JOY TO THE WORLD

repeat the sounding joy
repeat the sounding joy

repeat, repeat
the sounding joy

I celebrate Christmas and have been enjoying preparing for Christmas Eve dinner for 25, the morning after with just the 4 of us and a quick trip to PA visiting with my side of the family for the weekend. I tell you this only because I am now in last minute mode, slightly less enjoyable, and will probably not post for the next week.

Singing Christmas Carols in church uplifts and grounds me at the same time. It is one of my favorite activities of the season. And, you sing previously unknown verses of familiar songs, like this one from "These Three Kings" which nearly brought me to my knees with a sense of hope and glory:

"Heaven sings Alleluia,
Alleluia the Earth replies"

I wish each of you the happiest of holidays, finding the magic in each moment.

photo found on "this is glamorous"

F**K IT!

Shocking, I know.

I jumped on the opportunity to write F double asterisks K when I heard about this book by John Parkin called "f**k it, the Ultimate Spiritual Way." Parkin "argues that saying "F*** It" is a spiritual act, the perfect blend of western expression and eastern ideas of letting go, giving up and finding real freedom by realizing that things don't matter so much."

He has a website and a radio special on Hay House Radio today, Friday, December 19 from 5-6:00pm EST if you want to find out why you should Just Say F**k It! (I believe you can also listen to the recorded show if you miss it live)

"Saying "F**k It" is essentially about relaxing into the flow of life, just as it is" says Parkin, which made me think he could be onto something, so I've been experimenting. For example, I was worried some people might be offended by this post, but then I said "F**k it."
I worry about what other people think way too much which gets in the way of me, just being me.

You've probably heard the expression "what you resist persists" and using his technique can be a quick and easy way to bust out of any resistance you might be holding onto, at least temporarily. I have to say, it felt good when I tried it. So many times life feels like trying to shove a square peg into a round hole. Saying f**k it is just dropping the peg and trusting that life is working out for you, is on your side and moving you in the direction you want to go. That's also called being.

On the heels of the previous post, here are two opportunities to participate in peace:

1. Kissing. When you meet someone under mistletoe, the tradition is to kiss them. We can thank Scandinavians for this wonderfully affectionate tradition. Mistletoe was the plant of peace in Scandinavian antiquity and according to folklore "if enemies met by chance beneath it in a forest, they laid down their arms and maintained a truce until the next day."

2. Ringing bells this Sunday. "Salman Ahmad, guitarist and lead singer of the popular Pakistani rock band Junoon, is a musician on a mission to promote world peace and give a more progressive face to Islam. Now Ahmad has teamed up with Grammy Award–winning artist Melissa Etheridge to record a song for this holiday season titled “Ring the Bells,” which he describes as “a cry for peace and change in a world of war and chaos.” In collaboration with Deepak Chopra's Alliance for a New Humanity, Ahmad and Etheridge have dedicated this Sunday, December 21, as a day for people around the world to take a meditative moment to put the song's title into action." You can watch this video to hear the song and find out more it.

resource: Enlightennext.com

Sign of the Times

One of the many fun things to do in New York City this time of year is to see the window displays at big department stores such as Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord and Taylor, Bloomingdale's and Barneys New York. The stores take this tradition very seriously and unveil extravagant, and sometimes magical, scenes in their enormous windows. People line up on the sidewalks and enjoy the free show and the good holiday vibes that you can really feel in the air.

Always inventive and on the cutting edge of culture, Barney's windows this year are a celebration of peace and love and the 50th anniversary of the peace sign. A quick check on wikipedia revealed that the peace sign originated in Britain by the Committee against Nuclear War as the badge for Nuclear Disarmament. It was fun to find out that it was imported into the United States 50 years ago by a student, Philip Altbach, a freshman at the University of Chicago. He traveled to England to meet with British peace groups as a delegate from the Student Peace Union and came back to Chicago with a bag full of peace symbol buttons. It didn't take long for it to catch on and become an international symbol of peace. Can you imagine how cool Philip Altbach must have felt?!

I love the paintings in this window done by middle school students at The East Harlem School:



Seeing this made me wonder about the hand gesture people use for peace, like David Crosby in this photo. Where did that come from? I couldn't find much information about it, but here's a little trivia for you: It is known as the "V sign" and was popularized by Winston Churchill as a sign for victory during World War II, then became popular in the United States during the peace movement of the 1960s. Be very careful using this gesture outside of the United States, especially if your palm is facing inward, it is considered in many countries to be obscene, offensive and insulting - basically like giving the finger.

Next I wondered - why, 50 years later, is the peace symbol still a sign of our times? Where's the peace? One thing I know for sure is that we won't see it in the world until we feel it within ourselves. Human intelligence and ingenuity would have led to the solution by now if peace was something that could be "done." Peace must be, well, be'ed.

Next (I am on a roll) I thought about the song "Let there be Peace on Earth" and listened to several versions that were quickly added to the top of my play list. My favorite is an incredible a capella version by Martin Sexton that I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to upload in this post with no luck. Instead, here are the lyrics that are now stuck in my head, my mantra, my prayer, my solemn vow :

let there be peace on earth
and let it begin with me

let there be peace on earth
the peace that was meant to be

with God as our father
brothers and sisters are we
let me walk with my brother
in perfect harmony

let peace begin with me
let this be the moment now
with every step I take
let this be my solemn vow
to take each moment
and live each moment
in peace eternally

let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me

I am not endorsing, merely reporting this product, Rescue Remedy, that claims to be "your inner calm, on call." Made of all natural ingredients including various flower essences, it comes in drops that can be added to water or a spray. Created over 60 years ago, the website says it has "centering energy and is now relied upon by people around the world to provide unconditional support during demanding times." What interests me the most is that this type of product is now showing up in magazines such as Harpers Bazaar, which is where I found it. Since my inner calm is available to me (if I choose to access it) at all times, but not shiny minty lips, I am more likely to pick up Cover Girl's new AmazeMint lip gloss than this, but I know that many people receive benefit from holistic remedies and would love to hear from anyone who has tried it.

I am caught up in the holiday rush of cards, parties, gifts, decorating and tree trimming and all the while thinking about this comment left on an earlier post:

"I'd love to hear be U's thoughts on Xmas giving."

Lots of thinking and reflecting on gift giving led me to reducing the idea of giving down to its most basic, constant expression. So here is a question for all of us to ask ourselves - what am I giving to each person I encounter as I move through my day?

What are you giving to your family, your neighbors, friends, co-workers, the person in line with you at the post office, the salesperson ringing up your purchase, the stranger who sits down next to you, the driver of the car on the road with you? Silently or aloud, an exchange is taking place. Does it feel like love or disdain? Compassion or irritability? Respect or resentment? I know for me it is not always the first choice.

There is a practice I try to remember to use when making purchases. As I hand money or a card to the cashier or take a receipt from them, I visualize an exchange of love between us. It's a split second. Nobody else knows it's happening, but I trust that it is making a positive difference somewhere, somehow. This is the practice of being, and it's not glamorous. It is just a micro adjustment in my way of approaching a routine situation that will not bring me applause or admiration, but I'm pretty sure it's the one true measure of a successful life. This kind of giving is happening automatically everyday and it doesn't cost a thing, so why not splurge on the good stuff ? These simple, small invisible gifts have the power to change the world. And if you can let yourself believe that, imagine what it could do for your life.

photo by Jacqueline Veissid