December 7, 2014

Samuel: Greetings, dears.

Greetings, Samuel.

S: So maybe we should start with a rousing chorus of something exciting like Ave Maria. Or the Hallelujah Chorus. This is a group that couldn’t do Rudolph [the Red-nosed Reindeer].

That was a year ago.

S: Well, a year ago you showed that things haven’t changed all that much. So, you want to try it again anyway?

Yes.

S: You want a different song?

For years I’ve been trying to compose the rest of this, but I’ve been thinking that when you came through for the Christmas first-Sunday in December, that we should greet you with a song called—it’s a takeoff on the song “Here Comes Santa Claus,” only it’s [singing] “Here comes Samuel; here comes Samuel, right down Phoenix Lane. Here comes Samuel; here comes Samuel; here comes Lea again.” [Laughter] That’s all I’ve gotten to it.

S: Well, I think somebody should be working with you on that.

Someone who can carry a tune.

S: I thought you did that pretty well. One of the things that I really enjoy about the December first-Sunday is the opportunity to talk about the things that are going on at this time of year. And of course one of the biggest things that used to be going at this time of year was tremendous amounts of stress. I’d like to think that that’s not so much the case now. What do you think?

Well, I just want to remind you that if what you are experiencing is stress to sing, sing. Music has a very magical effect on the human body. That’s one of the reasons that animals sing and, yes, they all sing. Your dog sings; your, well, cats maybe they don’t sing quite so much.

They hum.

They yowl.

S: They [makes cat noises]. They actually sing to the squirrels, you think? That was my cat imitation. What did you think? The sea creatures sing. So singing is very much a part of it all because it’s healing and good for the body, even when it’s a song that makes you go [makes face] because you think you cannot carry a tune, or even if it’s just a silly little song—the Rudolph song or any of those. Sing. Sing. Listen to your . . . whatever it is you plug your ears into and listen to, and sing along with it. It will help your body release stress.

What else can you do to help relieve stress? You’re kind of stuck there behind the pole.

Exercise.

S: Exercise. Absolutely. Absolutely. And, of course, this is getting into that time of year when you want to say, “Well I can’t get outside because the weather’s too awful and . . .” Come up with something you can do inside your house, then. Staying active is the key there. Just stay active.

What else can you do to relieve stress?

One of my favorites is to play games with people, because it’s a lot of fun and brain activity; it brings a lot of laughter.

S: Such as?

Oh gosh—Chicken Foot, Oh Heck, Pig . . .

Golf.

. . . Charades, Catch Phrase.

S: Golf?

It’s a game.

It’s a card game.

S: Not your golf.

Darn.

No, because that just brings stress.

S: So, playing games. But in addition to games for the laughter and the fun, it’s your getting together with others, and that also can relieve stress. Be careful who you’re getting together with, making sure that you have things in common that you enjoy rather than getting together with people you have no idea who they are, and you . . .

Family.

S: [laughing] such as family. Well, sometimes that true. Sometimes you do not know who they are.

So playing the games is a good thing. Sure.

And in addition to getting together with people is getting together with animals.

S: Yes. Yes. Not only a stress reducer, but also a healing activity.

Also taking large tasks and breaking them down into manageable pieces, and just tackling a little bit every day can take what would seem overwhelming if you try to do it all at once or in just a day or two, you can manage it much more easily and reduce the stress.

S: That’s true. Very, very good. Very good.

Just saying “no.”

S: Yes, very true. Yes, say no.

Say yes to no.

S: Say yes to no. Don’t over-schedule yourself; don’t over-offer yourself, but on the other hand don’t neglect to offer yourself either. But remember you need to know what you are capable of, and your responsibility—did you hear that?

Yes.

S: Don’t you hate it when I curse that way? Your responsibility to take care of yourself. That’s a good one.

I like to delegate.

S: And delegate can be part of that. I cannot do that, but I know somebody who can. Hopefully, they are willing. That’s good.

Steven.

No one’s mentioned the time-honored activities of a glass of wine, so I’ll put those in there.

S: All right. All right. That’s good.

When I get really stressed . . .

S: You have lots of wine and let . . . no? All right.

