Spiritual Growth - Morning Star Institute -- January 2002

JANUARY SPIRITUAL TEACHING

Welcome to a new year – 2002. But is it really the beginning of a new year? The Chinese Year of the Horse begins in February, as does the Celtic celebration of Imbolc, a fire festival marking the birthing of lambs and spring sowing. The Eastern Orthodox tradition celebrates Christmas on January the 6^th, not on December 25^Th. And January 6^th is also the completion of the 12 days of Christmas and the celebration of Epiphany. And then there are others, who from a personal perspective celebrate the beginning of their year with their birthday. Some cultures, such as the Celtic, celebrate 8 different seasonal turning points with Samhain as the beginning of their year, where the setting of the sun on the last day of October ends or is the death of the old year and the following dawn is the birth of a new year. (Like the Hebrews, the Celts celebrate their holy days beginning with the setting of the sun, not at midnight as the Christians do.)

Which are correct? Why they all are. We are really talking about celebrating the mysteries of heaven and earth. And each culture and every individual has the freedom and the right to honor and to celebrate these seasonal observances as they see fit. In fact, it is one of the miracles of our freedom as divine human beings to be able to determine our own truth—from our hearts as well as from our minds.

In spite of all the differences, there is, however, one underlying common theme to all seasonal celebrations—life, death and re-birth, a trinity of a most basic universal law or truth. The significance of death and re-birth also happens to be one of the cornerstone principles of Divine Humanity.

To Divine Humanity, the importance of death and re-birth is in its symbolic meaning, power and application while we are still alive in our present existence. To grow and to evolve in the totality of self—emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually—we must accept the death of the old and the re-birth of the new.

And thus we discover the reason why so many people seem to fail to keep their New Year’s Resolution—something old must die before something new may be brought to fruition. Thus, the question to ask yourself is: What has to symbolically die or change before the new resolution can be birthed?

Symbolic death and re-birth is transformation. And transformation takes time and may be difficult. It may take the healing of old wounds that may have been buried deep beneath layers and possibly decades of symbolic armor. Transformation takes courage and commitment and finally, focus. Next month, we will further explore these issues of death, re-birth and transformation.

February 2002