Tuning in to the light that we are

When I was in kindergarten, we had a very special Christmas Project. We made mangers out of popsical sticks and baby Jesuses out of clay. I remember being completely impatient, waiting for my baby Jesus to return from the oven or kiln where the teacher dried them. I wanted so badly to put him in my little manger. The teacher had other plans. She gave each of us a little bag of hay with instructions for our parents. Every time we did a loving or kind deed—being nice to my little brother, being helpful, etc.—we got to put a strand of hay in the manger.

The goal was to have a comfy and warm place for our little clay baby Jesus to lay on Christmas Eve. I took my job seriously. I’d help carry the dishes. “Can I put another piece of hay in the manger, mommy?” Carefully, another strand went in. I made my bed, “Does this count for the hay?” Mom was agreeable! By December 21st, my little clay Jesus had the equivalent of a modern, comfy pillowtop bed made of hay! As I very seriously and reverently laid him in the manger, I remember feeling so proud that I’d made him comfortable with my good deeds. It is funny how children think. It was all so very real to me.

Perhaps as children, we know something we forget as adults: that this business of seeking to be loving is a privilege, an honor, and honestly, what feels best. So many times in my life, I’ve been tempted to anger and rage. It never felt good. It was often warranted, but it still didn’t feel good. Then, I got “spiritual” and tried to love things that I didn’t like. You’ve heard this: the angels said, “Ann, bad food will never taste good, and bad deeds will never feel good when you think of them. Focus on how you’ve grown, what you like about so many other things in life, the sun filtering through the leaves as they rustle in the breeze.”

This year, more than any other, I learned to think less, analyze less, strive and seek less, and simply tune more. In fact, the other day, when I was up to my eyeballs in another challenge, I just sat down, shut my eyes, thought about things and people I loved, and found that feeling of love from within. I turned away from the problem vibration (feelings of upset, frustration, etc.) and sat there basking in love. Why? Because it felt better. Because I knew solutions would come. Because I want to create good, not more mess.

Sure enough, the vibrational shift caused a 3D shift. My old security system had started randomly beeping at various intervals and having other problems. On a night when I intended to get to bed early last weekend, I was up at 4 am with customer service, climbing in the attic, standing on the dryer to unplug batteries, and thoroughly baffled about where this thing was plugged in. The system had been installed before I moved into this house decades ago.

Two days later, with no solution and still frustrated, I sat and tuned into love. Of course, in this improved vibration, help came. I asked the angels, “Where is the plug for this thing?” I felt an urge to wander into a nearby room and look up. There, dead center in the ceiling was an outlet with a very burnt-out transformer—still hanging where it was plugged in nearly thirty years ago! I was overjoyed. In all my reading and calls, nothing got through as easily as spirit when I was in a good mood! Having attuned to love, I could feel the loving impulse from spirit. Mystery solved. I got the best customer service rep, who even enjoyed my Christmas decorations on our video support call.

So this Christmas, late at night, after all the food, fun, festivities, and friends, I will sit quietly looking at the lights on my tree, remembering the feeling of wonder that was with me in childhood and before that in heaven. I’ll put on Silent Night and other classics, grab my cocoa with marshmallows and whipped cream, burrow under a fleece blanket, and just let my heart overflow with love and appreciation for all that is good, beautiful, and true in this world—love for the Source, the angels, friends, family, my home, my dogs and dear ones in the spirit, mother nature, the amazing multitude of good humans, and course, all of you. I’ll let the angels flow love within me and to me, and I’ll let that flow to all of you.

I love the holidays so much. For a little while, so many more are willing to find something or someone to love. We send messages of appreciation. We put special touches on our homes. We may share our love in presents, baking, volunteering, or just snuggling up with your angels and a good movie.

However you celebrate, or if you simply take a little time in peace, know you are loved deeply and dearly. Take a moment, or better, a dedicated few minutes, to sit in appreciation for anything, and as you attune to this frequency of love, let yourself luxuriate in it as much as you can.

Here are a few fun other holiday ideas to help you attune to this love, and bask in even more strongly

1.  Focus on a cherished memory or a beautiful dream

Can you recall a moment of singing loudly, even if off-key, with the carolers? Or a time when you baked with your family? Or a time when you went sledding? Or maybe a moment when you watched as only a child can, an animated display in a store window. Can you recall the first time you saw the cartoon “Grinch” and felt so relieved when his “heart grew three times its size that day?” Maybe you remember the first time you baked latkes. I wasn’t raised Jewish, but I remember the pure bliss of the moment I got a Bon Appetit recipe advertising the best latkes, and everything in me wanted to try them. I thought I had died and gone to food heaven. They were so delicious!

Maybe your holiday memories aren’t great, so pick something else— a time you were laughing hysterically with friends or your grandchild. When you first drove your car or found a place to live. If we’re willing, billions of good memories are available to us all, and even if not, there are billions of fantastic dreams we can dream of in order to tune our vibration to love.

Anytime you recall anything you love, appreciate, or enjoy, you are, in that moment, open to the Big love that lives within. For the duration of your pleasant memory, there is no struggle to be loving. There is no resistance to feeling love and/or appreciation. You are just naturally recalling something good and, therefore, vibrationally tuning into a good feeling. It can be that easy.

2. Give the vibration you hope to receive

I am not talking about things here, although I enjoy gifting as a really fun way to flow love. Give the peace you wish to receive. Give the acknowledgment you wish to receive. Give the kindness you wish to receive. e do not “give to get” but rather “give to vibrate,” “give to feel good,” and “give to get in a flow of grace. This isn’t about donating money or martyring yourself for ungrateful people. This is about doing something kind for yourself or someone else because it feels good to you and makes you feel good about yourself.

As we start to feel like the loving beings that we are, by the laws of the universe, good will come our way. It is not about “giving to earn good” but rather “vibrating to allow good.”

3. Visit or create a sacred space and just “be” for awhile<

Midnight mass, as a child, was a sacred space. The church had a special glow from the lights rather than the windows. People held candles in their hands. The choir sang like angels. It looked and felt sacred to my little mind. I felt the presence of love so strongly there.

Nature gives me the same feeling. When I stand amid towering golden aspen, knee-deep in autumn grasses, smelling the pines, feeling the crisp air, and hearing the cawing ravens, I am elevated beyond the physical. To me, nature is a sacred space.

You can create sacred space at home—for some, this will be the entire house; for others, a corner with special objects and comforts where they can consistently sit, breathe, receive, and connect.

The form of your sacred space matters little. What matters more is the feeling it evokes.

Try to find or create a place or space that elevates you, soothes you, and seems to calibrate you into the silent presence of love quickly.

No matter what, you celebrate (or don’t) celebrate your light because each of you is working so diligently to feel it more and more, to attune to it, and to let yo urself be loved. We are. Truly and deeply beyond any ability we have to comprehend it. This light of the manger and light of the lamp burns faithfully within. As you surrender to feeling good in any way you can, or even a little better, it will slowly but surely burn away your pains and your problems and guide you through the rest.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Happy belated solstice. May your heart feel and revel in the light that you are.