brain may give me the biological infrastructure needed for sentience and conscious thought, but that infrastructure says nothing at all about how I ought to value and perceive my material world. Whether I feel and see joy and peace during Christmas time or not is a manifestation of my spirit. Introducing materialism into the equation does not somehow negate spirit; on the contrary, in my point of view at least, materialism and the spirit are entwined. It is the essence of the human condition.

Introducing a false dichotomy between materialism and spirit just obfuscate the issue. The pertinent question is how we want to feel about our material world. Personally, I want to feel joy and peace during Christmas time as that is what resonates with my spirit. On the other hand, I know people who are quite vehement and critical of the ‘Christmas Industry’ and all the power to them. They have the right to feel that way if they want and it is a legitimate mode of being. Just be conscious of what you really want and go after it.

[royster]

"Xmas", it turns out, is a very legitimate abreviation. "X" translates "Chi", an interesting little detail in itself.

Thanks, Zeph, for your view. Our world is full of so many different ways of looking at people, places and events. Yes, we're all free and right to entertain our views of the universe, as this was one of our Instructions.

I whole-heartedly understand the appeal of Christmas: I spent many years enjoying it just as others have posted. My spiritual influences and growth have made it counterproductive to subscibe to the activity, though I do not wish to deny others the "joy" they may experience. As with most things I post, I'm the kid who points out that the Emporer has no clothes.

I am also one of those who forges ahead and scouts that before us. Christmas is not sustainable, and is ultimately doomed when the higher awareness starts in the individual. In lieu of that, perhaps you are best TO take it for all its worth, while it's still here. It is my hope that my observances shed some light on areas where conventional Christmas mentality can be very detrimental to spiritual growth...but for those outside the spiritual realm...meh: have fun.

[Angela]

[QUOTE=royster;1029547...but for those outside the spiritual realm...meh: have fun.[/QUOTE]

The implication here is that enjoying christmas equals being outside the spiritual realm; so, while you at once declare freedom to entertain other points of view than your own, there's an implied judgement of them for doing so -- resistance to them doing so. There's nothing wrong with that, of course; it doesn't mean that your equivalency is true, or anything else about anyone who enjoys christmas. And: that resistance (apparent judgement) itself has the effect of keeping what you resist in place.

In other words: you yourself are creating and maintaining people being outside the spiritual realm, which I think is not what you consciously intend to do.

It's kind of like telling people to stop smoking. Telling them how harmful smoking is lights up the same part of their brain as is lit when they're craving a cigarette -- it actually, and weirdly, stimulates their desire to smoke! It's the darnedest thing.

[royster]

Telling them how harmful smoking is lights up the same part of their brain as is lit when they're craving a cigarette -- it actually, and weirdly, stimulates their desire to smoke! It's the darnedest thing.
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I absolutely agree with you on this.

The rest of it reveals quite a thought process.

But hey: how wonderful to be able to hash these things out. Sometimes the littlest detail gets me, and I find I have to change my own thinking. I'd prefer to adjust to what is true than to deny someone else has a good point yet remain pompous pius poopoodude.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by royster

I absolutely agree with you on this.

The rest of it reveals quite a thought process.

But hey: how wonderful to be able to hash these things out. Sometimes the littlest detail gets me, and I find I have to change my own thinking. I'd prefer to adjust to what is true than to deny someone else has a good point yet remain pompous pius poopoodude.

I think I know what you mean, and there are aspects of these here holidays that give me The Creeps, as well. The Wedding Industry, too... I was just talking with someone about The Creeps -- how it's when someone is operating with a win/lose intention towards you but pretending not to, so you can't really address it directly and rationally. I think that's kind of how it is with the people who would have us believe that christmas is all about buying things from them, or that successful marriage is all about spending a lot on a wedding. People are more likely to "wake up" or whatever you want to call it, I think, when you help them break out of the habitual thinking that has them buying into it, rather than directly assaulting that habitual thinking, which tends to have people go into the FY mode that smokers go into when they're told it's stupid or wrong to smoke -- blowing the smoke from their cigarettes right in your face.

[royster]

People are more likely to "wake up" or whatever you want to call it, I think, when you help them break out of the habitual thinking that has them buying into it, rather than directly assaulting that habitual thinking, which tends to have people go into the FY mode that smokers go into when they're told it's stupid or wrong to smoke -- blowing the smoke from their cigarettes right in your face.