Have sex with the wine.

S: That’s right.

When I’m really stressed, I move more slowly because stress seems to speed me up, and so I just start moving things in slow motion. The body gets the message that everything’s okay, and it really helps me calm down.

S: Now, that’s somebody that knows himself. And that’s it; you’ve got to know if your reaction is, on the other hand, to slow down into procrastination, maybe you want to get yourself moving more, but yes, slow down.

And back to sexual activity—absolutely a stress reliever. If you are engaging with another person, make sure you’re both having fun and relieving stress, all right? Let’s just don’t make this a one-sided thing.

What was that?

You just added a whole bunch of stress to the act.

S: [Laughing] You’re right. You’re right. Hopefully good stress. And a glass of wine or a pint of ale . . .

Xanax.

S: Xanax. You’re such a good group. All things in moderation; if it works, go for it.

One of the things that I’ve experienced in recent years is the concern over the financial part of the holidays, and what I can do and what I can’t do, and realizing that the people I love know that I can’t give more than I can give.

S: Good.

And I just have to kind of explain.

S: No big expectations put out there, as well as your being careful through the year knowing that you’re going to have these expenses, and getting ready for it. Both of those help relieve the financial stress of the season. Absolutely. Very good.

Aye.

Something I don’t do often enough is getting a good massage.

S: Hmm, that’s nice. That’s nice. Everybody knows what Cam wants now, all right? Very good, yes. Absolutely. Help the body get back in sync. Very, very good.

Dancing.

S: Dancing, sure. Sure.

And meditation.

S: Absolutely. Absolutely. Good.

Toning always make me feel better.

S: Yes. Yes. Toning heals the spirit that’s why.

Aye,

Through the years I’ve found out there are just many things I have no control over, and I’ve gotten much better at just saying, “Well, it happened.” We ordered a freezer the other day. We were really excited. We opened it up and it looked like somebody had run a forklift into it. So, it’s like “Okay. Well, that’s that.” And I called them up and they’re going to pick it up and take it back, but it’s like, yes I would have liked to have it, but it’s not something that I can get.I certainly don’t want to get banged out of shape. I just let it go. It didn’t happen.

S: Good.

Well, that happened, but I didn’t get my freezer.

S: Yes.

So what?

S: And I’m going to go back to, that requires knowing yourself, because if you know that it’s expectations of perfection that throw you off, you’re going to be disappointed a lot in your life, and especially around the holiday. Expectations generally throw you off, but expectations of perfection, even when it’s something as obvious as that the freezer should come looking like a freezer. The right attitude is “but it did not, so what am I going to do here? Let it ruin my whole day and everyone I’m around, or accept it and take action.” As a result of that, you’re building a pathway that regularly empowers rather than disempowers. And this time of year, that one is vital. Vital. Well, any time of year that one’s vital.

Reading a good book.

S: Aye, just putting away the electronics and reading a book you really can get into. Got any suggestions? A book you can really get into?

Broken for You.

S: Again.

It’s called Broken for You.

S: Broken?

Broken for You. It’s an exquisite book.

S: All right.

Sequel is Fixed by Me. [Laughter]

Business Writing for Dummies.

S: All right, not exactly what I was thinking of.

It’s a joke.

S: All right. Books. You don’t read any more?

Donna Andrews writes a really zany mystery series.

S: All right. This is good to keep in mind.

Besides your typical calculus and statistics books, what I think . . .

S: Which he finds stress-relieving.

Yes. Not for everybody. I love young adult fiction, and you can pick up so much of that from like Amazon Kindle for a buck, I mean it’s great. And they’re not long reads, because they’re trying to catch the attention span of a teenager, and it’s a pretty quick read.

S: Not real hard to get into, you’re saying.

Yes.

S: Yes. Good. Good. So sitting down with a good book, and there are a few suggestions, minus Cam’s. That’s good. Relieving stress.

Bobby.

This might seem counter-intuitive, but for me, around the holidays I like to up the joy quotient. So like doing things like going to Victorian Square the night that the opera department is there singing is just, you know, just adds a really wonderful charge to things. Or, visiting with family that I don’t see very often is a joyful thing to do.

