Alone on Christmas

by Nghia Le @lephunghia

I was alone on Christmas, but it turned out to be an awe-some time. Being alone seemed to heighten my spiritual experience of the day. It was also the first night of Hanukkah this year - doubly auspicious? It felt that way to me; doubly auspicious! The atmosphere outside felt mysterious, brisk and chilly under a brilliantly blue sky. Every thing was so quiet; my mind was quiet, but also the roads, and the reservoir where I often walk with friends. Usually teaming with people of all ages and dogs and baby strollers, today just a few passers by, as I walked the three miles around the reservoir.

I noticed a tree in the forest that had been decorated. I wondered if I would have noticed the bare branches of this small tree in the forest, had I been up in my head. The fact that it was such an unexpected gift made it seem so spectacular. I wondered who thought to bring some ornaments to decorate a tree in the forest? The sun glistened behind it, making a few shiny ornaments sparkle and I noticed two candy canes as well as a mixture of different handmade ornaments. I had to look close because it was set back from the road a bit.

It got me thinking about how there are gifts everywhere in life, some we no doubt miss. I find that when I'm in the state of mind that notices the gifts of life, more readily, if I let myself sink deeper into the joy of it and savor the moment, it seems to set the stage for more gifted moments to unfold.

I'm so grateful to have some understanding of the Principles, to whatever degree that may currently be? Since I wouldn't know what I don't know, there is no way for me to know how much more there is to know! Say that three times fast...just kidding!

I have enough understanding however, to know that my state of mind/my feeling state, runs the show. It is the show of my life I get to watch, star in, direct and produce.

There was a time in my life, I'll call it: My life pre-Principles, when I didn't know that. Since I didn't know the value of a particular state of mind, I didn't pay any attention to the state of mind I was in, I just paid attention to whatever I thought was going on at the time. So if something aggravated me I would focus on the thing that was aggravating me, as though that would somehow shift my experience.

What actually wound up happening was that the more I thought about it, the more upset and aggravated I felt. Not only did it not clear it up, it didn’t help in any way whatsoever... Unfortunately, that way of going about life only served to prolong my agony. I actually thought that I had no choice but to think about the aggravating thing; as though that would make it go away.... ???#@%*

It's actually humorous to me now, realizing that I would do something so stupid, albeit innocent..... We are all capable of doing stupid things, with our ability to think our reality, to conjur experience, through Thought and Consciousness.....all the time; in this moment and the next.

We're also capable of doing brilliant things with the same ability to create with the Principles of Thought and Consciousness, and we're capable of discerning a potential stupid action or brilliant action through our state of mind at the time. It’s as though we have an internal invisible GPS system to guide us if we pay attention to it. 

We can trust what we think when we're in a calm, clear headed state of mind. When our state is full of anger or jealousy or insecurity we can not trust what we're thinking. Anyone who knows that fact, deep inside themselves, knows they can't trust what their thoughts are telling them to say or do. Our state of mind is our own personal compass, our internal security system! It's fail safe, when we learn to use it properly as a directional signal - when to get off the topic whirring around in our head and when to proceed into the calm flow of life.

What a difference it makes to see that your state of mind is what deserves your attention, rather than the details of life.

I used to put the cart before the horse (to use an old metaphor) paying attention to the content of my thinking, rather than the fact of my thinking - the fact that I have the ability to create a lifetime of realities, all the time!

I wish I could explain the depth of the Principles so that everyone who reads this would understand exactly what I mean, because it would change your life too, and always for the better! I had to attend seminars and read books about the 3 Principles to gain some understanding before my life started to move in a positive direction. Now anyone can log onto 3PGC and immerse yourself in all that is available today.

It really doesn't matter who you're with or if you're alone since the relationship we're always in is the one we have with our own thinking...

So beyond the physical contact, the expressions of love and affection between you and another being, and having someone close to bounce ideas off of (which of course is wonderful too), it's really all the same; because it's the state of mind we're in whether alone or with someone else!

Wishing you loads of laughter, love, inspiration, understanding, and peace in the coming year.