A point well-taken, Angela, and something I need to be reminded of on occassion.

In recovering from alcoholism, we are taught to 'think the drink through"...in other words, don't obsess on the "fun" you might get for possibly an hour or two: think beyond that to the hangovers, the lies, the debts and the excuses. Most of us kept drinking because we never connected the before-and-after pictures. Once you DO, you are prone is disassemble the thought process.

Sober 3 years (4 in March), I shortened my drinking thought pattern thusly:

"Wouldn't a drink be great right now?"

No: I don't like waking up in my own pee, I don't like people telling me what I did last night but I don't remember, and I don't like feeling like death warmed over.

Christmas is exactly like that.

[Angela]

I think there are some aspects that are like that, where thinking christmas through would have you make different choices. Going into debt! And lots of other stuff, too.

Some of it, like the things I mentioned: the lights, the weird-ass symbolism from childhood, the tamales ... just give me enjoyment anticipating them, experiencing them, and thinking back on them.

I don't think I have all the habitual stuff a lot of people have about the christmas season, though; it doesn't occur for me like an addiction or a disease, and no bad aftermath at all, but if one did, thinking through sounds like an excellent idea.

[royster]

I find Christmas essential to think through, because there is so much compounded conditioning and manipulation. And it is compounded yearly. Indigo~Octarine minds have difficulty with mainstream thinking...we've come through it, and have dismantled it with assistance. It's sort of like trying to read an Adobe message without Adobe Reader...and that's going in both directions. The higher Christed communications speak very differently, and do not allow room for even the tiniest of non-truths. I would not wish to be any other way, having struggled to get here. But I always want to keep "the common touch", and that helps me remember my roots.

Those of us on a spiritual path have left behind the thought processes and activities we know are of no benefit to us. Expressing WHY it is that way is partly how this thread came about. I am fortuneate you pointed out a few of my own "charactor defects", and thus I can keep them in check. And that allows me to state my communications clearer, perhaps making them easier to understand.

It is not my intention to solicit "converts": only to point out the road ahead (to some) and to consider the ideas I'm presenting. A Jimi Hendrix quote will work for virtually everyone, here:

I'm the one
who has to die
when it is time for me to die
so let me live my life
the way I want to.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by royster

The higher Christed communications speak very differently, and do not allow room for even the tiniest of non-truths...

... you pointed out a few of my own "charactor defects"...

There's a tiny non-truth you could let go of.

[inri]

Originally Posted by royster

I find Christmas essential to think through, because there is so much compounded conditioning and manipulation. And it is compounded yearly. Indigo~Octarine minds have difficulty with mainstream thinking...we've come through it, and have dismantled it with assistance. It's sort of like trying to read an Adobe message without Adobe Reader...and that's going in both directions. The higher Christed communications speak very differently, and do not allow room for even the tiniest of non-truths. I would not wish to be any other way, having struggled to get here. But I always want to keep "the common touch", and that helps me remember my roots.

Those of us on a spiritual path have left behind the thought processes and activities we know are of no benefit to us. Expressing WHY it is that way is partly how this thread came about. I am fortuneate you pointed out a few of my own "charactor defects", and thus I can keep them in check. And that allows me to state my communications clearer, perhaps making them easier to understand.

It is not my intention to solicit "converts": only to point out the road ahead (to some) and to consider the ideas I'm presenting. A Jimi Hendrix quote will work for virtually everyone, here:

[/I]

I get what you're saying, but do you think perhaps there comes a point where we move into acceptance, where we can simply take what resonates and peacefully let the rest go?...no need to push against or give negative attention to that which doesn't resonate?

It seems to me that so long as we're feeling the NEED to rail against those things that don't resonate with us, that those things are actually still quite an important part of our experience.

We can know that we've really transcended these things when they no longer have an ability to impact us emotionally. We can be equally as attached to something when we're 'for' it as when we're 'against' it.

[royster]

Both Inri and Angela have warm offerings and good insights: I appreciate them.

My view and 'being' have changed a lot in the past two years with the practice of Spiritually~Assisted ascension. Sk8fulJoy referred to some of my earlier posts, and while that's where I was then, I have evolved a bunch since many of my previous posts.

