Christmas has always  been a difficult time of the year for me to fully enjoy, because of past family events, and patterns ingrained in my subconscious.  This year I resolved to use energy techniques to help clear some of the old patterns, in particular the Healing Codes system of Dr. Alex Loyd.  Even though I knew how effective these techniques can be, I didn’t get my expectations up.  After all sometimes it takes awhile to get to the root. And the Christmas holidays were coming on fast.

Also I have to admit, in the last rush of preparations I slacked off in doing some of the clearing.  Even though it involved just a few minutes a day, over a short span of time some days I just didn’t  always make the time.  But it turns out the little time I did take, was enough.  I had a lovely Christmas day, with not even twinges of the old negative emotions coming up.

I didn’t stuff my emotions down with food or run to a room to be alone, and stifle turbulent feelings. I was relaxed and present in a way I have never been as long as I can remember.

Since around Easter time this past year,  I’ve been using the Healing Codes on a regular basis with to clear old emotional patterns, as well to help health issues.  I’ve been so impressed with the results, I’ve been introducing this method to clients and friends.

The one resolution, I have no doubt I will keep this year involves continuing to use and deepen my knowledge about this marvelous system.  After all who doesn’t want more peace, happiness and health. And I for one, am prepared to invest the small amount of time that it takes , to bring more into my life.

What about you? What have you discovered this past year that brings you more joy and fulfillment in your life?  How are you going to make sure that you continue along that path in the New Year?

I come from a family of mixed religious origins, my mother being Catholic, and my father (of Jewish ancestry) for most of his life being an agnostic.  We celebrated Christmas in the Catholic traditions of my Mom.  Both parents did their best to make it a happy day.  However my Dad, used to be emotionally on edge Christmas days, and usually one or more of “us kids” would set him off.  I was most often the one who played this role, despite all my best intentions.  After the inevitable meltdown came, my brother Joe would always sing under his breath, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” 

I never did find out why my Dad was so upset those days.  I often wonder if it had something to do with the Catholic Church’s role in the Holocaust.  Many of his relatives, including his beloved mother perished in concentration camps. The celebration of Christ’s birthday, might evoke other than joyful feelings in that on text.  Or it might  have been that on those days  of family celebration, he would think back to both his mother and father who had died, and feel the sadness of neither of them being with him.  As my father died a few years ago, I have no way of asking him now.  But I do know that for whatever reason he felt emotionally edgy around Christmas, he passed it on to me, his eldest daughter.  

Add that to the other stresses of Christmas: deciding on which presents to buy, braving the crowded stores to try and find the gifts, and doing one’s best to keep within budget. Just thinking about it all is enough for me to say ” Bah!” “Humbug!”  For the record, I won’t be a complete Scrooge and forgo Christmas.  My 13 year old son would never forgive me, and there are things I do love about the season.

I love the sacred Christmas music- like Handel’s “Messiah”, and songs like  “Joy to the World.”  Even though I no longer am a Christian, and feel some ambiguity about the lyrics, I love to sing Christmas carols.  So I’ll be doing that.  I’ll be buying a few gifts, hanging out with family and friends and celebrating. I’ll enjoy wonderful food, and drink and connecting with loved ones.

And you can bet I’m also using the healing modalities such as EFT and the Healing Codes to clear some of the old memories, and scripts that keep me from enjoying the season.

I hope for all of you, whatever might be going on that makes this season difficult, that you also can experience many moments of joy and peace.   I found this short video that I hope will inspire you.  Renowned Cellist, Yo-Yo Ma, talks about the ideas behind his Christmas song collaboration album “Songs of Joy and Peace” of (2008), and includes some excerpts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxChPS9Bm1E

To me the video embodies the spirit in which I seek to celebrate the holidays, with generosity, creativity, friendship and joy.  Enjoy!

This process can throw us into a deep despair and questioning of  the meaning of our lives.  However, out of our greatest pain, we can become more full human beings.  With a heart cracked open to both our own and the world’s suffering, we paradoxically open ourselves up to a deeper experience of joy and meaning in our lives.   

Personal tragedy can call on us to make some of our greatest contributions to the community, sometimes through, expanding the depth of our creative expression, other times through leading us to throw our heart and souls into some important cause.

Artists have always been able to create this kind of alchemy, forging out of their anguish and pain, songs, music, poems, paintings and other works of art that have been treasured for generations to come. One has only to listen to the songs of the black spirituals, to hear the beauty created out of incredible suffering.  

Great leaders for social change – have taken their pain and humiliation about racism, sexism, poverty and oppression and used it to fuel their battle to bring about a more just world.  Through joining with others, and creating community they have found hope, inspiration and joy along the way.

1. Green Arts Barns Project in Toronto, was organized and built to provide eco- friendly living and studio space for artists, programming and facilities for community art and environmental education, and a central market place where artists and local and organic farmers can sell their produce. It’s a wonderful experience going to the Saturday market, being able to meet with one’s neighbours and share conversation, having a chance to buy fresh organic food , and being able at the same time to visit artists galleries and work spaces.
2. The efforts of musicians like Bono and U2 who held huge worldwide music concerts to raise money and consciousness around global climate change shows how artists can use their talents to foster change.
3. Artists, over the years, have broken the silence and taboos around AIDS, they’ve written plays, produced films, and created paintings and sculptures to bring home the human suffering and issues raised.
4. Patch Adams, a wonderful doctor, clown and social activist, has devoted over 30 years to changing the health care system. He brings a prescription of creativity, humor and joy to healing ourselves and the planet.
5. Thich Nhat Hanh, Budhist Monk, Zen master, and founder of  France’s Plum Village  meditation community is the  author of more than one hundred books of poetry, fiction and philosophy. He was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.  He combines his artistic and creative talents, with spiritual practice and and  activism around issues of global peace.

So let’s look at ways we can be inspired by such examples and create our own unique blends of arts, activism and spirituality.