Christmas Jewels – Lesson Four – Counting our Blessings

The sun is low in the sky, but it’s coming direct through the window.

Today is a sunny day.

I’m thankful for sunshine.

Today’s Lesson Four is about Gratitudes and Blessings.

The fastest way to bring something into our lives – especially (since this is the focus of these Twelve Days) more love for ourselves – is to give attention to how we already have what we want in our lives.

A very powerful way of giving our attention to something that we like is to express gratitude for that thing (person/event), and to bless it.

Even if something is not exactly what we desire, we can often find some aspect about which we can have gratitude.

We also have the power to give blessings – to bestow a benediction; a wise benevolence – on whatever is the subject of our attention.

The act of giving a blessing is not limited to a saintly few, or to those who are ordained in some priesthood. We each have the power to bless, and exercising it makes us even stronger in causing the universe to align the way that we desire.

Review and Recap

Yesterday’s Lesson Three was about Pausing and Noticing. In particular, we noticed when we triggered our pain-body. We know when we do this, because our mind starts giving us blurts – things like Why am I such a failure? or How come I’m always screwing up? (Or any variation on this negative self-talk theme.)

Yesterday’s goal was to observe objectively and neutrally – to notice when our pain-body was triggered, but to not follow through with all of our habitual reactions and judgments.

The day before, we began noticing our negative thought-forms – and how they expressed as blurts.

Now that we’ve noticed (negative thought-forms, blurts, and pain-body) without judging and reacting, we’re ready to start training ourselves.

Today, we deliberately start retraining our minds to notice how we already have that which we desire.

We may desire more of something, but our first step is to acknowledge that we already have some of what we want in our lives.

Feeling More Loved – and Loving Ourselves More – Twin Goals

We want to feel more loved.

We want to feel that we are loving ourselves more, and that we’re inviting in love from those around us, and from the universe itself.

There’s only one effective way for doing this: Already feel loved.

I know this feels like circular logic.

However, this is – I promise you – the only thing that works.

Blessings and Gratitude – Our Spiritual Discipline for the Winter Quarter

Today’s Lesson Four in the Twelve Days of Solstice guides us towards gratitudes and blessings.

By constantly practicing gratitude, and by offering blessings for all that we do, touch, and have, we draw more of what we want into our lives.

And more to the point, we get our minds off our negatives – by giving them a positive practice that requires our attention.

Why Gratitude Really Works

Jesus put it well. “I tell you, that to every one who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. (Luke 19:26) Jesus was teaching a very basic metaphysical precept here.

In order to have something, we already have to have it.

Our focus – for these Twelve Lessons – is on loving ourselves more, and on bringing more love into our lives.

We could just as easily be talking about increasing our wealth-abundance (Emperor), having more fun in life (Hathor), or finding and fulfilling our creative vision (Magician).

At this particular moment, we are coming out of the Season of Isis (the Empress); a time devoted to nurturing and caring.

We, ourselves, have recently put a great deal of effort into nurturing and caring others. As women, we tend to carry that emotional responsibility. By now, after not just the Season of Isis, but an entire half-year spent in the emotional Feeling realm, we are perhaps feeling a bit depleted. We may be seeking to recharge our own batteries, and yet still be especially sensitive to desiring nurturing and love for ourselves.

Thus, we are – right now – very attuned to receiving more love.

But if we were having these conversations – these Lessons – in mid-May, in the midst of our Emperor-time, we’d more likely be discussing abundance. We’d be talking about business plans. We’d talk about putting business processes in place that would help give continuity, stability, and reliability to all that we did.

Underneath this all, the very same dynamics would apply.

We’d be desiring to increase something in our lives. And to do so, we’d have to start by noticing that we already have at least some of that which we want.

We already have a point of attraction. We simply start amplifying that point.

The most powerful way of doing this is to notice that we have what we desire, and give it our positive attention. This comes in the form of gratitude. We can also bless it, or praise it. We can appreciate it.

Whatever it is that we already have that exemplifies what we desire more, we give it our positive approval and attention.

A very helpful book on this subject is by Stuart Wilde, who wrote The Trick to Money is Having Some! (The title says it all, doesn’t it?)

We could say the same thing about anything that we desired.

Stuart knows whereof he speaks; he was one of the first metaphysical leaders to teach classic Western esoteric methods (using will power in a focused and clear way) to achieve practical goals, such as creating wealth. His books predated some others, more well-known now (Abraham-Hicks, others) who advanced similar metaphysical thinking.

Stuart’s opening sentence is Money is a thought-form.

So, for that matter, is anything else that we desire in our lives. Love. Play-time. Visionary creativity. All of these are thought-forms, or sets of thought-forms.

We began looking at our negative thought-forms, and how they were related to blurts, in Lesson Two.

Very shortly, we’ll begin looking at positive thought-forms, and directing our attention to creating them.

For today, though, we’ll keep it simple. We’ll simply notice what-is-so, and give our attention and approval and appreciation (gratitudes) for that which pleases us the most.

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As part of our Lesson, it may be very helpful to start writing down our gratitudes each day. Some teachers suggest writing a specific number of gratitudes (twenty or more), every day for a period of days (often twenty-one days; the time that it takes to start a new habit).

I did this when rebuilding my life after my father’s death a little over a year ago. I went into a deep fugue state. Not so much a depression; more a withdrawal and contemplation. One of the most powerful ways that I recreated my life from that point was to use gratitudes.