Acceptance is one of the most important things we internalise. It's the foundation of any sobriety, be it alcohol abuse or Christmas.

The warm fuzzies of Christmas are indeed creature comforts all enjoy. My message is that we've run out of time in the scheme of things. This isn't my personal view: it's what all indicators point to, and in the broader picture of where we are on the charts of Earth Ascension, it is essential to drop unnecessary baggage as soon as possible: some events are upon us and it will take everything you've got emotionally/spiritually to get through it.

I'm happy you chimed in, Inri: I have long had a deep respect for your insights. And it is because of Angela's diplomatic approach to me, personally, that a huge blockage has flushed away: thanks and kudos, Angela. Blessings, too.

MY "Christmas Wish"? I wish this forum had a built-in SPELL CHECKER! I have tried to download one but I am not computer~savvy, nor do I want to BE computer~savvy: I have other things to do.

[ZephyrusX]

Firefox has a spell checker. The last update I downloaded had a bug in it where you had to download the English dictionary listed under the add-ons in order for the spell checker to work. Still, it is relatively easy to do.

[royster]

Thanks, Zeph. I'll consider that option. I am preserving Windows XP because I like it and don't want Windows 7 or whatever Bill Gates has to offer. Heck, I JUST came off of Windows 98 last year.

And a little confession, of sorts: I have little Christmas lights in the house or on the mud porch all year long. I like the colors and bright spots in the night.

I do not, however, eat candy from my socks, and I leave the forest outside where it does the most good.

And I think most of us can agree on chocolate as a significant part of the human experience..

[JSB]

Well, if you put it that way, it sounds kinda WEIRD!

I find the whole Christmas hullabaloo to be just a little to loud, bright and in my face, so i get a little Scroogie sometimes, especially with the insipid Christmas "music" being squeezed into my brain everywhere I go.

I'm not really offended by the whole crass commercialism anymore, or by the corruption of Christ's message --- the world is a corrupted and wounded place, and we are in the world, so I can't take particular affront to Christmas when everything else is already insane.

It does make me happy when people get into a positive holiday spirit and focus on family, friends, and joy rather than being controlled by advertising. It may not be "deeply spiritual", but it's warm and pleasant.

Hope the holiday turmoil doesn't rock you too hard!

Originally Posted by royster

I do not, however, eat candy from my socks

[royster]

It does make me happy when people get into a positive holiday spirit and focus on family, friends, and joy rather than being controlled by advertising. It may not be "deeply spiritual", but it's warm and pleasant.

Agreed. The forced music is annoying...for some years I actually carried ear plugs with me...this was pursuant to avoiding Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas", which I avoided hearing for an impressive 22 years. (True!)

And one thing I point out is the conditioning process OF that music: it's extremely manic/depressive in rapid succession. We have Santa songs reinforcing unreal behavior, then sanctimonious Jesus spewings, then "chipmonks" giggling about commercial goods, then sanctimonious Jesus strokings...NOBODY is consciously avoiding the barrage of mental symbols/ conditioning all going on faster than the human mind can reasonably process them. It most assuredly affects our brainwaves the rest of the year. As is made obvious by the staunch pro-Christmas crowd, most people sort of 'surrender' to the conditioning and simply conduct a Roman orgy of sensory overload. The rest of the time we're agonising over our tiniest thoughts, careful of what we expose ourselves to. Then down the sewer hole it all goes come October...because that's when the process restarts.

Oh well. I can't Carrie Nation* chop up everyone's beliefs, nor should I. I do wish to point out these dangers, and that's all. I take full advantage of the season, I DO enjoy a lot of the hooplah, but it isn't a mentality I subscribe to.

* prohibition in the US, turn of the century

[Angela]

I totally agree with you about the sucky music, but I must say, I just LOVE to watch "White Christmas" this time of year, especially the scene where Danny Kaye and Vera Ellen are swooping and schwoosing the boatyard to "The Best Things (Happen While You're Dancing)." LOVE that! Also this scene -- BABOOM!

[ZephyrusX]

Why wouldn't it be deeply spiritual? I don't think it is easy to achieve a focus on family, friends and joy in your life. I don't think it is easy just to be happy. Of course, just because something is hard doesn't qualify it as being spiritual, but what do you think Jesus would like us to do and feel during this season?

