{"id":5906,"date":"2013-12-18T08:12:53","date_gmt":"2013-12-18T13:12:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/?p=5906"},"modified":"2013-12-18T08:12:53","modified_gmt":"2013-12-18T13:12:53","slug":"conspiracy-of-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2013\/12\/conspiracy-of-love.html","title":{"rendered":"Conspiracy of Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”– Hamilton Wright Mabie<\/p>\n

In case you hadn’t noticed, there are\u00a0a\u00a0few\u00a0ways that people generally view the holidays. The first is that\u00a0there is\u00a0a lot of pressure attached to it; what with being sure to get just the right gifts for their loved ones without breaking the bank, baking 100 types of cookies, decorating their abode, inside and out, running hither and yon and dancing the night away at all kinds of parties. The folks who subscribe to that belief may find themselves wildly out of control. For others, the holidays are a\u00a0time of sadness as they experience missing loved\u00a0ones who have passed and\u00a0the empty seat at the table is a poignant and painful reminder.\u00a0\u00a0It is possible, whether in the first or second group to\u00a0capture some piece of\u00a0\u00a0the holiday spirit by enjoying time with family and friends, listening to traditional and non-traditional music, volunteering with those in the community who are in need, offering presence<\/strong> in place of presents<\/strong> and in the case of the second group, gently immersing themselves in the celebration as able.<\/p>\n

Whether or not you believe that the historical Jesus was actually born on December 25th or if the holiday is celebrated on that day to counter-act the impact of the Winter Solstice which is a Pagan honoring of the shortest day of the year, you can decide what it all means to you. I grew up in a Jewish family in which Christmas was celebrated with friends of various Christian denominations. I would\u00a0occasionally go to midnight services and bask in the beauty of the chapel all alight, the voices of the congregants singing in worshipful and lively tones, sometimes the freshly fallen snow enhancing the experience. Sitting at their dinner tables, I would gaze around and take in the joy as spiritual nourishment, as well as the physical sustenance of the food. For this ‘nice Jewish girl’ who became an interfaith minister, it is a chance to honor both\u00a0the birth\u00a0of\u00a0a great teacher of love and the re-birth of the solar year. Celebrating both the Son and the Sun.<\/p>\n

I wonder what has people so completely blind about what unites us rather than divides us. I imagine that for most, there is awareness of common thread of connection . My senses were delighted as I drove through my neighborhood on the way home from work tonight and noticed the rainbow colored lights aglow, reflecting off the marshmallow snowfall that had graced us today. Carol Of The Bells was wafting through the airwaves, soothing me after a long day at the office. I felt a connection with all souls who desire peace and cooperation. merging with the Christ Consciousness; that of love and light and unity with all that is, regardless of their own religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/youtu.be\/WSUFzC6_fp8<\/a>\u00a0 Carol of The Bells by Pentatonix<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”– Hamilton Wright Mabie In case you hadn’t noticed, there are\u00a0a\u00a0few\u00a0ways that people generally view the holidays. The first is that\u00a0there is\u00a0a lot of pressure attached to it; what with being sure to get just the right gifts for their loved…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2,13,1246,94,49,50,3,1176,14,4,54,16,10],"tags":[3555,3548,251,1172,1215,1073,1881,1175],"class_list":["post-5906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attracting-what-you-desire","category-bliss","category-blissfull-thinking","category-faith","category-family","category-friendship","category-god","category-gratitude","category-holidays","category-how-to-invite-bliss","category-inspiration","category-interfaith","category-my-personal-bliss","category-spirituality","tag-carol-of-the-bells","tag-christ-consciousness","tag-christian","tag-christmas","tag-jesus","tag-jewish","tag-pagan","tag-winter-solstice"],"yoast_head":"\nConspiracy of Love - The Bliss Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2013\/12\/conspiracy-of-love.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Conspiracy of Love - The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”– Hamilton Wright Mabie In case you hadn’t noticed, there are\u00a0a\u00a0few\u00a0ways that people generally view the holidays. 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She has also contributed to several anthologies and personal growth books. Edie has interviewed such notables as Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Debbie Ford, don Miguel Ruiz, don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. Marianne Williamson, Grover Washington, Jr. Noah Levine, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Weaver, Ben and Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She calls herself an Opti-mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility. 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