chocolate and crucifixion

Saturday Cuppa: Peppermint Tea

I've woken to a perfect Spring morning, a cloudless sky, radiant sunshine, an incy-wincy breeze ~ brought back Earthside from blissful dreams by thousands of birds rejoicing in the new day. Lambs baaa-ing since before first light.

I often wonder about lambs, and their ability to make the human heart sing by their endless playfulness. Where does this spontaneous delight to jump up and down come from, their head or heart? And, unlike other animals, how does it prepare them for adult life? Kittens scrag each other in preparation for hunting. Children imitate adults in their play, but lambs? I don't know how often, if ever, I've seen adult sheep frolic around the way lambs do.

Here in the beautiful Eden Valley, lambs and daffodils define Spring. Lambs, unlike daffodils, have a bittersweet passage on Earth. Their destiny is to mingle with mint sauce for two seconds of sensation on man's palate. I hope the joy they bring to my heart, and that of others, gives some meaning and purpose to their sweet, short lives. The downside of Spring is when I hear lambs separated from their mothers. At the farm neighbouring our garden, every sheep bleats non-stop. I can't bear their 'screams' of separation when my fellow mammals are put on the truck for market. Will humanity ever look back upon the way animals are treated and question their own evolution?

Tomorrow's Easter Sunday, so I thought I'd share a metaphysical piece I wrote for The Mother magazine a couple of years ago based on New Thought teachings.

The passing of winter ~ Crucifixion and resurrection

Easter, a weekend marked by eggs, bunny rabbits, mountains of chocolate and the crucifix. Have you ever wondered why Easter is never on a set date, as with the anniversary of any other historical event? Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the full moon in Aries. The sun's entry into Aries begins on the 21st day of March and signals the beginning of Spring. Sometime between March 21st and April 25th, the moon will form an opposition to the sun. It is precisely because of this moveable date that one should question the commonly accepted interpretation of Easter.

The Sun, as viewed from Earth, when heading north, makes a cross (+) with the equator which is an invisible line created by man. Mystics believe this to be the crucifix that 'man might live'. What is so symbolic about the Sun's movement in this way? Nature is awakening! Winter's sleep is over. IF this was about the anniversary of the life and death of a man called Jesus then the date would be fixed. The scriptural meanings are revealed when we interpret them as the psychological dramas which they represent, and are present in every human being.

It is our 'awareness of being' which is crucified. The cross we bear is determined by how we perceive ourselves. Every single time we belittle ourselves, or don't believe in our true, Divine nature, we crucify ourselves. And resurrection occurs EVERY time we 'arise' from these negative misconceptions. We can not resurrect without first going through the crucifixion process.

Good Friday, therefore, should be a time not for mourning, but for celebration. Your 'awareness' of being is what is calling to be resurrected.

The most powerful words we can ever utter or think, are I AM. It is vital, for our own well-being, that we always follow these words with something positive. To say: I AM tired or I AM fed up or I AM annoyed or I AM broke is a crucifixion. It is limiting and holds you back from your true potential. By all means say "My body is tired", for example, because the 'real' you is not your body. This way you wouldn't be affirming that your unlimited self is tired, just the vehicle that you happen to be using.

To be nailed upon the cross is to be nailed (held down) by your feelings. Negativity holds us down ~ it literally nails us to the cross. Our feelings shape our life.

To resurrect, to be liberated, we have to allow our awareness to come into being through our imagination. We have to SEE ourselves as the best we can be. What will bring you to such a place?

Try this:
"I AM loving."
"I AM joyful."
"I AM wonderful!"
"I AM abundant."
"I AM cheerful!"
"I AM peaceful."

It is only when we always imagine the best for our selves, and let our vision take form in our lives, that we truly understand the message of Easter.

OK, sermon over, you can crack into your chocolate now.

We're off to have a picnic on the banks of the beautiful Eden River and allow ourselves to be wrapped in the Arms of this beautiful day. Enjoy this magical weather!