S: Very nice.

So upping that, even though it’s more activity it really adds to the season.

S: Relieving stress doesn’t mean stopping everything, it means changing your patterns. That’s how you relieve stress, and you’re talking about changing a pattern, being with people you care about, spending more time doing things you really enjoy. That’s good. That’s real good.

This is not a season-related stress, but I was in a very stressful situation recently, and my typical response would have been to get angry, frustrated, feel stuck and all that. And I said, “No. Let me try this differently.” And I just gave, in my mind, thought of a good thing that I’m grateful for to these people who were involved in this situation, and started doing gold cord work with them, and just covered the entire situation with love, and said, “Okay, we’ll create whatever comes out of it for the best.” And it helped change the complete energy like that, and it resulted in something that was much greater.

S: Nice. Consciously sending love to those stressful situations, and staying aware of what you’re grateful for, and looking for what you’re grateful for within those situations. Absolutely.

So remember as you are in this month where there are so often many obligations that you must add to your usual list of obligations, this is a group of people who know how to relieve stress. Talk to them. Use some of these suggestions. Do what you can to remain at your best. And I will add to that: eat well and sleep deeply, because those also help you stay feeling good and building you up so that you can relieve some of that stress.

Also remember that artificial deadlines build more stress in you than you realize. Try not to force yourself into a box that says, “This must be done by tomorrow. This must be done by next week.” Maybe this year you’re sending out New Year’s cards. Just take it easy.

Now, stress isn’t the only thing that this month brings to you. This is also a month of many choices. Choices. How are you at making choices? Some people dither—I think that’s a word. Yes? Dither?

Yes.

S: Dither. “Oh, I don’t know. What about this? What about that? What? What? What?” Dither, because they did not trust their own sense of self, of what their self wants. Some people avoid them all together. “I’m going to make no decisions.” And some people are good at them.

At this time of year, the sorts of decisions that you’re looking at tend to be the kinds of things that have to do with obligating yourself in one way or another. “Am I going to cook this?” “Am I going to give that?” “Am I going to go to this place?” I just want to encourage you to follow your heart this year. Do what your heart wants you to do when you have a decision in front of you. “Should I go to this party? I really don’t want to. Why not? I tend to feel down around those people.” Your heart wants you to feel up, to laugh, to be happy, so choose that party, the one where you’ll be laughing, and with people you love and care about. “I’ve got to give this gift to this person in my office.” Are you sure? “I’ve got to give gifts to all of these service people that have worked with me through the year, and that means I’ve got to make all of these things, and . . .” Maybe this is the year you go to the bakery instead. Take care of you. You remember how to do that, right? Take care of you.

This is a very special year, and the Festival of Light and the New Year’s Eve celebrations are going to show a lot of how special it is, and if you come to those events so wrung out already, you’re not going to be enjoying what’s coming your way. So take care of you, this month and always.

Now shall we do a holiday story? Not me. A lot of times at the December first-Sunday I like to go through . . . Well, darlin’, those are great socks.

It don’t matter. I love them.

S: She’s got color banding all over her feet.

I’ll just sit up here so we can . . .

S: And did you get that?

Not on the video, no.

S: Full of color. Lots and lots of color.

It’s not applause for the socks but for being able to put her foot up there.

S: I often talk about several of the holidays that are going on at this time of year, because there are, there’s a multitude of them. Occasionally I will talk specifically about the Christian Christmas celebration, but I do not do that all that often, because it’s expected. Well, this year I’m going to do something expected. I’m going to go to that holiday.

One of the things I’m going to be doing, hopefully not in an unfriendly manner, is reminding you that this particular story did not start with the birth of Jesus. The Son of the Son, born of a virgin, is a story that went back thousands of years before Jesus. The celebration of the birth of the son at the end of December, although it was called different things rather than December, was celebrated thousands of years before the birth of Jesus.

That’s not to say that the Avataric power and the message and the work that was done were not vital and important for the world. Not at all. I’m not saying that at all. I’m just saying do not be thinking that this is a particularly unique story, because it is a story that has been through most of the major cultures of this world since the Stone Age.

