Sunday, December 10, 2017

Why I Hate Santa

This time of year is kind of complicated. 

For me it's a time of spiritual reflection, appreciating God, celebrating Divine Life and Light, that wonderful, nostalgic sense that comes from playing in snow and wandering through snowflakes, getting warm and comfy, visiting with family, acknowledging and drawing near to the miracle that is Christ, and being more open and giving towards others. 

Then this guy wanders in talking about the latest iPhone and Black Friday sales... 



I hate him. I hate him so much. 

And for a while it was hard for me to articulate why to other people. But then recently -in part thanks to the Catholic school I clean at for my second job at night -I discovered one of the underlying reasons I resent Santa and all that he has come to represent about this time of year. 

Saint Nicholas. 


No one knows much about him or what he did, but we took from old Saint Nick and wrapped him in a compilation of various other people to create this caricature known as "Santa". 

Saint Nicholas was amazing. Regardless of your religious beliefs, his contributions can easily be appreciated and acknowledged. 

One of the most well known actions he took in particular was using his wealth to help children in poverty. There was a father with 3 daughters who were between the ages of 9 and 12 that he knew he couldn't afford dowries for. So when he started running low on money he decided to sell them all at once to other men to be raped for profit. Sex trafficking. 

3 times Nicholas "anonymously" put a huge bag of gold on the man's door to prevent him from selling his daughters into slavery. Since he was the only one around with kind of money it wasn't too hard for people to figure out what he did. And he did it several times over the years because every time the father would go through the money he'd been given he kept reverting back to trying to sell his daughters. 

And there are other people that Santa is based on that were giving and generous and kind -particularly to children in need -who then don't get acknowledged because we made up this character to take their place. 

In conclusion, I hate Santa. 

But I'm ok with Rudolph. 

Recent Revelations: Over 10 of Them

The problem with working 2 jobs during the week and 1 side graphic design job on Sundays is less time for art and in this case blogging. LOTS of stuff to fill in on. 

The first one is probably the most important spiritual understanding gained. It was kind of an epiphany when it hit. 

1. Dream Travel
There was a term called "Astral Travel" that I came across and didn't know whether it meant (a.) Leaving your body as a soul and traveling to other places, (b.) Leaving your body during sleep and going to Heaven, (c.) Leaving your body as a soul while traveling around during the day with or without being cognizant of it. So I asked God for further clarity and received it. 

During dreams sometimes I can't tell whether I'm visiting the present or the future -but I just assume the future because I go places I haven't been to yet. As it turns out the Spiritual Plane that underlies our physical one can be seen/acknowledged/visited in dreams. It's the PRESENT state of a place/people. 

The effect we have on our surrounding physically sets the landscape and tone for the spiritual plane. The spiritual plane has positive/negative "hot spots" for certain things to manifest physically (like a beautiful garden or a coliseum where slaves and forced to murder one another) -or what we choose to bring about as people creates and founds the spiritual plane underlying everything. 

2 Examples: 

A. I had 3 dreams over the course of a couple years about the same place. It was a large bowl-like building structure that I looked down into that had different animals wrestling around and generally felt kind of uneasy, unsettling, and chaotic. I recently came to realize that place was one I'd actually been to: The rodeo grounds out in the country where I grew up. Between making horses buck by strapping painful mechanisms to their sides and roping caves having their legs pulled out from under them very quickly... Not a fun place to be if you're an animal and none of these things are capable of being explained to you only done to you. 

B. Have had multiple dreams about my sister and my dad visiting a farm out in California. Turns out the farm/garden exists and what I'm seeing is the way it looks Spiritually in the underlying plane rather than the physical surface representation. 

We can manifest things here on Earth in the spiritual realm from this physical space and what we do on it AND be led to manifest things here physically that abide in the under-layer that is the spiritual plane. 

2. Head Space

This one was sort of obvious but the way it hit me was finally like something clicked and I "got it" better than before. The space you create in your mind is like a room or any other area. You can either create a space that's peaceful and light -which allows Heaven to come through that much more easily and freely. Or you can create a space of worry, poisoned thoughts, and hate -which paves the way for darker things to come through. And it's kind of a selfless notion to purposely say to yourself, "Well I could think negative thoughts about this situation or that person, but then it would shove out room for God to abide in my mind." And so you offer the space in your head as a room to rent for God without the monthly fee. This in turns allows for greater communication and vision from above to come through. 

3. The Dragon/Caduceus 
Almost every culture globally has depictions of dragons/serpents of one kind or another running throughout its history. 

-Europe has depictions of slaying dragons -seen as evil and the knights killing them as valiant for destroying them. I maintain this mostly comes from a place of ego -not soul. Soul doesn't destroy it just brings peace and healing to life. 

-India has depictions of naggas and serpents in particular (cobras) that it offers milk to and generally seems to depict being peaceful to. 