What to Expect Now

Suppose you were taking twelve days, and spending that time in a really expensive, lush spa-retreat, such as the world-famous Canyon Ranch.

The first thing you’d do, after checking in, would be to have a lot of evaluations with specialists. They would measure and monitor your current state.

Actually, the first thing you’d do would be to get unpacked, look around a bit, and then take a nap. You’d have some travel fatigue, and starting a new venture would require a fresh outlook.

Later that day, or early next, you’d start your round of evaluations.

This is exactly what you’ve been doing for the past three days. Lesson One was to get some sleep. (And if the holiday rush has you worn out again, go take a nap. Yes, again.)

Lessons Two and Three were all about taking stock – noticing your what-is-so – without judging. (It’s the without judging part that is tricky.)

It’s a lot like having someone take your measurements, and do a Body-Mass Index, and do some blood work. All necessarily preliminaries.

The goal is to retain – as much as possible – a calm neutrality while all this is going on, instead of saying Oh my God, you mean my waist is that big? Oh, how awful!

Just get into neutral zone on the what-is-so.

This is not particularly easy.

I have challenges along these lines myself. (We teach that which we need to learn. And every single day, I read the email that I’ve sent out – because I’m on the list along with you. And I go to the website, and read what’s there – just as you are right now. And I try my best to carry through.

And just like you, some moments are better than others.

We’re all human, okay? We get points just for trying. Really.

So here’s the upside and the downside of what we’re doing.

Suppose that you were carrying out a Canyon Ranch-type of experience at home. And you were fitting it in with your almost-full routine. That is, you were making time for this, but still – you were carrying on with a lot of other responsibilities and commitments.

If you were at Canyon Ranch and could spend twelve uninterrupted days just focusing on you – having superbly healthy and invigorating meals, doing fun exercise classes and going on hikes, and talking with people whose focus would be intensely on you – you’d emerge a few pounds lighter, more energized, more youthful, and with a definite new bounce in your step.

If you were doing a Canyon Ranch-type experience at home, along with a lot of everything else, you’d still come out better. Your diet would be better. You’d have cooked healthier for yourself. You’d have exercised. You may have seen a healer or gotten some massage or Reiki.

You would definitely feel better, and you might even be a bit lighter and stronger.

But you’d know that the twelve days was just a beginning.

Same for you and me right now.

You’re taking a very powerful step by bringing these Twelve Lessons into your life right now.

This is because – despite the Christmas hustle-and-bustle (which will shortly diminish) – we truly are at the Stillpoint of the year.

Why Doing the Twelve Lessons During the Stillpoint is So Effective

If you were upgrading your computer’s operating system, you’d take the time to shut down all processes. Obvious, right?

Same for making a deep change in yourself.

During Stillpoint, we are aligning with the quietest time of the year.

We add to this another potential Stillpoint.

I’m a morning person. Not just an ordinary morning person, but an extreme morning person. Getting up at 4:30 a.m. feels good.

On the other hand, I tend to droop – like a flower that responds to sunlight – as soon as the sun goes down.

What works for me is to take a fairly lengthy nap early in the evening, and wake up in the middle of the night, have a few hours of quiet time, and then go back to bed for a couple more hours. Then I get up for the day – sometime between 4:30 a.m. and 6 a.m.

This is not that unusual, and in fact humans used to have a “first sleep” and a “second sleep.” (Check out this interesting article First Sleep, Second Sleep.)

So if you’re feeling like going to bed early, do it.

Then, if you wake up in the middle of the night, use this as your quiet time. This is the time to meditate (formally or informally), journal, or even putter about. (Please, though, refrain from cognitive tasks. Stay away from emails and Facebook. This is your quiet time, and that means being mentally quiet.)

Between midnight and about 2 a.m. is another Stillpoint. This is a time when your Guides can speak to you.

Your mind is at its quietest at this time – yet you’re rested enough to be lucid and clear.

You may even be getting your very best dreams just before you wake up around midnight. (If it’s a particularly good dream, high-five your Dream Design Team. Mine have been doing a great job of communicating really useful information to me via dreams – and I give them big bonus points for their creativity; for the crazy-but-effective images that they use to make their points.)

So right now, we have the advantage of two Stillpoints – the one at the quietest time of the night, and the other at the quietest time of the year. The one is embedded in the other. This is why our High Priestess mode is so effective right now.

If you get guidance – and it could be just a nudge, or it could be a dream, or it could be something that someone said, or an article that you read, or an interesting coincidence – note it down in your journal. This is the time when you’ll get a lot of insights and confirmations as you move forward with recreating yourself from the inside out.

You may not see the results in your overall life right away. But over these next several months, expect what you’re doing right now to bear fruit.

It is very likely (I’d say almost certain) that if you’re doing these Lessons with any diligence, and you carry through during the coming year, you will be in a very different (and much happier) place at this time next year.

In fact, I’m expecting that you’ll be feeling much better even a few weeks from now.

Much love, dear one.

Within a few days, you should notice that you are actually loving yourself more.

And may the blessings of the Season truly be with you.

Yours with love and laughter – Alay’nya

Christmas Jewels: The Workshop

Sometimes it’s easier to work through these lessons in a small, safe group – with someone to guide you through each step.

Christmas Jewels – the workshop – is your opportunity. For full details, go to: Christmas Jewels Workshop: You are the Jewel in the Heart of the Lotus.

 

Previous Pages in the Twelve Days of Solstice: Falling in Love with Yourself

• Day Three: Pausing
• Day Two: The Barrier
• Day One: Stillpoint