A Christmas Message

Let Us Rejoice

By Paramahansa Yogananda

The following excerpt is from The Second Coming of Christ by Paramahansa Yogananda (Copyright © 2004, Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles. Reprinted with permission.)

Let us make this Christmas a real celebration of the birth of the holy child by striving to realize the consciousness which he attained.

Let us make this celebration an uplifting and spiritual experience.

Let us not for a moment forget the one whose birthday is being commemorated while in our zeal we go about the joyful and exciting preparation for the happy festivities.

Let us use this occasion as a new impetus to inspirit us on the Christ-path of truth and love.

Let us use it as an opportunity to express the Universal Christ-love for all people and all creatures—exalted and lowly, near and far, large and small, known and unknown.

While we are remembering the physical birth of the baby Christ Jesus, let us realize his eternal loving presence in omnipresent Christ Consciousness, which is always with us no matter where we are or what we are doing.

Let us resolve anew to discipline ourselves—to control our bodies, our minds, and our emotions—and to strive ever toward Christ understanding.

Let us establish the Prince of Peace consciousness as our inner ruler, that we may meet our crosses and tests of life with power, victory, and tranquility.

Let us meditate until we perceive the Infinite Christ reigning in our own hearts.

Let us learn to love those who love us not; and to forgive those who do ill against us.

Let us break all our mental boundaries of color, creed, and nationality, and receive all—even our inanimate and animal brothers—in the endless, all-embracing arms of our Christ Consciousness. This will be a true and fitting celebration of the coming of Jesus Christ to this earth.

Let us rejoice and give thanks for this wonderful gift of light and love from the Great Giver.

Peace. Joy. Peace.

How to Be Your Own Energy Healer

By Mary Ann Robbat

(Adapted from her new book, Engaging Your Power

Once you learn to feel and work with your body's own three energy systems -- spiritual, life force, and identity -- it can open up a whole new way to deal with negative emotions such as mild depression or anxiety and the physical symptoms that result from these conditions. Don't know how to find or tap into your energy fields? Here are three simple ways to get started.

Step 1: "Play ball" with your spiritual energy field.

Place your hands about six inches apart with palms facing the ceiling. Imagine a six-inch white ball of light on your right hand. Focus, and when you can really feel, see, or sense the ball of light, throw the ball to your other hand. As you toss it back and forth, pay attention to how it feels. Is there a tingling or buzzing sensation? Congratulations. This is your spiritual energy field. Now, imagine this ball of light in your stomach and move it up through your body out the top of your head. Is the energy flowing easily, quickly, and lightly, or did it move slowly and heavily? This will give you an indication of how freely the energy is flowing within your spiritual energy field.

Step 2: Practice "reading" your own aura.

Your aura is like a snapshot of your emotional state at any one time. Auras can and do change. Here's a simple way to sense yours. Hold your hands two to four inches from your body. Move your hands in and out to see where your aura starts. It may be subtle and may take you several tries. Once you feel where it begins, follow the energy out from your body with your hands to see how extensive it is. A very expansive aura usually indicates that you are feeling good and emotionally balanced. An aura that is tight or condensed around your body usually indicates that your emotional well-being is not as balanced as it could be.

Step 3: Locate your identity energy blocks.

In your mind, relive a time or event in your life when everything was going well and you felt on top of the world. Put yourself in that time and place, and do it several times until it's vivid. Now, put your hand about three inches from your solar plexus (the indentation below your chest but above your stomach) and feel if the energy feels light, heavy, big, expansive, contracted, and so on. Move your hand away from your body to see how far your energy extends. Now, think of a time in your life when you felt powerless, disappointed, rejected, unloved, or unappreciated. Go through the solar plexus exercise, above. After doing this, you will know if you have energy that's blocked in your solar plexus, which is the center of your body's self-power.

Mary Ann Robbat is a widely esteemed energy healer, shaman, and coach, and runs the Robbat Center for Advancement of Energy Healing, which trains people in energy-based healing modalities. Her forthcoming book is Engaging Your Power: Using Your Divine Energy to Have the Life You Want.

How Our Dreams Can Heal Us

By Sue Frederick, author of I See Your Dream Job

Many times when I've been in pain, a departed loved one has come into my dreams to heal me. Here's my most powerful example:

I met my lifelong best girlfriend Crissie in second grade on the swing set of our Catholic elementary school playground. Her crazy brilliance and insane wit bonded us instantly. Our first conversation went something like this (although she was doing all the talking): "Don't you think the word nunnery is weird, like a cannery? Why would a girl choose to be canned...er...nunned? Do you think nuns all come out the same from a nunnery like peas from a cannery? What if Shakespeare said, 'Get thee to a cannery!'"

As she talked, she cracked herself up, bending over in peals of giggles that had me laughing uncontrollably along with her. I realized I had found a true friend--someone who thought outside the box. I didn't always understand her, but I loved her instantly.

Years later in seventh grade, the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan. Crissie and I were the only ones in our Catholic elementary school to have our lives changed at that moment. We knew the Beatles meant more than wonderful music and that they were showing us a bigger, more exciting life that we both wanted. We promised each other that we'd get out of the south as soon as we graduated high school and fulfill our huge dreams. She never let me forget that promise.