Dear Brother Renunciates,
In this very special month, which invites us to welcome the Christ consciousness into the cradle of our hearts, let us momentarily leave aside the points of Renunciation to look at Christmas with “renunciate” eyes.
Those of us who have families may fear, at this time, to see their energy flowing overbearingly outward: gifts to be given, family gatherings, lights, sounds, everything is amplified, and there may arise, in us, the temptation to resist what life is presenting to us, lest it distract us too much from the inner quest. This, however, would be a mistake: sometimes, the outer whirlwind can become a strong stimulus to seek within ourselves that point of perfect peace from which nothing and no one can distract us. Perhaps God is just “raising the bar” of difficulties to help us, once again, to go beyond our limits. We just need to implement some “tricks” that will help us maintain the connection with the Divine within us.
A powerful and very pleasant way to practice this can be to listen to Yogananda or Swami’s music, because music is able to penetrate our consciousness by working on a subtle level, to fix itself in the mind, which is then able to replay it automatically, even without us making an effort to do so.
Personally, at this time, I draw great inspiration from this very sweet piece by Swami of which I quote the words:
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The Christ child’s asleep
The Christ child’s asleep.
The silence is so deep
That round about, with hope in their eyes,
The animals await, Their breathing they abate:
They know their time has come to arise.
For Jesus came on earth,
To offer second birth
To all who would the blessing receive.
The inner peace he brings,
Can lift us on soul-wings
To soar in light, and heaven perceive.
Our pleasures and pains,
Our losses, our gains
Have kept us long bound,
The ropes of yearning hemmed us ‘round.
We dreamed of imposing on desert sand
Flower gardens of beauty,
Verdant vales of delight:
Imagination misted our sight!
The freedom we would know
Christ offered long ago,
And even from his slumber flows peace.
All creatures here on earth, Alive to their own worth,
Can welcome love, and win their release.
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If you want, you can find it on YouTube:
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We invite, if you can, to join us in the traditional Christmas Long Meditation by following us on YouTube on Sunday, December 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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A Merry Christmas filled with love and blessings to all of you.
Clarita Nayaswami