What is Consciousness?

...and what is Christmas? 

Consciousness: the quality or state of being aware, especially of something within oneself. (merriam-webster) 

Consciousness is a very tricky thing in the modern world. Let's consider our daily lives: We wake up in the morning and we reach for our phone. We have a list of emails telling us who we must respond to today. We have messages asking for favours. We have news feeds showing us what the world looks like outside today. 

Then we shower. We go into our rooms and picket a set of clothes that fits a certain set of standards: the clothes must fit us, they must shelter us, and they must be culturally appropriate. 

Perhaps the TV or Radio are on. Perhaps there are lyrics to songs telling you how to feel about yourself today. Perhaps the news is talking about world disasters. Perhaps there are advertisements showing you what you need to buy today to "stay healthy" or "fit" or "cool".

Then you go downstairs and your husband or mother tells you what they expect of you today.

Outside on the streets you see so many images plastered on billboards and roadsides that you think you are immune to them. You don't even notice. However, they enter your consciousness. They are captured by little neurones in your brain that start to crave the colors, the clothes, the body type, the glamorization of success.

And all this stuff is happening all around you, permeating your brain...your mind...
And you don't even realise it.

But how do you turn it off? 

If you are so used to it playing on all around you every single day, you become numb to it. 

And did you ever stop to think what it is that YOU want?

What if all the distractions were gone?
What if you were alone? 
You didn't have a phone or a family or a society to respond to.

What would you need to live the life that you want? 

This is where your consciousness comes into play. You get in tune with what it is that ticks your soul. And when you connect with it- it propels you forward. Because the Gods and the Sun and Mother Earth have your back. Because they know that when you live from this place, you are not only taking care of yourself, but you are taking care of everyone around you, including our Earth.

And so, in the spirit of, Christmas...

The Christmas that is about 

Celebration
Sharing 
Joy 
Love
and 
Gratitude 

I'm bring Consciousness back. 

What does a Conscious Christmas look like?

A Conscious Christmas is anything that encourages your greatest good to see the greatest good of another. It is sitting there and thinking, what would really make my Mother happy. It is being present for one another.

Some Conscious Christmas Ideas:

• Create!
• Make stuff. Write a letter. Draw. Paint. Collect stuff from the natural world and explain it's meaning to your gift recipient.
• Experience
• Offer a trip. A walk. A picnic. A movie to your partner. Create a time and place where you can just be together and get to know one another. Explain to your recipient why you want to do this. 
• Reduce spending
• consuming products does not often bring lasting happiness. It contributes to a world of waste, anxiety and artificialness 
• Before you buy, ask yourself, is this really necessary? What happens to this product when I have no need for it anymore?
• Listen
• Ask your gift recipient how you can be a better presence in their life. Ask them what it is that they need from you to be a more loving daughter, friend, or spouse. 

I have requested that my family members exchange no purchased gifts this year. Instead, we are just going to have dinner together and spend time with one another. Without and electronics or expectations. 

And because I do so love gift-giving every now and then, we are, instead, going to exchange 1 gift to one another on New Years Day. Something meaningful and thoughtful that will help propel us into a grateful and nourishing 2015.

Conscious Christmas is not just a day- it's a movement. It is setting a new pattern. It is clearing our minds of the advertisements, marketing, news and honestly, the BS. All that stuff that tells us how we are "supposed" to live. It is picking December 25th to get in touch with your own story... 

What do you need to be happy?

When all the clothes and products and gadgets disappear, who will be there for you?

When your health is compromised, who do you want at you bedside?

When you want to dance, who will you call?

We are social beings. We are not consumers. 

We are fulfilled by sharing.

Not by taking.

Let us come back to Consciousness.

Let us come back to Christmas.