So moving forward from the Stone Age, and moving to . . . which one shall we choose? Mithra? No not that one. Not that one. Wrong one. How about […] No. Not that one. Let’s don’t go there. What about Apollo? No. Not that one. Osiris? No, not that one. I know. How about Jesus?

Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a man named something that sounds in your language like Joseph. He was a very happy fellow because he was engaged, and as was the case in many cultures, engagement at that time really was a betrothal. It was like a hand-fasting, a pre-marriage sort of thing. You are obligated at an engagement, unlike engagement nowadays that kind of comes and goes, or lasts a really long time. And his beloved was named . . .

Mary.

S: Mary. Or in your language Mary, but pretty close to it. So you know this story, do you?

Or the version you’re about to tell us.

S: Not so. I believe you know this version actually. I’m not exactly sure where Santa Claus comes into it, but apparently there’s a relation in there, that distant cousin or something.

It was a time of year at which taxes were due, and Joseph loaded up everything that he would need, which included Mary, who was rather pregnant at the time. And a little back story here, nice, kind, loving Joseph was in a triunity. He did not realize it, that that’s what was going to be coming about, but sure enough, Mary showed up pregnant, and he knew it wasn’t him.

Now, I’m really going by the traditional story here, because that’s not how it worked. But Mary said, “An angel came and visited me and told me I was going to have a child and that it was going to be the child of God, and I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but that’s how it is.” So Joseph said, “We’ll get through this somehow,” loaded her up on the donkey and off they went. Where did they go?

Bethlehem.

S: Why Bethlehem?

Taxes.

Pay their taxes.

Census.

They belonged to the family of David whose home city was Bethlehem so they had to go there.

S: Thank you. And, of course, they went all through the city. They had not called in advance to make reservations so you know what happened there. No room at any inn.

Finally, one innkeeper, realizing that “This woman here looks like she’s going to have a baby on the lobby floor here if I don’t do something,” said, “There’s a room out in the stable. If you’re willing, you can make a bed out there.”

Now a little aside again: It’s not unusual before your time of big, thick, cushy mattresses, to sleep in the straw. You get used to it. Sleeping on the floor, you get used to it. To be told there’s room in the stable is not a horrible thing. So don’t feel badly for them.

You see I’m kind of rushing through the story? You think maybe because that’s not where my point is.

So they get to the stable just in time for Mary to give birth. Is this the part where the angels sing? Maybe that’s not you, right? The baby is born, and several things happen. One of them is, out in the fields shepherds watching their flocks get tapped on the shoulder, and [it was] said, “There’s something really big going on in Bethlehem. You might want to check it out. The Son of God has been born there.”

Now, first, shepherds are not usually skinny little do-nothing boys. They’re not, no matter what part you played in the church play. That’s not it. They had to be strong, warrior types. Think about it. They’re not just sitting on a rock watching sheep or goats. They are protecting them. The shepherds were protectors of what was theirs. So when they got that tap on the shoulder—all right, maybe it wasn’t a tap on the shoulder—they had a choice to make: go check this out and leave the sheep, or just bring the sheep with us and go check it out. What’s common in both of those choices?

Go check it out.

S: Because they were curious. They were curious. The angel’s job was to stimulate their curiosity, and I’ll get to that in a few moments.

And meanwhile, truly a few months earlier, some Persian astrologers are looking at the sky and saying, “There is that star that we have been waiting on for quite some time. What do you think we should do about it? Just keep quiet or mention it to the rulers of our kingdoms?” You know, it was an astrologers’ conference there. And of course they went and told it to the kings, who immediately mounted their camels and took off across the desert to go to Bethlehem, because they were curious. They were curious. “What could this be? What could it mean? Is it what has been foretold? Is that possible? Let’s go see.”

And being proper guests, they brought presents for the host. And those presents, you may remember, were all about making sure when you die you’re going to have what you need to embalm your body, buy a place to put that body and not smell so bad while you rot. Well, that’s what gold, frankincense and myrrh were about.

You tell it like it is.

