Christ is for Everyone!

Paramhansa Yogananda explained that Jesus Christ’s declaration “I and my Father are one” applies not only to him but, potentially to each and every one of us. But it didn’t take twenty centuries for this truth to be spoken, for Jesus’ most beloved disciple, the apostle John, declared in the very first (and most metaphysical) chapter of his gospel that “As many as received Him gave He the power to become the sons of God.” Jesus himself, moreover, looked backward in time and tradition to the Psalms when, to his outraged critics, he replied “Is it not written in your law, ‘I have said, Ye are gods?’”

Paramhansa Yogananda used the term “Christ consciousness” to refer to the Divine consciousness reflected in every atom of creation and in each one of us. In India, this state of divine realization is termed the Kutastha Chaitanya or sometimes the “Krishna consciousness.” Yogananda also pointed out that both “Christ” and “Krishna” are etymologically related and both refer to a title not a name. In a “Christ” the Kutastha Chaitanya is fully realized through incarnations of spiritual effort and divine grace. In others it lies dormant or in varying degrees or stages of awakening.

This year our Christmas Service (Sunday, December 22, 10 a.m., Seattle) honors the five major religions as diverse expressions of our souls’ affirmation of its glorious potential as “sons of God.” We invite you, your family, and friends to honor these traditions and their underlying truth at this year’s Christmas Service.

Yogananda considered the Christmas Tree a symbol of the subtle spine, the Tree of Life, with its various colored lights, the chakras. We offer to you this metaphysical meditation inspired by Yogananda’s writings and teachings. Meditate on each color to intuitively feel its spiritual qualities. Each color is associated, vibrationally, with the chakras beginning at the base of the spine.

RED. Meditate on the power of self-control. Feel yourself strongly committed and unshakably loyal to high ideals and your goals, resisting weakness and temptation.

ORANGE. Cloak yourself in the robes of renunciation, remaining a little removed and watchful under all circumstances. Be clean, clear, and appropriate in body, mind, speech, and action.

YELLOW. Be on fire for your spiritual practices and attitudes. Be creative and responsible, calm and centered, in all that you do.

GREEN. See yourself as Mother Nature nourishing all life with equanimity and compassion. Be harmonious and even-minded, offering the fruits of all your actions to God.

BLUE. Soar in the skies of inner freedom! Calmly survey all the world as aspects of your very own Self.

INDIGO. Be still. Be silent. Listen quietly for God’s voice at the heart of all sound, all movement.

VIOLET. Feel your awareness expanding beyond the confines of the mortal frame, filling all space, and beyond space into the Light of God.

WHITE. Feel a tiny bubble of joy in your heart. With your invisible breath of light expand this bubble of joy until it becomes the Sea of Mirth itself.

A Happy Christmas in the Light of Christ-Peace,

Terry & Padma McGilloway