There's no reality except the one contained within us. That's why so many people live an unreal life. They take images outside them for reality and never allow the world within them to assert itself.
—Herman Hesse

Thought for the Day: We live in a world that leads us to believe we must fight, claw and scratch our way to the top of the heap (Just ask Frank Sinatra). The problem is the heap has no top. As soon as we think we’re king of the hill, we look down and all we see is a pile of hurt feelings, dishonest dealings, half-truths, and lies—mostly to ourselves. Such is the nature of materialism. Such is the affect of this false reality we have created.

The stories about Jesus’ birth are very much parables designed to awaken us all to a greater reality. They are meant to break the spell of the material world and help us transcend materialism by letting God burst forth from within us. Like Jesus, we too are destined to become agents of change, acting from God’s space rather than running around between spaces at the shopping mall.

There is deep meaning in the Christmas story about an explosion of spiritual consciousness into the world. The Christ child is a symbol of that awakening within every human being and the transformative power spiritual awareness has on our concept of reality.

The greatest present I can imagine this year is a Christmas where humans all over the world begin to transcend this reality that burdens us with material dissatisfaction. I hope we all receive the present of open minds and realization of Oneness.

Prayer: Transcendent God, unwrap the ties that trap my mind and reveal your gracious presence within my soul. Awaken the world to a greater sense of purpose and unity. Amen.