5 tips for putting Spirit back into the holidays – A channeled message

NOTE FROM ANNE: I channeled the following information from my Council of 12. This is a group of entities that sometimes speaks to me through automatic writing or channeling. They guide my work as a spiritual teacher and provide suggestions regarding spiritual matters.

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Hello!

We asked Anne to let us speak to you today in order to provide several concrete suggestions for how to put the “spirit” back into the holiday season. It is our hope that one or more of these recommendations will help bring more joy and peace into your lives during this special time of year.

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1. Use your breath

The word “spirit” comes from the Latin words “spiritus,” which mean breath. Therefore, our first piece of advice is to remember to BREATHE.

This is such a simple but easily forgotten action. It takes just a few seconds. Whenever you think of it, here are two suggestions:

Take a deep breath into your belly and then slowly exhale through your open mouth as if you are blowing out a candle. If you can, have you tongue gently touching the roof of your mouth to help connect all of your chakras.
You can also breathe in for a count of 5 and breathe out for a count of 5, which will synchronize your heart to the pulse of the Universe and the Divine.

Even one deep breath like this every few hours will help you feel more relaxed and better able to deal with whatever comes up.

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2. Seek inspiration

The word “spirit” can also be interpreted to mean to be “inspired.” Make sure you include a few activities during the holiday season that connect you with the awe and sacredness of the holiday season.

For some people, this might be going a candlelight service at their church or making cookies for distant relatives and friends. It might be making home-made decorations for your tree with your kids or walking through a neighborhood well-lit with Christmas lights.

Whatever you choose to do doesn’t need to be complicated or even out of your ordinary holiday activities. Just make sure that you shift the focus from something that you just “do” to something that is focused on filling you with the spirit of the season.

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3. Prioritize your activities

Many of you have a “To-do List” that is several pages long. W e (Anne’s guides) suggest that you take 10 minutes to do the following. (And yes, we realize that 10 minutes might feel like at lot right now, but it will save you time in the long run.)

On a computer, quickly (and briefly) type out all the major tasks you need or want to do this holiday season. The descriptions can be very brief (e.g., cards, call Uncle Ted, make ornaments with kids). As long as you know what the item means, that’s all that matters.
Now comes the hard part. Rank-ordered the list. Toward the top will be those tasks that you LOVE doing, want to do, and feel “inspired” to do. Toward the bottom will be those tasks that you don’t really want to do, feel obligated to do, and/or only do because it’s “tradition.” This exercise can be both difficult and enlightening. You may find that what you thought would be at the top of the list is at the bottom, or vice versa.
- A TRICK: Some of the things on your list will be “have to’s,” such as attending your child’s holiday show at his/her school. With tasks like this, we recommend that you reframe them to “want to’s” or “get to’s.” For example, you may feel that you “have to” to attend the event and would rather be using that time in other ways. However, you probably “want to” see your child smile when he or she sees you in the audience and you probably are filled with joy when you “get to” let your child know that he or she is loved beyond measure.
Now start assigning items on your list to certain days. And again, this could be hard, but you need to be realistic about how many items you assign per day. If you run out of days, then the items at the bottom of the list shouldn’t be assigned for right now.
- NOTE: Those items at the bottom of the list can always be added to your schedule if you happen to have some extra time.

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4. Manage your expectations

Remember that expectations are often high during the holidays. It is common to have an image of what you want the holidays to be like (e.g., the Hollywood or Norman Rockwell version).

Unfortunately, sometimes reality doesn’t live up to your expectations. Be patient with each other (and with yourself). Focus on what went well . . . and let go of the rest.

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5. Have fun!

Our final piece of advice is to have FUN! Set the intention that to have fun with each activity. You can even envision the experience in advance, including leaving the experience feeling filled with the spirit of the holidays. This is called “pre-paving” by Abraham-Hicks, and you might be surprised that whatever you envision is exactly what happens!

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We wish you all a spirit-filled holiday, and please know how very loved you are by all of us on the other side!

The Council of 12

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NOTES:

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