-China has the luck dragon and has a positive affiliation with dragons associated with good fortune -like the luck dragons. 

-Mexico had Quetzalcoatl which was complicated because it was originally a giant serpent dragon that was prayed to/worshiped until it was depicted being slain by a great hero that I would compare to the Angel Michael in appearance. 

Then one of the most abundant images that comes up is this interesting "cadeucus" depiction of the inter-twining serpent: 



It's affiliated with the double-helix/healing symbol. 

Then the other day I came across this one and something kind of "clicked" for me in terns of understanding:



I think it basically means -on top of everything else established like healing/chakras/bonding cord to God -that if you make peace with negativity in all forms it can be found then it will ADD to your life and being greater spiritual harmony. It's like the way God can turn curses into blessings with redemption. 

What was really freaky was the realization that I had already depicted this image a long time ago but had NO IDEA what it meant: 



I called it "God's Staff" because I didn't know what it was at all and that was the closest my mind could come to conceiving of it back in 2012. I acknowledged it also had some transparency to it -which is often the way things in Heaven that I depict sometimes comes through. That everything blends and merges and overlaps into everything else in this weird transparent way in Heaven. 

then I came across this image randomly on the internet that some other artist had made: 



Pretty freakishly similar. And the symbol in the center of this one reminds me of the "namaste" symbol. Lots of interesting things coming up. Thank God for the miracle that is our ability to create art in various forms -especially visually. 

3. Life Lessons
I wrote this down and don't know what it originally pertained to since it was written weeks ago, but I liked what I wrote so here it is: 

Reasons for Living on Earth:
-Don't just lead by example, BE by example
-Penance for past wrongs comes through in this life so we can learn within ourselves not to repeat the same mistakes
-Gain empathy
-Helping out in ways you're meant to

4. Family Legacy

Don't know where to begin. This one has been coming up a lot... 

Imagine a glass of water tips over onto the ground it's sitting on outside. The water immediately spreads into different veins that dart in separate directions. One vein goes into the mood and is soaked into soil where it then appears to end. Another rolls out into the gutter where it flows until a leaf blocks its path to the storm drain. Another trail darts out towards a nearby tree. And so on. 

Each family line and all its members inevitablely effects one another either positively or negatively. You take your family in and the energy they bring into your life. Harry Potter is probably the best example of this. In spite of his uncle and aunt not telling him about being a wizard, the lineage of his parents comes through and he discovers it about himself before he's told or knows what it even means. 

We take in both the positive and the negative influences our families bring into our lives and are an extension of these veins pouring forward. We can either continue to perpetuate that negative influence or lose the positive that might be there -or become mindful of these things and take things in a new direction. 

The line of influence in my family that consists of dysfunction and blame and ignorances and addiction ENDS with me. And I know my sister won't carry any of that crap around within in her life either. 

We can shift things. Re-write a new family legacy and influence.  

5. When people evade "soul" the world becomes devoid of it as well. See: governmental systems and businesses. 

6. Eroding Body
When people are severed from themselves in soul and/or from their connection to God it starts to effect their bodies. Like a grape taken off the vine will rot and wither, so will the body. Bodies are healthiest when the natural healing and abundant energy of the soul comes through. 

7. Thoughts on Religious Schools -with the Examples from a Catholic School. 

Lets be honest, most of the time religious (particularly Christian affiliated) schools get looked at as almost being a form of brainwashing. And in some instances they may be just that. They're seen as forcing religion on impressionable children while telling them science and math are from the devil. 

But this takes away from the understanding that People Are People. That for every ignorant person running around that would champion brainwashing children into ignorance like -West Boro Baptist does for example -there are also enlightened people that would balance education and possibly give it even more meaning by encouraging students to not just reflect on facts but also ethical implications. 

I'm from standard, normal, public schooling -with the exception of being in a Christian preschool for a year or two before elementary school. I like the notion of introducing spirituality to kids and informing them of multiple religions -not just Christianity alone. They actually have influences of Buddhism every once in a while in the books they have at the school I clean at for my second job. 

When they have a library full of science, many cultures, animals, religions, and books like Harry Potter and Bunnicula as well as books by Malala and Judge Ruth Ginsburg it's pretty encouraging. 

It's a good Catholic school that may do a better job of genuinely educating kids that my elementary school did -especially since they have a Spanish class and teaching foreign languages didn't come up for me until high school. 

On the down side the Middle School troubles me. They use the word "liturgical" over there a lot. Basically they start getting really, really into Catholic teachings and rules and doctrine. I don't like the vibe. Also kind of rolled my eyes when I walked past 3 middle school boys talking about "homosexuals" as if they were from another species. So for me the rubber starts to hit the road when religion stops being teached and starts being forced. 

Also found it strange that a church and Catholic school -both which have non-profit status for tax avoidance -would charge parents $20,000 a year to provide schooling. That blew my mind. 

