Ordinary life does not stop. There is still work and school, meals and dishes, laundry and bookkeeping, the day-to-day, in’s and out’s, up’s and down’s.  Add to the ordinary, all the holiday extras, how does it all happen?

In this time of peace and goodwill, love and joy, silence and stillness, how do we maintain an inner centered grounded sense of self? How do we fit in shopping, cooking, all the work of gift-giving, decorating and celebrating?.

Here are a few ways I manage the ordinariness and celebrate the specialness of these five weeks and the mood of preparation for Christmas and the Holy Nights.

I ask what gives me joy!  This means I let go of holiday expectations, mine, others, historical, or fantasy.  This can take sometime to make lists of what the expectations are and why they give me joy or why they don’t. I end up with my Holiday Joy List. (I wrote a book on this, see below) 

I love the Advent Wreath with the tall center candle…lighting it every night reminds me of the light in the still core of my being. I’ve created an audio, Advent, A Beautiful Preparation as a free gift for you. You can listen to it here.  Make sure to share it with your friends.

I listen to Christmas Music of a every kind no matter what I am doing (except when I am in conversation with a client). Thank goodness for Pandora, Amazon Prime and my own collection of CD’s. The music in the background reminds me of the time of year and the needs of my soul. Not just the spiritual needs but my sensuous needs as well.

Speaking of sensuous needs…I think about the delights of Feasts. My daughter and I plan and cook the traditional foods but each year Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are wildcards where we experiment with new tastes. 

I think about my friendships, my memories, my wishes…so I include the sentimental. such a sweet time to indulge in sentiments.

I begin contemplating the theme for the Inner Christmas messages. Each year the inner work and actual writing of the messages becomes more fulfilling for me. It’s the best gift I give myself and the joy of sharing it with you is indescribable.  

I remember that this is the close of the year so I include the sacred activities of recollecting, reviewing and releasing what has happened this year in the world, in my life, and in my soul. This brings me to Inner Advent.

Inner Advent is simply a guide, a compassionate and creative structure for shaping the work of integrating your soul’s year. There are four audios and lots of handouts to support a truly elegant design for celebrating your inner year.  Inner Advent reflects the traditional Christian Advent of the four Sundays before Christmas. The difference is in the focus of attention.  Christian tradition focuses on the four moods of Christmas: hope, joy, peace, love. Inner Advent focuses on your soul’s activities of thinking, feeling and willing over the previous year and guides you to...

Recollect your memories of how you lived the year and expressed yourself.
Review and discover your the meaning of your thoughts, feelings & deeds.
Release your memories in to the world ethers and create within your soul a new openness for wonder, warmth & wisdom.

If you choose to work with the artistic suggestions of Inner Advent, you will develop a mandala filled with images of your soul over the four seasons. You will see your year in language, form, color or whatever you choose.  Or your Inner Advent activity may be journaling, active thinking, or conversations with a friend or therapist.  

The true gift of the Inner Advent program is the beauty and usefulness of the design, structure, and process. You learn how to create a spiritual practice that brings depth and rightness to your inner work. You will find the union between your soul and the cycle of the year in nature.  You will discover the spiritual meaning flowing through your inner development in each season. 

If you feel you don’t remember your year, that you couldn’t recollect it, the guidance of Inner Advent will awaken memories, but will also create a foundation for your relationship to 2016.  Inner Advent serves the past year and the future year equally.

Inner Advent offers a creative and illuminating spiritual practice. You will feel a new freedom and a deeper compassion filling your heart and mind as you arrive at the Holy Nights.

Learn more about Inner Advent and register here.
 

The Six Celebrations Book

This small book offers thought-provoking, heart-expanding explorations of the six celebrations of Christmas: Nature, Nativity, Riches, Relationships, Childhood and Selfhood. The insights and questions will inspire not only a reimagination of your Christmas but bring you to a new perspective on every day of your year. Learn about the Six Celebrations here.  

If you want to spend a few hours opening up to the complexity and grace of your Christmas experiences, I invite you to order Six Ways to Celebrate Christmas & Celebrate You.  In this little book you’ll find many ways we can bring joy and meaning to Christmas and everyday of the year.  Learn more here. I’m offering free shipping from now until December 11.

Dear Lynn,

Your posts awaken senses and memories long lost, and it is such a comfort to find them again, especially at this time of year.
I have been working with your Holy Nights posts for the past 5 or 6 years (?) and I so love them!
This year especially they provided some much needed healing to myself.

Your work is so wonderful and I look forward to it every year. I also did your Inner Mother and Inner Father workshop a couple years ago and for the first time worked with your Inner Advent material. I can not describe the healing it has brought me.
Thank you for all the gifts you give us!       Maggie