December: Giving Yourself
“December Breakthrough”
by Dr. Larry Morris
This December, let's let the inner glow of our spiritual commitment to God warm our hearts and give peace and substance to our thoughts, and free us from all doubt or worry. This is the month when we celebrate the birth of God-conscious Realization. We can relax and let our path unfold this month without effort or strain. Let's let this be the December of our highest and deepest inner and outer fulfillment. Decide to have a spiritual breakthrough this December—the greatest gift we can give to ourselves and our world. We set ourselves free from the bound feelings, the sense of hurry and worry. Let this be our Christmas of true spiritual awakening to God in us, now, and let the joy of the season be alive in our hearts.
“Repurposing Ourselves”
by Dr. Larry Morris
Someone once said, "Nothing is so over as Christmas." After all of our running around doing all the things we do for the holidays, when they are over, we sometimes feel a kind of letdown—as if all the energy we had to galvanize to get through the holidays suddenly has no outlet. We may feel a sense of lack; the sense of purpose the holidays gives us has completed itself—what to do now? Thankfully a new year is on the horizon. This week is a good time to review the previous year and to begin to chart our course for the upcoming year. It’s a good time to decide on our direction in life, to make plans and set goals, to reclarify our purpose—what are we here to accomplish? Are we fulfilling some great purpose, are we on track, moving ahead steadily with energy and momentum? Let's decide right now, on the verge of this new year to experience meaning in our lives by rededicating ourselves to a fulfilling purpose.
“MAKING PEACE WITH OURSELVES”
BY DR. LARRY MORRIS
As the holidays get closer, many of us feel an increased sense of time pressures. We may begin with mild anxiety in early December which quickly changes to panic by mid December and by, say, December 23rd we may find ourselves hovering between frenzy and semi hysteria. This year why not resolve to go through the holiday season in a peaceful and harmonious way. We can begin by making peace with ourselves right now. We can realize that everything will get done that we need to do, so why not let ourselves relax and enjoy the process. Instead of seeing the holidays as something we have to struggle through at all costs, let's see the holidays as an opportunity to deepen our feelings of peace and goodwill. And let's remember to include ourselves in our feelings of general benevolence. This is the best time of the year to move through our days from a calm center of peace deep within ourselves: to let the season happen and to feel joy in our hearts.
“HOLIDAY SURPRISE”
BY DR. LARRY MORRIS
We always expect something unexpected to happen during the holidays and it always does. No two Christmas or Hanukkah holidays are ever alike. Out of the blue, someone may come to visit, or we may decide to go see an old friend. Something unpredictable occurs beyond any of our calculations. It is easy to get thrown by the unexpected unless you are open and receptive to it. It would indeed be boring and tedious if everything always happened just like we planned down to the letter. If the most we had to look forward to was the same repetitive pattern with only minor changes, how dull! There is a cartoon in which a man asks a preacher what heaven will be like. The preacher is silent for a very long time and finally he responds: "No flossing." How different is this from Walt Whitman's sense that the next life will be "beyond anything we can imagine and better." Let's decide right now to let this be a holiday season that is filled to the brim with surprise beyond anything we can imagine, and better.
“MAKE IT NEW”
BY DR. LARRY MORRIS
William Carlos Williams. a great American poet, once wrote, "Make it new." Sometimes we are a little too nonchalant and complacent about the holidays. Perhaps we feel a little too sophisticated to totally enter into the holiday spirit. We say to ourselves, "Innocence and openness are for children. We adults need to be tough to get through these trying times.” But just maybe we can be a little less guarded. a little less frantic, a little more tender, caring and receptive right now. This is an emotional time of year; the people in our lives are trying to show how much they really care for us. The cards and little gifts we give and receive are not just some relics of a forgotten thing; they represent the way a person is trying to share himself or herself with us. Let’s relax our need to be skeptical or judging. Let’s see this Christmas in a new light—let ourselves be innocent, filled with wonder and awe at each gift we give and receive. At each friendly gesture and greeting, let’s accept our share in the joy and goodwill of this season. Make this Christmas new for you.