Remember: among the other intentions you set for the New Year, resolve to give yourself the gift of peace. And you may recall how it came to me one day that an acronym for PEACE was P-peace E-equals A-acceptance C-compassion E-empathy.
Please repeat the mantra of compassion to the younger you of two seconds ago or years ago regarding situations or actions for which you feel you need to forgive yourself. Visualize or look at a photo of the younger you and say.: "I know in my heart I would have done differently if I could have done differently but at that time I couldn't so I didn't." Remember that, as the former psychoanalyst Alice Miller has said, "guilt implies a power and freedom we didn't have at the time." It's as if we prefer the pain of blaming ourselves rather than accept the fact that no amount of debilitating guilt can undo what was done. Rather than continuing to suffer, we can resolve to do things differently in the future.
Picturing or looking at a photo of the person with whom you are upset, say, "I know in my heart, you would have done differently if youcould have done differently but at that time you couldn't so you didn't."
May You Have True Happiness & Peace in the New Year,
Stephen
Stephen Royal Jackson, Ph.D.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
A Christmas Prayer for Every Day of the Year
The Christmas prayer below came to me when I was contemplating the meaning of Christmas. It is in the epilogue of the revised edition of Words Become Flesh.
A Christmas Prayer for Every Day of the Year
Holy Mary Mother of God, thank you for saying yes to God and giving birth to Jesus, Yeshua,. For by saying yes to God, you helped bring forth the incarnation, our redemption, and salvation. Holy Mary Mother of God, please pray for me as I pray: ‘Father God, please help me be as on fire with faith and as fearless as Mary so that I, too, may say yes to You and through the power of Your Holy Spirit give birth to Jesus, Yeshua, in the manger of my heart every moment of this day, and have the love of Christ reign in everything I think, feel, say, and do.’
• Whatever your religious background, reflect on Mother Mary as a beautiful symbol of how we may manifest/incarnate love in our lives, especially on Christmas—The Birthday of Love Itself. For as St. John proclaimed, "God is love; and he [she] that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him [her]" (1 John 4:16).
May you have a Merry Christmas and the Happiest of Holiday Season,
& May God (Love) Bless You,
Stephen
A Christmas Prayer for Every Day of the Year
Holy Mary Mother of God, thank you for saying yes to God and giving birth to Jesus, Yeshua,. For by saying yes to God, you helped bring forth the incarnation, our redemption, and salvation. Holy Mary Mother of God, please pray for me as I pray: ‘Father God, please help me be as on fire with faith and as fearless as Mary so that I, too, may say yes to You and through the power of Your Holy Spirit give birth to Jesus, Yeshua, in the manger of my heart every moment of this day, and have the love of Christ reign in everything I think, feel, say, and do.’
• Whatever your religious background, reflect on Mother Mary as a beautiful symbol of how we may manifest/incarnate love in our lives, especially on Christmas—The Birthday of Love Itself. For as St. John proclaimed, "God is love; and he [she] that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him [her]" (1 John 4:16).
May you have a Merry Christmas and the Happiest of Holiday Season,
& May God (Love) Bless You,
Stephen
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