Five Tips to Have a Joyful Holiday Season
Carol and I have been guiding people through the holiday season for over twenty five years now. Through special classes, pot luck dinners, coaching, events. workshops and now Zoom calls, we help manifest the best holiday ever. Here are some of the holiday tips we have learned, passed on and even created ourselves over the years that have achieved great results. Pick at least one to take on this year and let us know how it went.
Have a partner that you speak to every day (or at least every weekday) for the time between Thanksgiving and New Years. Speak affirmations. Speak gratitudes. Share three things you intend to get done this day. Five minutes will more than do it. Carol and I now host numerous groups, some that are open now, where you can get a partner either on a short or long term basis. Let us know if you'd like to play and we will find a group or a partner for you.
Write down your gratitudes daily. There is something about the physical process or writing (not typing) that creates a neural pathway that really sinks into your soul creating a balancing, healing energy. Pick a time to do it every day, like just before sleeping. Use any journal or notebook or even a piece of paper. If you would like something more structured (and wonderful), get The Five Minute Journal from www.intelligentchange.com. Commit to a 30 day gratitude practice. Every day, no matter what, for 30 days. And watch what happens....
If you are going to complain over the holidays, do it responsibly. This is a challenging one that Carol and I teach in our classes. This will transform your holidays and your life if you can master it. First of all, go ahead and complain, it is very difficult to avoid speaking about what we don't like or want, which is what almost all complaining is. But when you do complain, always follow your complaint with a request or a promise. Here's an example: Irresponsible complaint: "That sweater you gave your mother for Christmas is ugly." Responsible complaint #1: "That sweater you gave your mother for Christmas is ugly. I request that you offer to go shopping with her so she can pick out a different one that she will like better." Responsible complaint #2: "That sweater you gave your mother for Christmas is ugly. I promise to love that sweater, and your mother, no matter what my judgement is about it." Try it. Complaining responsibly is life changing.
Give more. Take it up a notch during the holiday season. Give to the food pantry. Give to your co-workers. Give to your neighbors (at holiday time, we have given and received baked goods from our neighbors). Give to strangers. The Salvation Army kettle, anywhere you are called to. If you feel silly, ashamed or uncomfortable giving to a certain person or place, that is an indication that this is the perfect time for you to open up your heart and have an amazing holiday by giving beyond your comfort zone. The biggest way to give of all is to tithe. Giving ten percent (a tithe) of what you make to the source of your spiritual food is the most life affirming, prospering, powerful way for you to transform your holidays (and your life). From where do you get your "spiritual food?" Give 10% of what you make during the holiday time to this person, place or institution and watch what happens. Eventually it will even come back to you, tenfold. Promise. It's the law.
Ceremony is something encoded in our DNA. We need ceremonial events to be whole, complete and connected. The Thanksgiving meal, the family walk, the football game, saying grace, certain decorations, songs, going to church on Christmas Eve, etc are all ceremonial traditions that make the time feel special. But it's deeper than that. Ceremonies connect us deeply to each other, to our creator and to our deepest part of our inner selves. Design a new ceremony for this season. We are creating a new ceremony this year. As part of our Seacoast Mystery School series, we are having people over to join us for a Winter Solstice ceremony taking place on December 23 this year. You are invited, but you have to sign up. Click here to do so.
Happy Holidays everyone!