Edition 9, December 2006
A Christmas Message

CONTENTS:
Editorial Comment Featured Articles Featured Poem

EDITORIAL COMMENT: We have a list of friends we know all written in a book and every year at Christmas time we go and take a look. And that is when we realise these names are part not of the book they are written in but of our hearts. For each name stands for someone who has crossed our path sometime, and in that meeting they become the rhythm of the rhyme And while it sounds fantastic for us to make this claim, we really feel we are composed of each and every name. And while you may not be aware of any special link, Just meeting you has shaped our lives more than you can think. For once you’ve met somebody, the years cannot erase The memory of a pleasant word or a friendly face. So never think that Christmas cards and messages are just a mere routine, of names upon a Christmas list, forgotten in between. For when we send a Christmas message addressed to you, It’s because you’re on the list of folks we’re indebted to. For you are part of many folk whom we have met, and you happen to be one of those we prefer not to forget And whether we have known you for many years or a few, in some way you have had a part in shaping things we do. And every year when Christmas comes we realise anew the biggest gift life can give is meeting friends like you. So may the Spirit of Christmas that forever and ever endures, leave its richest blessing in the heart of you and yours.  Anonymous

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SUBSCRIBERS, AND MAY YOUR CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS, AND THE NEW YEAR 2007 BE FILLED WITH LOVE AND LIGHT. -----------------------------------------------------------------

FEATURED ARTICLES:      

A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE Christmas is a time to consider our inner celebration, not just the outer trappings of the Christmas festivities. It is a time to meditate – to make our inner temples a sanctuary for Christ. It is a time to awaken our inner power – to feel His presence in our consciousness. At this time, many seek the passing glory of material things however, those who seek the Infinite will reach the blissful goal of their seeking. So many people celebrate Christmas Day without knowing at all the purpose for which they should be celebrating. The material celebration of Christmas has some good points and some bad. To a certain extent, Christ comes into our consciousness when we are happy and loving and giving. But the purely material way of honoring Christ’s birth by gifts and social events defeats its purpose if Christ is absent. We should not take lightly the celebration of the birth of Jesus. These holy days should remind us of Christ – the divine life manifested by Jesus, the spiritual aspect of this holiday. In the exchange of gifts, there is a sharing of love and a feeling of expansion. What we give with the sincerity of our hearts, Christ himself accepts. We celebrate this holiday as the birth of Jesus the Christ. Jesus was a model of the omnipresent Christ Consciousness. His life showed that He had broken all limitations and had found His oneness with God in everything. This is a time to break down the walls of our limitations – those limitations that shut out the Christ Consciousness. It is a time to bring calmness and peace into our lives. Calmness is one of the greatest gifts of God; it is the eye of the Spirit, the pure intuitive perception of the soul. Forgiveness is another quality of the Infinite Christ. Though omnipotent Christ Consciousness was fully manifest in the body of Jesus, He let himself be crucified; but with the great power that He had in the consciousness of Christ and by forgiveness, He has held the hearts of people to this day. The gift of the Christ Consciousness is love – love that can never be killed by any anger or hatred. This is a time to spend time transmuting any ill will that we have toward others – a time to freely forgive all perceived wrongs and to forgive ourselves for allowing others to hurt us. Another quality we must strive to cultivate is nobility of heart and a spirit of service – to be big enough to behave nobly in every situation and to serve all – these also come as gifts of Christ Consciousness. To serve all means to be conscious that we are in everybody, not just in the one little body we call our own – for we are all made of the one same omnipresent consciousness of God. When we do for others just as we are doing for ourselves, then that is one way, the social way, to cultivate Christ Consciousness. Real Christ-love comes to those who open those Christmas packages that are expressions of an awakening spiritualised consciousness. That bliss we feel when Christ comes is not the emotional happiness aroused by receiving material things. Blessedness is the consciousness that comes by our contact with the Christ within. That is the Christmas celebration to impress upon our consciousness. To enjoy a real Christmas, we should celebrate the birth of Christ Consciousness in meditation. In deep meditation there is an exchange of the Christ Consciousness and our consciousness. That is the real Christmas celebration. When the Christ Consciousness comes to us, we find within us the whole Cosmos, with whirling worlds and universes hanging like ornaments around the Christmas tree of the spine. That is how Jesus celebrated ‘Christmas’, the birth of the Christ Consciousness within Him. We must celebrate His coming by silence and meditation. Be happy with everything. Feel good will toward all. Throw away all prejudicial limitations. Make up your mind to be morally good. Then Christ will always be with you. This is one way of being in tune with Christ Consciousness – of celebrating Christmas. The second way, the deeper way of celebrating Christmas is through the uplifting of your consciousness through deep meditation. This is the greatest way to celebrate the birth of Christ, in the silence of your soul. May the New Year 2007 bring you prosperity, good health, perception, fulfillment of all your hopes and dreams, divine love, infinite bliss, infinite wisdom, and infinite joy, and may Christ be established in your consciousness forever. Acknowledgement:  The Second Coming of Christ, by Paramahansa Yogananda -----------------------------------------------------------------