Originally Posted by JSB

It does make me happy when people get into a positive holiday spirit and focus on family, friends, and joy rather than being controlled by advertising. It may not be "deeply spiritual", but it's warm and pleasant.

[ALLisWELL]

Hmmm... I've really enjoyed reading over this post, it has caused me to consider my own view of this that I hadn't yet truly considered. There is a lot of variety in perspective, and a lot of great points. My comments are not directed to any specific member or perspective, but rather a simple exploration of my feelings on this matter.

I do agree wholeheartedly that there are Dark Forces at work in the Universe, and so here on Earth (though fading as they are). However, I am learning to perceive such force with compassion, and do my best to see the perfection that is the existence of it. To foster a contempt for it is indeed an experience which may serve some, but on my path it is only a hindrance. When in my heart I love the "wicked", I acknowledge that at its core there is greatness in love, for all things are of God. When in my heart I hate, it is I who suffers, and with these forces I become kindred on such levels.

I do imagine a society with much more spiritual depth, void of superficiality, greed, destruction, selfishness, materialism, disease, control, and fear- but you see, all of these result from the same cause, and that cause is the untruth from which this world is awakening. "HolyDays" have roots in the distant past, some as far back as Lemuria and later Atlantis, and they have been debased through the trials of culture as our culture has also been debased. We came from comfort to know suffering, and through the confusion of suffering we will return to comfort, but with a crown of jewels mined in the caves of contrast. We are all equally responsible for the consciousness of which this perversion is a symptom. Therefore, it is also our duty to adjust it as we see fit; for some this will entail a campaign against it, for others it will be the acceptance and transmutation thereof, one not more important than the other. From chaos comes order, burning the fields to sew anew. In the Universe, the only constant is change, and some paths will be to promote such redirection in some way. As the ebb and flow of Earth energies and influence, so the experience of its inhabitants, whatever days they may interrupt the routine, and for whatever purpose. For some, the day may be hollow and novelty, for others, yet hallow and magical, but no one is to in truth say what experience should better serve another. All roads lead to somewhere. It could be perceived as an exercise in greed, or as a moment of oneness with something greater, or any degree there in-between, but all perception is a tool by which to define our true nature.

Christmas may fade in time, or it may remain, but as our consciousness ascends, so shall the celebrations therein. Acceptance is a cause, not an effect. When we accept the ways in which our realities do not meet our ideals, we bring the two that much closer.

[royster]

Acceptance is a cause, not an effect. When we accept the ways in which our realities do not meet our ideals, we bring the two that much closer.

I've learned so much about acceptance since I started this thread. And I've put it into practice.

We need not accept the unacceptable.

The variety of views on this thread have helped me view many things with a kinder heart and more open mind. That doesn't change what I know, it just makes me less prone to rigidly foist it on others.

Still, for many of us ascending, it's becoming more difficult to tolerate the mainstream. Perhaps 'tolerate" is not the word...maybe "endure".

[ALLisWELL]

Originally Posted by royster

I've learned so much about acceptance since I started this thread. And I've put it into practice.

We need not accept the unacceptable.

The variety of views on this thread have helped me view many things with a kinder heart and more open mind. That doesn't change what I know, it just makes me less prone to rigidly foist it on others.

Still, for many of us ascending, it's becoming more difficult to tolerate the mainstream. Perhaps 'tolerate" is not the word...maybe "endure".

I see your views, friend, and I do not doubt your wisdom. Holidays are an exaggeration of the culture in which they are significant, people live in them not unlike the other days of the calendar. For me, i've just found that acceptance in itself promotes change in my personal sphere of reality, for when I am no longer at conflict, I move on from what had caused me strife, and in making my peace with it, I disconnect it from the source it needs to feed.

[royster]

My thanks to whitesparks who answered my question, "What, exactly, is the reason for Winter Solstice observation? The reason I ask is to compare it to Christmas, but specifically to see what the Church has attempted to keep the masses from knowing. In other words, what energies were so important that pagans honored them, and the Church feared the masses honoring?"

Thanks for your help, and I intend to post the answer on 3 websites. I want the stark truth out there this year.

