Holiday Season Has Arrived

I hope your Thanksgiving was peaceful, loving, and truly happy. In America, the Thanksgiving holiday feast ignites the pressure that continues to build and consume us as the holidays unfold. The combined strain to shop, decorate, wrap, bake, entertain, and find ways to have fun serves to create confusion and conflict. Especially as we add the extra components of increased sweets, lack of sleep, relationship issues, financial worry, and let’s add our current concern for world crisis… and we have the recipe for a ticking time bomb of anxiety, distress, and disease. What can we do to shift the mania and maintain a balance across mind, body, emotions, and spirit this holiday season?

These past several years, my family has been celebrating our turkey dinner on the Saturday after Thanksgiving Day, which makes things less hectic for everyone. We bake, cook, and decorate with much less pressure, which is the way it was in days of old. My mother started baking pies early in the week, making something every day in preparation for our big Thursday dinner. As a working woman, I never had all week to prepare and found myself peeling apples for pies while watching the Macy’s parade, which has now become a tradition. There was so much pressure to get everything prepared, cooked, and served, then try to relax and enjoy it all in one day… It was exhausting. By honoring a more balanced week of gratitude, we lighten the pressure of having to celebrate on the specific day that Abraham Lincoln designated as the official Thanksgiving holiday. In fact, the first thanksgiving feast was celebrated by the early settlers and native people shortly after harvest in September, which makes sense.

Celebrations and Expectations

If we apply the same principle to the Christmas holiday season, we can pace ourselves, take our time, celebrate on different days, give the gift of time or treasure we have, and lower our expectations. It is often the expectations that we place on ourselves and others that cause such trouble. We can only do so much in the time allotted, with the funds available. Must we really celebrate with family on the actual day of Christmas? Technically, it has been proven that Jesus was not born in December anyway. The winter solstice celebration time was selected by the church as the day to observe the Christ-child’s birth for self-serving reasons. Let us choose to celebrate together in peace when our hearts and minds are able to relax and enjoy.

Remember also that expectations placed on others are what cause most disagreements and disappointments. Some can never be expected to stretch beyond their own self-imposed limitations. They are who they are, and will only change when and if they choose to. We must learn to accept people for who they are and appreciate the good things about them. Even if we see the potential for their growth or expansion, if they can’t or won’t see it for themselves, we cannot make them change. They are simply not ready. Enjoy them for who they are and allow them space to learn their lessons. Take a moment to listen to this recent Inspiring Hope Radio Show with Dr. James Peck, an expert in mind-body-spirit medicine. We shared powerful insights with tips to maintain health for the holidays. It is important to maintain balance on all levels: mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical. As we pace ourselves during this busy season and slow down just a little, we can prioritize more fully, which allows us to be more focused, efficient, and enjoyable.

Alert and Aware

Many of us are deeply concerned about the future of humanity, and the Guides of the Collective warned us that we must take notice and take action to save our world before it is too late. There are so many people who have been led down the garden path of deception and are completely unaware of situations going on behind the scenes that are leading to a trajectory that could cause great harm in years or even months to come. People have been continuously fed misinformation that creates a false sense of fear toward each other, inciting division among family, friends, and communities. There are others who are very aware of what is going on to create division in our world and live in incredible fear of what our future may be if the others don’t wake up, take notice, and take action.

What should we do during this holiday season to help friends wake up without sacrificing our personal relationships? Do we avoid stirring the pot with truths that could serve to educate while still maintaining peace? At what cost? How do we live with ourselves without sharing the knowledge of what is happening in our world with others who exist in innocence or ignorance without realizing it may cost them their lives? Can we be at peace, knowing that we are living in and observing a grand illusion? The real truth is truly blind to all of us. We don’t know what is really going on behind the scenes. However, remaining alert and aware, we must find ways to live our lives in peace, while trusting in our higher power.

Roadmap for Hope

The Anquietas in the Chronicles of Hope series gave sage advice that rings true especially during these most stressful of times. Their Roadmap for Hope is sincerely needed this season. They invite us to believe positively that things are on the road to improvement, which creates positive energy and manifests optimal outcomes. Knowing how the world should be, generates the strongest positive force. We must do uplifting activities, simple things that create joy in our lives, and think positive, grateful, and hopeful thoughts while doing them.

1. Honor our Earth – Connect with nature. Watch the animals, the sky, and whisper to the trees.
2. Care for the body – Make healthy choices. Limit sweets, use lemon for alkalizing water, and get good sleep.
3. Create with joy – Do uplifting things. Make decorating and gift-giving creative and fun.
4. Raise vibrational energy – Smile and laugh. Watch heartfelt shows. Listen to high-energy music.
5. Know that there is plenty – Share what you can. Give the gift of time and treasures from around the house.
6. Respect each other – Make personal connections, contact friends. Limit exposure to toxic people.
7. Ask for assistance – Reach for the Light. Embrace a personal relationship with Spirit.
8. Live with gratitude – Appreciate what is. Make every day a joyful, thankful day.

Moments and Memories

It is vitally important to celebrate simple happy moments with family and friends, without political discourse or debate. Creating holiday memories will lift everyone’s energy, helping to shift the vibrational frequencies for all, which will make a difference. So many people are living busy lives while struggling with internal dialogue. If we choose to create moments of joy, it will serve to lift everyone’s spirits. Can we avoid political discussion, debate, or discourse, and support one another physically and emotionally as family and friends? If we personally embrace an active practice of sending prayer and positive energy, we will do our part to hold positive energy for all those who are close to us and invite hope for peace around our world.

Take a minute each day to join in our 8 @ 8 Universal Prayer for Peace. Spend a minute each day at 8:00 am or pm or both to send prayers of light, love, gratitude, compassion, hope, and positive energy to whoever comes to your heart and mind. Together, we will create small ripples of hope in this large pond of humanity. Help send a wave of prayer-filled light that will traverse the world in a continuous cycle. We are making a difference for ourselves, our families, our communities, and our world at large!

Many Blessings for a Happy, Healthy Holiday Season,
Lois Hermann