S: Which, by the way, was not that unusual a gift. Up until . . . well, as I would say, fairly recently, but I suppose you would say a couple of hundred years ago, but even now in some cultures, one of the first jobs of a bride is to create the death garment of the groom. “What are you doing after your honeymoon?” “Sewing my husband’s death garments.” “Do you have plans there?”

They’re [. . .] life insurance.

S: Maybe that would be it today—three wise people bringing life insurance to the baby, or medical care insurance. “This is what you’re going to need in this world.”

Eventually, according to the story, they all showed up at the same time, and were able to meet and greet the infant Jesus. And they recognized immediately the power and the Light and the kingship of this great one, and bowed down before and left the gifts, and kept the sheep in order, or something like that. And you have the Nativity story. Yes?

But there’s another way of looking at it. It’s also the story of two people willing to bet their lives on change—that would be Mary and Joseph—willing to bet their lives because a woman pregnant before marriage was required to be killed. That he did not do so was quite an outrageous choice, because to make that choice also meant he also would be killed. So they bet their lives that what they believed was worth their lives. And what was it they believed? They believed that Mary held the seed to a great change, a new beginning, for the world, and they bet their lives on it.

If there was nobody else in this story, I would tell you that the life lesson there is beautiful any time of year. Do you bet your life on what you believe? Do you know what you believe? Do you believe that you have access to a seed within you that’s about changing this world? You should, because you do. Do you believe that you have a part in bringing change to this world? You do, so you should. And if you believe that you have a part in changing this world and that, in fact, within you is the knowledge that can help bring about that change, do you take action, get on your donkey and ride? Yes, I can see that some of you got the alternative way of saying that. Do you? They did.

It’s important to realize that they not only had to go against what their own tribe said was and was not allowed and would or would not be done because of it. I’ll tell you, they were probably really glad to be getting out of town at the time. They were actually going to the politicians of the day with what they believed. They were going to the county seat, so to speak. So many of you clam up when you’re around people that you think might judge you harshly, that might have a bit of authority. They lived what they believed. They took action.

There’s also the innkeeper, who often gets maligned quite a bit. The innkeeper was just doing his job. But the innkeeper went out of his way to be kind. Now, that’s not a hard one is it? Right. The “random acts of kindness” movement, doing something good without getting credit for it, is an excellent exercise in releasing ego and an excellent manifestation of prosperity exercise as well. What you do returns to you. What you do consciously, in love, returns multiplied over and over. So when the neighbor says, “Can I have a cup of flour?” and you know they want that white, all-purpose version and all you have is rice flour, what are you going to do? “Sorry, don’t have what you need.” Or maybe be willing to take it one step further, “I do have rice flour, and I can tell you how to make it work in your recipe, or if you don’t have time, I might be able to run out and get it for you.” Go that extra mile. Give a little more.

The shepherds—I love that the shepherds are usually portrayed as little boys, out on the rocks, watching their sheep. I love that. So you’ve got these big, brawny, wild-animal trainers—that wasn’t the sheep—teaching the wolves and the cats to stay away. Well, there is something to be said for it being a somewhat boring job a lot of the time, just like life often is. Oh, there’s a few moments of great excitement, but a whole lot of it is just routine stuff. As a result of that, it’s very easy to lose your passion. When there is more routine, more rut, that’s the sure-fire passion killer.

So these strong and courageous shepherds were willing to get their passion raised up a bit by doing something different, doing something out of the ordinary. What might be your version of that this year? What out of the ordinary might you do to get your passion going? Think about it. And it was curiosity that took them there.

Now, you’ve got an expression, what is it? “Curiosity . . . .

Killed the cat.

S: Killed the cat.

Satisfaction brought it back.

S: [Laughing] Satisfaction brought it back. Now, that’s a good way to deal with one of those awful sayings. Kill the cat and two birds and one stone, and . . . yuk. Such a violent group. Satisfaction brought it back—that’s nice.

They were curious, remember that. Most western adults lost their curiosity in their mid-twenties. By the time most adults are in their forties, they rarely care about what makes them think, challenging their mind, learning, finding out something new. And, in fact, in western society, starting much earlier than the twenties, minds begin to close, to protect that person from stepping out off the beaten track—that’s what a rut is.

