December 19, 2007
Feeling the Holiday Spiritual Spirit
Last night I went to my meditation circle, and we did a special gift-giving session. Everybody meditated on the others’ essences of their higher selves, and the “gift” was telling each person what sense we had about them, and what we appreciated about them.
Even if not done in conjunction with meditation, and looking for spiritual answers from a higher plane when we don’t necessarily know those people well on a social level, this can be a very powerful exercise.
All you need to do is go around a circle or group, focusing on one person at a time. Each of the others in the group take turns telling that one person why he or she is important to them, what qualities he or she has that they admire, and what exactly they appreciate about him or her.
It’s great to do at Thanksgiving, or at Christmas, or at a Birthday… but it’s perhaps even more special on just any old day.
There are two things that this exercise accomplishes for the person receiving the gift:
1. It makes them feel good to be appreciated and have people point out in public what makes them special.
2. It puts into perspective the qualities that others see in them, and allows them to take stock of themselves and understand better how they come across.
But, giving is just as valuable as receiving. There are also two things that this exercise accomplishes for us, the gift-giver:
1. It makes us focus deeply on another person, their essence and the spiritual and mental gifts and talents, which gets us into the habit of recognizing the good in others.
2. It puts the focus on gratitude, and we know that gratitude is one of the most powerful manifesting emotions available.
There were only a few of us at the meditation circle, because of the holiday season, so it was really special to be able to connect with them on a deep level. Then we went out to celebrate ourselves at a local sushi bar, where I discovered more to be grateful for…
