Is it right to use the birth of Christ for material rejoicings involved in decorations, Christmas dinners and the exchange of gifts, or is it right to worship the coming of Christ only in Spirit?
Christ is only suggested in social Christmas festivities, but He is seen and felt as an everlasting, ever-joyous fact in the cradle of divine ecstasy. Unless you make the effort to really get acquainted with the ever-living Christ, born as new wisdom and new happiness within you, I am afraid you will let the precious instructive Christmas season pass by without heed.
I am not telling you to omit the social festivities. What I want is that you not omit the paramount spiritual factor in your Christmas celebration. Add to your social celebration of Christmas the celebration of bringing Christ a second time in your meditative consciousness. Prepare yourself to celebrate Christmas in the real way:
1. Make your heart an altar of Christ-love. Love all races as the uniform dwelling place of the omnipresent Christ.
2. Forgive all your imaginary and real enemies even as Christ forgave His adversaries.
3. Govern all the actions of your life with the honesty and fearlessness of Jesus Christ.
4. Exchange gifts with the thought of giving Christ the gift of your heart and receiving the gift of Himself in the cradle of your calm consciousness.
5. Exchange spiritual gifts by giving your good qualities to those who need them and by receiving the soul-qualities of those who are great and who love you for your own good.
6. Make the unknown Christ known within yourself by seeing Him born a second time as the ever-new, ever-increasing joy of your daily deep meditation.
7. Behold the omnipresent joy of Christ in all men, in all saints, in all creation, in the star-peopled cosmos, and in the temple of your own thoughts.