The shepherds were willing to have an open mind. What do you think this is about? Well, perhaps what they heard in the heavens was Toning from Lexington, because sometimes that sounds like a heavenly choir is with you, doesn’t it? And, in fact, I would say that in fact Avataric openings into the world do create a new tone that affects the world at that time.

Nonetheless, we’ll call it angels. “Glory to God in the highest. Have I got something great to tell you! Go there, see this, and your life will change.” Can that still happen to you? When you hear someone say “Go there, see this. It will change your life,” do you just click off that tab and go to another web site? “Oh no, not one of those. This is spam.”

What are you open to any more? What does it take to get you there. Now, there is something to be said that it took the shepherds hearing voices in the sky before they got out of their comfy job and went to check things out. What does it take for you?

The kings were also curious. Now you know, kings then were a little different than a king now. The countries were a little smaller. In fact, they weren’t so much countries as regions where tribes lived. Nonetheless, these were people who were of the higher echelons of society, however you might want to look at it. I’d like to remind you, my friends, that in the cultures of this world, you are those higher echelons. You have clean water. You have food to eat. You can go out and buy new clothes. How many of you have a pet? Then you’re really rich, because you are rich enough that you can feed something that isn’t you. So it could be you hopping on that camel. How many of you have hopped on a camel? Keep your hand up. I want to look at this. I love this. Where did you hop on your camel?

Egypt.

Australia.

S: Egypt and Australia.

And Morocco.

S: And Morocco.

Pyramids.

S: And the Pyramids, Egypt, yes. And how was it for you?

Awesome.

Smelly.

S: [Laughing] Smelly?

It was awesome.

S: Awesome. It’s a different view up there isn’t it? Even makes it so you don’t even have to think about the enslaved camel, doesn’t it?

They hop on their camel and take off, following the star. That does not mean they watched E.T. on television. Is that right? Following those stars. I thought that was a lot funnier than you seem to have thought. They were following something unusual, something that wasn’t familiar in their world. They were checking it out, and if indeed it was what had been foretold, they were going to provide a bit for it. In other words, they were ready for whatever they came up on. If it was nothing but a good jaunt in the desert—and there is no such thing on a camel; maybe for the short ride you took but not for days at a time; no such thing—they either had a little vacation or they were going to see something that their heart had been waiting on all of their lives.

And what I want you to realize is that they would not have been disappointed either way, because they were following their heart. Yes, I know, it says star, but if you know astronomy at all, you know that there is no way a single star is going to give you direct coordinates pre-Google—not going to happen. They were following their hearts that said, “Maybe.” How many people in your world have lost the joy of “maybe.” It could, maybe . . . Too many times “It [had] better.” “This is what I’m expecting.” “This is how it should be.” “This is how it’s always been.” They rode off into the land of “maybe,” and found something that caused them to stop.

Now you also know that by the time they would have arrived, according to the astronomy of the time, that child would have been quite a bit older than just born, but that’s not the point. The point is, on a hope, based on the willingness to have an open mind and be led by the heart, they went to check out something new.

I will give you very, very big credit because being right here in this place at all says that you are led by your heart and you have an open mind, but what about those around you? And they were willing to be flexible and adaptable. “If we find it, we’ve got the right gifts. If we don’t find it, nice vacation.”

So in this Christmas story, you have those who are willing to give their lives for what they believe. You have those willing to go the extra step, the extra mile. You have those who are willing to get out of their rut, and let their curiosity lead them into “what if.” And you have those willing to say, “Eh, go either way.” No expectations. Adaptability.

Not even going to the greatest portion of the story in which the child, the son, was born into the world, the change that was brought about, the power of that. Look at the gifts that surround this story and take them into your own life. Take action on what you believe, even if you get tossed out of the family for it. Even if it risks your life, take action on what you believe. Stay curious. Give. Be open and follow your heart. These are life gifts not just holiday gifts. Think on these things this month.

At the Festival [of Light], I will talk a little more about the birth of the son, and it is the heart of that story.

Become one who is a gift to this world by living the gifts of this story. Be the gift.

Glochanumora.