Don’t Throw the Consciousness Out with the Christ Child

There are many reasons to judge Christmas: the commercialism, the cultural dominance of one religion over most of the world, and the appropriation of ancient winter solstice traditions without attribution to name a few.  Yet, as we celebrate today the birth of the Christ child, it is worth remembering that “Christ” was not Jesus’s last name.  The Christ, derived from the Greek Khristos, means “the anointed one.”  

Where I come from we celebrate Christmas Day as an awakening of the Christ Consciousness in the world which came to show us that Spirit is not something separate from us but actually living out its perfect life as us.

If we remember that every character in a story (just like every character in a dream) really represents a part of us, we can perhaps recognize ourselves in the Christmas story (which, full disclosure, I happen to love).  We are shepherds toiling in the field waiting for someone else to save us.  We are the wise men who recognize despite our wealth that something new needs to emerge.  We carry within us the pure love (of Mother Mary) and the much more flawed human love (of Father Joseph).  And we are also the light, the power, and the awesome sovereign possibility of the Christ represented by the newborn baby.  

Christmas comes to remind us who we are, to re-awaken us to our own power, and teach us how to fall to our knees in awe at the creative potential each human being contains within no matter how humble our circumstances.

Today I choose to keep the Consciousness of the Holy Christ burning bright in my hearth as I acknowledge the Christ in the people around me, yes, all of them.