Something to Ponder Upon Christmas time is a time when we ponder upon the year past, and the year ahead, and think about how we are living our lives. I thought that the following article, Disiderata, meaning “some things desired as essential or needed”, by an unknown author, was worth sharing. “In whatever religion you have been taught, however you have been brought up, and however you have understood your teachers, it is not enough that this message be believed. It is a message to be lived! The essence of Universal religion is the Peace and Truth with Love for, and kindness to, all the creatures of the Earth. You would reform the world? Begin with yourselves! The message of the unreformed reformer seldom inspires reformation. The heart of all religion is Love. And righteousness, which is love in action, is the fulfillment of religion. Love not only family and friends – for Love denied, seek peace within yourself and seek too, within the divine breath of life. Persist in these things! Do not let up a single moment! Through your faith and through your deeds you shape your life and help shape the lives of others, as well. What a responsibility! The Spirit finds in you its agent, and also its partner, and to the degree that you are aware of this and act on it, your life is enriched. A revelation will occur to you – a revelation higher than your most exalted dreams. The New Age is coming, and in it there will be a realization of the Oneness of all. Differences between the various religions will disappear. The good, which is in each of them, will be fused and will become the common goal of all mankind. Know that you have the power to choose! Choose LOVE, not hate; choose GENTLENESS, not violence; choose HOLINESS, not evil! Dare to believe that the reign of LOVE and PEACE is coming soon! Ready yourself for it! Ready yourself for it with deeds of righteousness as the door opener. And beyond the door is LOVE. May power Divine enter every aspect of your life endowing it with the rewards of material accomplishments, the treasures of purposeful existence, and the Eternal Light of spiritual achievement. Author Unknown -----------------------------------------------------------------

 

FEATURED POEM:

One With All Things Copyright © by Janette Wighton, 2006 To be at One With All Things is the way we should strive, for to be at One With All Things is how our race will survive. So love your fellow man with all your heart,  take him by the hand and your wisdom impart. Draw on the knowledge of all you have learned. Let nature be your teacher, leave no stone unturned. Take notice of the insects, feel the wind, smell the rain. See it all for the lessons and the truth you will gain. Hear the song of the birds, take notice of their play,  for if you pay attention to them, you’ll learn The Way. See the signs that nature brings, for there you’ll find the learning of all great things. For nature’s Silence will surely bring, the answers you are seeking to everything. For in nature God has given us all we require, the means to meet every need, every desire. If you will only take the time to see,  to live your life in love and in Him just be,  and to all creatures great and small, shine your Light as a beacon for the good of all. And drink in the beauty that nature brings, then you will surely be at One With All Things.

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For further information about the articles contained in this newsletter or to offer your feedback, please contact the editor on editor@medicicharter.com, or write to THE MEDICI CHARTER PTY. LTD., P.O. Box 1465, Mona Vale, N.S.W. 1660.