A LAMP THAT KEPT ON BURNING, A MIRACLE THEY SAY
BUT THE WORLD HAS KEPT ON TURNING, ARE THERE MIRACLES TODAY?
EVERYONE THAT LIGHTS THE CANDLES HAS A BIT OF ANCIENT SPARK
WE ARE MIRACLES LIGHTING UP THE DARK…..
I came upon the preceding lyric in a holiday collection CD several years ago, and the song has become a seasonal favorite of mine. I actually use it every evening during Hanukkah, allowing the poetry and gorgeous melody to be the background for my heartful lighting of the lights. While I was not born into the Jewish tradition, it has gifted me with several rituals that have expanded my awareness and deepened my Source sensitivity. Some of the most profound teachers for me in this incarnation are also from the Jewish heritage, and so it is with heart-felt appreciation that I prepare to light the candles of Hanukkah 2010.
We begin the month of December with the Festival of Lights, and end the month and this calendar year with the next to final candle of Kwanzaa. I have long used candles in my personal sacred practice, and have developed a deeper and broader resonance with the symbol not only in times of holiday, but in my day-to-day reverencing. I actually lit a candle before I began to write the words that you are reading now. The act of lighting a candle reminds me that life is sacred, and that the ongoing invitation of a wakeful life is to remember the Light Essence at the core of all there is. As the above song reminds us, “everyone who lights the candles has a bit of ancient spark.” This is of course true for those who never go near a tapered flame. It is true of people from every and from no religious tradition equally, and theology or belief varies not the origin of our Being. Practices are meant to be reminders. There is no inherent power in the lighting of a candle. It doesn’t make anything true that isn’t already true. But the lights of Hanukkah, Christmas, and of the cultural celebration of Kwanzaa are lit to remind us of the ancient spark that literally exists in every cell of our bodies. The practices that lead to expanded awareness turn up the flame of Truth in our energy systems. It is tangible. When we are consciously connected into our Source we can feel Life as it contains us and moves through us. This Light and Life is the animating force of all that is and ever will be. The remembrance of this Living Light gives way to the miraculous first in our hearts, and then in our world. It is the remembrance of Source, of Primal Cause, of the G-awed of many names. Remembering what is Sourcing us profoundly changes us. I am not speaking of a concept. I am pointing to the deep, profound, intimate experience that only total surrender can provide. This is the internal shift that leads to transcendence. It is the One power that allows a day’s worth of temple oil to fuel a flame for seven more. To answer the question within that song, there are indeed miracles today! They are all around us for they are occurring deep within us. Every time we remember Source in the midst of our fears, a miracle occurs. Every time we surrender our control and relax into Soulful cooperation, a miracle occurs. Every time we stop to light a candle and to breathe into prayer, a miracle occurs. When we choose to live lives of active, faithful surrender, we recognize that we are In Sourced for we are IN Source. We then flow with what is, and allow for what seeks to be. We relax our resistance, and align In the Light. We become the Source Light that then shines through the darkness of unconsciousness. With or without a physical candle, our Beingness burns brightly with a Light that keeps on burning.
My prayer this Festival of Lights is that I remain in continual Remembrance of Source Light, and that I maintain an open heart through which that Light may shine. I humbly recognize that I am a miracle, and I celebrate that so are you. May the ancient spark be fanned by these love-inspired words, and may you shine as brightly as you were born to shine.
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