By now, we've woken out of the slumber imposed by the crazed commercial mode that we were steeped in since before Thanksgiving. We look around, and it's dark and cold and dismal. Bewildered, we begin stumbling back to the warm chambers of the heart. We slowly realize that we were tricked, yet again, by the loud dazzle of holiday media advertising.
Perhaps you're a bit tired of my insistent rampage against the hollow artificiality of marketing-driven December hype. The negative effect is just so devastating, yet, we get fooled year after year. And our Soul suffers. Remember the movie The Golden Compass? I saw it again last week. All of a sudden the message was very clear. The authority in the film is trying to perfect the incision process, by which the children's "daemons" are cut off. Separated from the inner voice of caution and wisdom, these children would grow up into adults without a sense of tolerance and curiosity. Lacking the free will, they would become a puppet in the hands of the power-thirsty Magisterium. The individual's daemon in the parallel universe of the Philip Pullman's Northern Lights (part of His Dark Materials trilogy), on which The Golden Compass is based, is equivalent to the Soul forces in our world. And the Magisterium could easily be interpreted as heartless corporate establishments.
The goal of these controlling powers is to shut down our finer human sensibilities. We're taken for a crazy ride through false holiday promises, and then discarded on the other end, thrown into nothingness. The décor of Christmas is thrown out the day after New Year's celebrations. You can hardly get your favorite comfort drink at Starbucks in January. The bleakness of winter stares at us, and we're poorly prepared because we've been derailed of the rightful Soul journey through the Festivals of the Light. We're aware of the charade right now, but we'll forget all about it as soon as the new commercial drug hits the market: the Valentine's Day promotions.
Stay with me for awhile. Remain awake, I implore you. Don't go back into the world of lifeless sleep, ruled by Pride and Greed. Allow your Soul to guide you. Its innate strength will lead you to practices that will nourish you on all levels. And don't beat yourself up because you've strayed; hug yourself with compassion instead. Gently nurture the subtler senses: You'll be surprised how quickly they begin to sparkle anew in the warmth of the heart.
The flickering glow of your inner hearth will draw in the shadows as well. The fears that you've pushed away, unresolved, will approach you again. Don't fret; you're ready. Put another log of Love on your fire within, gather the fears, and burn them. Treat them with respect though. Take a nice piece of stationary and jot down all that scares you. Recognize and appreciate the gift that each scary notion has given you, and be afraid no more. Let the flames turn fears into dust. Let new positive thoughts arise. Write them down. In a recent article, a fellow blogger Reba Linker talked about writing mini love letters to oneself. So fold the pretty paper with your encouraging words, and store them in a sacred place -- a beautiful box, jar, vase -- to remind you of your brighter and more Soul-embracing path. Treat this special container with tender care for it's filled with a magic potion of Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition, Light, Love, Life.
Over to You, dear Soulful Reader:
What is your favorite ritual for releasing fears and embracing Love?