My first thought entering in there was, "Oh how awesome and INCLUSIVE this school must be given the principles of Christ demand inclusivity AND they're a non-profit that can take in kids from disadvantaged backgrounds and give them a good education and the positive influences of that faith..." Then that thought got shot down when I saw the price tag attached. If I had a kid, as spiritual as I am and as fond as I've come to be with the notion of enrolling a child into a Christian elementary school (but no further beyond that with middle or high school) I wouldn't be able to even begin to afford that.  

So then I thought, "Great it's going to be a bunch or wealthier, sheltered kids raised with the teachings of Christ unable to grasp some of those concepts because The POOR -the one group Jesus spent the most time with -won;t be around for them to see." Frustration. 

How can a "non-profit" do that? It's one thing to get donations from people and government support in funding and then afford to school children. It's another to require parents to fork over that kind of money each year. 

Also didn't like the notion of kids wearing school uniforms. Number 1 -It prevents kids from expressing themselves as individuals and as souls and develop that sense of personal responsibility towards establishing an external appearance. Number 2 -Girls HAVE tow wear skirts -including in winter time when there's snow. F*ck that. Number 3 -If I'm paying $20,000 a year for my kid to get school I'm not going to let the school tell me how my kid should dress. 

So there is this potential for these sorts of schools to positively influence kids -including spiritually. Then there's the ways they kind of screw that up by doing things that aren't as wise.  

8. Blossoming in Winter
I have arm muscles for the first time in my life. I'm genuinely stronger and my stamina has been great. These jobs are a lot more physically demanding, but the benefits of that kind of work -along with working alongside some really great people -make it all worth it. The pay is still a struggle each month, but I actually look forward to going back to work each day. If I could have gone into work today I would have -but I have the graphic design work and other stuff I need to do on Sundays. I feel like spiritually things are getting clearer, more understandings are coming through, and I'm healthier now. 



9. Numerology
It seems fitting this fell on the number "9." Damn. 

Numbers 11, 22, 44, and 88 have been coming up since November. It took me a couple weeks to realize November IS the 11th month and what these numbers meant. And it's hard to explain how they "come up" throughout your day and week and month so I actually tried capturing pictures of it when it occurred. 



Finally had to look up "44" and "888" in particular. EVERY DAY they came up. Here's what the internet told me:





Basically 44 and 88 both have to do with establishing financial stability -which is where I'm at currently in terms of undertakings. But 88 also has to do with karma and not trying to perpetuate negativity. Forgiving others their trespasses and seeing being darkness to light. Which has also been coming up a lot. 

Then the number 11 started coming up. For me the number 11 represents 2 beings coming together -either in friction and battle or in peace and unity. In November I finally realized I had a situation of "Twinning" going on. Stuff that would happen to be would immediately happen to my friend/co-worker Elaine. I actually started keeping track because it became like clock-work. 

-I ripped my plastic glove, 10 minutes later she ripped hers
-I brought avocados and tomatoes to work to put in my veggieburger, the next week she brought salsa and guacamole for a pot luck
-I dropped plant seeds on the ground, the next morning she did the same thing
-Someone took my black Sharpie pen and the next day I ended up having someone else's black Sharpie handed to me and I KNEW that would happen
-I had to learn how to use the lift alone, Elaine had to learn to use the lift alone
-We played cards and she got 3 Aces and laid them down and the next turn I got 3 Aces and made the same move
-I knew which cards she was going to put down before she did a couple times 

So "twinning" isn't just synchronicity with the same person -it can also be other people and life duplicating itself in different scenarios from time to time. It's a whole phenomenon. And it's continued -if not expanded at this point. 

The other 2 numbers that have been coming up infinitely are 9 and 27 -the numbers that pertain to ME and who I am as a person. 



Some numbers refer to what's going on around you and how you're experiencing the world and some refer to WHO you are. 

9 as always means seeing yourself in the world and the world in you. Everything is a reflection of everything -like the ocean reflecting the sky and the sky reflecting the ocean. 27 specifically has to do with encouraging Understanding + Empathy, The Golden Rule, and Peace Between All Beings through Divine Connection. 

The number 49 has also come up a couple times but I didn't bother looking that one up and still don't know what it means. 

10. Angel Cards

I think the biggest thing that showed up the last time I did angel cards was the Moon and Spring Time in Winter. That and a child at play -given I got the job at the school right after. 



I don't usually pay any attention to the cycles of the moon and don't know what they mean, but going out at night to the school to clean I started seeing the moon more -specifically the New/Waxing Moon just like the card showed which was pretty freaky. 

Then the premonition card came with up the picture of birds outlining the number 3 in the clouds -which is pretty spot on for the numerology stuff that's been happening. 

Sometimes I pity people who aren't spiritual for not being on this wave length. It feels like you're in your own conspiracy theory -only it consists of God trying to send you important messages about life and not getting pissed off at other people. 

***Update: Just noticed I published and finished this blog at exactly 11:27am.