Many blessings~ Roy
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In the dance of the earth around the sun, the earth varies its tilt toward the sun over the course of the year. At the Equinoxes, the tilt is equidistant from the equator with equal day and equal night. Since the Fall Equinox, the northern hemisphere has been experiencing a shortening of the hours of daylight as the earth's tilt away from the equator has been increasing. On the Winter Solstice we in the northern hemisphere will experience the shortest day and the longest night (the opposite is occurring in the southern hemisphere).

There are many ancient stone monuments, e.g. stonehenge, that mark the rising Winter Solstice sun. It is if the dance of death and rebirth is being enacted in the heavens, with the rising solstice sun signalling rebirth in the midst of the darkness, hibernation, and dead vegetation of winter. After the Winter Solstice, the days begin to lenghthen once again and the vision of a coming spring comforts us as the sunlight gradually increases, despite the continued cold of the season.

There are many different pre-Christian, festivals around the world associated with the Winter Solstice. All of them celebrate the re-birth of the sun in their own way. It was easy for the early Christian Chuch to choose this time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the "son of God", despite the fact that it is not the historically correct date. People who for time immemorial were used to gathering and celebrating the birth of the "sun" were now told to celebrate the re-birth of the "son". Bits and pieces of Druid, Scandanavian and Germanic winter solstice tradtions are incorporated into contemporary "Christmas" holidays: mistletoe, evergreen trees and trim, and Santa Claus, whose image has been linked to the Goddess Freya and European Shamans.

In a psycho-spiritual tradition of contemporary inter-path nature spirituality, the birth of the sun can be experienced as the birth of a new self. At Halloween, we enter the shamanic tunnel of transformation (the dark spiral into the earth), with the intention of releasing old mental/emotional/physical patterns to death, tumbling through the birth canal of the long dark nights to be reborn as a new self at the Solstice.

It is very difficult to tune into these possibilites for conscious self- transformation when we are caught up in the holidaze of gift acquisition and parties. For this reason, many people do not tune into their inner re-birth until the festivities are all over. New Year resolutions tap into that energy, but many people experience depression in the quiet of the depths of winter. The distractions of festivities drop away and we are left facing ourselves in the quiet. What we call "depression" can be a productive time for inner exploration and transformation. Out of the depths and stillness will come self-knowledge and a grounding in our true selves and the ability to listen to our spirit guides, if we are brave and do not run away. Unfortunately, these inner gifts of the winter season are feared by many and many of us have become "stimulation junkies," unable to allow the quiet to wash over us, to soothe our bodies, minds, and emotions and allow the inner to emerge.

Whitesparks is a pagan Preistess with the Spiral Grove Interpath Community

[royster]

So in other words, the Ancients who followed the instructions of the Universe (and Creator) observed the cycles of Spiritual regeneration according to the energy patterns of our solar system. By diverting our attention to festivities, we neglect the growth opportunities each season offers, thus becoming more spiritually numb.

And this was not by accident, but by intention of the Church.

[royster]

Originally Posted by royster

So in other words, the Ancients who followed the instructions of the Universe (and Creator) observed the cycles of Spiritual regeneration according to the energy patterns of our solar system. By diverting our attention to festivities, we neglect the growth opportunities each season offers, thus becoming more spiritually numb.

And this was not by accident, but by intention of the Church.

whitesparks replies:

Well, I don't believe festivities per se keep us from using the regenerational energies of the changing seasons/cycles of the solar system. It is the kind of festivities that matter.I think if our celebrations make room for meditations and ceremonies to attune, the festivities would be all right. But contemporary festivities seem to preoccupy most people with the material world and with avoiding the long night, effectively cutting us off from the spiritual gifts of the season. I think the early Church was all about consolidating power and controlling the masses. The old pagan ways were so strong, they had to utilize the natural wheel of the year in setting up their religious infrastructure. And where that failed to get people under their thumb, they used the inquisition in Europe and threats of death by missionaries in the Americas.

MWS

[royster]

This came to me via e-mail. Take it as you will. ~ royster

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me.

What in the world do leaping lords, French hens,swimming swans,and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

I found out what this song has to do with Christmas.

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were
not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone
during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.

It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning
plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each
element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality
which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching,Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.


So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.'

Merry (Twelve Days of) Christmas Everyone - and, remember, the Twelve Days of Christmas are the 12 days following December 25th. The Christmas Season runs until Epiphany, January 6.
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There's Festivus For The Rest Of US!