On Christmas and New Year

Christmas is a Christian celebration of the birth of the person after whom their religion is named, although Yuletide was celebrated at the same time of the year much earlier. In this sense Christmas appears to have little relevance to Spiritualists but I firmly believe there is relevance nevertheless. Jesus of Nazareth was one of the most gifted mediums who ever lived and the most spiritual of men. Although his teachings and his life story have been hijacked and significantly amended by theologians, without their trappings it has great significance for Spiritualists. We could do far worse than follow the example of Jesus.

The life of Jesus was an object lesson in how to develop the gifts of the spirit and above all, in how to work with the power of the spirit for the greater good of all humanity. The astonishing thing is that despite the fact he lived in a society we would find completely alien, his teachings and his example have the same relevance today as they did over 2000 years ago. He demonstrated that if we trust the power of the spirit, control our overweening egos and do our best to live our lives with humility and sensitivity towards the needs of others, we will find an inner peace and contentment that is foreign to materialists. If we want peace in the world, we must first find peace within ourselves. The Golden Rule, a philosophy of life he introduced in the Sermon on the Mount and one that has never been bettered, has long been honoured with lip service only. The results have been catastrophic. How different the world could be if each one of us tried harder to live by this precept.

Many years of failing to keep New Year resolutions has led me to abandon the practice but I do feel the end of a year gives us an opportunity to review the personal events of that year, recognise our mistakes and promise ourselves we will try harder next year.

In 2010 I would like to see Spiritualism moving closer to spirit and see more people being encouraged to sit in home circles for the joy of being with spirit, rather than to develop this or that type of mediumship. I would like to see a determined effort, by all Spiritualist churches and Societies throughout the world, to raise standards. Too few speakers on our platforms have studied the history of Spiritualism, the philosophy of the great spiritual teachers, or the techniques of public speaking. Too many mediums are not sufficiently developed to be working in public and even more cannot distinguish between what is psychic and what comes from the spirit world. The need to tackle these shortcomings has been there for years and we need to act. When we do we won’t be alone. Once we begin, the spirit people will flock to help us, for they know such changes are a golden opportunity to alter the way human beings behave towards each other and the world in which they live. Human beings are creatures of spirit and for too long, even Spiritualists have overlooked this fact. Let us return to our roots. If Spiritualists begin the process, it will soon move outwards and encompass others.

Christmas is very materialistic today and of course in that, it reflects society as a whole. It seems to have lost much of its religious significance but that does not bother me unduly. After all, religion has brought at least as much agony as joy to our world. The fact remains, materialistic or not, most people at Christmas focus on others as well as themselves. It would be better of course if we could focus on others instead of ourselves but let’s not be too critical. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. What blessing is greater than seeing the joy on the faces of small children on Christmas morning? Christmas can be a starting point. If we can only learn to make giving second nature, we will have taken a huge step forward as a species. Of course we have to understand that giving of oneself is what is important. I remember well during the war how we used to make one another Christmas gifts. It seemed to me these hand made gifts gave more genuine pleasure to both giver and receiver than did gifts bought in a shop.

If we can think so much about giving pleasure to others at Christmas, we can do it at other times of the year too. Perhaps it will become a habit! Shorn of its materialistic overtones, giving can be the start of an inner revolution.

A Happy Christmas from sunny Rio.