The season of Christmas madness is upon us with all of its unspoken pressures and expectations. The egregore of Christmas Spirit is a big one and it gets very hungry at this time of year!
Egregore : A metaphysical term for an entity created by the thought forms and beliefs of a group consciousness that can function independently beyond the the awareness of a group.
The Christmas egregore is what unconsciously pressures us to:
- Buy things we or others don’t really need or want
- Buy things for others we may not really be able to afford
- Buy copious amounts of alcohol we wouldn’t normally buy
- Drink copious amounts of alcohol we wouldn’t normally drink
- Buy and over eat food we wouldn’t normally eat
- Endure communications with rude and hostile family members
- Try to maintain Peace at all times because it’s unholy not to… unless of course not doing so is in the name of a Holy War then you can kill as many people as you like including women and children (war is basically two outrageously powerful egregores having a big fight and feeding off lots of unconscious people) apparently.
Collective beliefs are powerful if you give yourself to them and the egregore of Christmas Spirit has a lot to answer for.
According to DRCS, the Christmas period typically sees a rise in police responses to domestic abuse incidents and research has indicated an estimated 15,000 children will be exposed to domestic abuse during the two-week festive period.
Factors which contribute to domestic violence include:
- Financial stress
- Alcohol consumption
- The pursuit of a ‘perfect’ Christmas, and
- Prolonged close quarters
What has this all got to do with Meditation you may ask?
Meditation can help you find a reprieve from Christmas madness, if only you prioritise it and allow yourself the little time it takes to practice.
You may find if you do this, there is less build up of “pressure” and therefore less chance of exploding when your mother in law (or insert annoying relative of your choosing) presses your “unresolved childhood trauma” buttons round the family Christmas dinner table.
You may find you are more able to discern a potentially volatile situation and avert it before it explodes. You may even choose to remove yourself at some point from putting yourself in those situations in the first place.
Meditation can help you to recognise the spaces between thoughts and actions so you become more consciously responsive and less unconsciously reactive. It helps you become more secure and confident in yourself so the need to defend your identity starts to fade away. Those little pockets of space can help you to not “take the bait”.
Please note: Meditation and this sort of increased awareness takes practice. Don’t beat yourself up if you do take the bait!
You can, of course, use Meditation as an excuse to get some quiet time too…
“See you in 20mins, I’m just going to go upstairs to Meditate”.
It may invoke jibing for sure, but do it anyway. Meditation can help you to be more innocent. ie not expect certain reactions.. You never know, it also may invoke curiosity and a deeper level of conversation.
I am contemplating a “Christmas Day Meditation Cafe” (as it falls on a Monday) for those that like me, have found themselves without human company this Christmas Day evening and want to give a big “UP YOURS!” to the egregore of Christmas over consumption and experience Christmas Day evening in a different way.
Meditating on ones inner Peace and Peace in the world is a great thing to do at Christmas (I actually think that this may be what a Christ would intend that we do, cos’ remember it is actually meant to be about his teachings!)
To not paint myself as a Christmas humbug, I must state that I do actually love some aspects of Christmas, although I relate more to it’s pre-Christian origins as Yule. I have managed to squeeze a little Yule tree with some sparkly lights in the boat. Tara kitty thinks it’s a big cat toy. She likes knocking off and chewing on the pine cones!
When you think you’re under the influence of an egregore, try these things:
- Know your Self – Contemplate and understand who you are, what your needs are, what your drives are beyond any group consciousness.
- Understand your patterns – Catch yourself in those moments when you’re behaving in a certain way and recognise if you’re choosing behaviour based on your core values or if you’re on auto-pilot enmeshed in a group consciousness.
- Challenge your impulses – When making a decision or taking an action, take a moment to take a deep breath, pause and ask “Why am I doing this? Is this really what I want to do/say”
- Check if you are thinking in “group mind”, if so find a way to detach yourself so you can have a choice about what thoughts you are truly aligned with. Are these your true thoughts/feelings or are they simply the group majority asserting dominance?
- Spend time in nature. Nature can be a great way to disconnect from group egregores and connect more deeply with your core Self.
Join us tonight, Monday 18th December at 7.30pm in the Meditation Cafe for some Heart Words that you can use to get you through the Christmas holidays and festivities, that help you align to YOUR own Christmas values as well to be an autonomous, free thinking Human Being. Here’s the registration link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMldu2vrT8iGdfD_cexiYrpIbFZnRyY_ydm
Meditation Cafe is free by default. If you’d like to “Buy Me A Coffee” in the Cafe to express your Gratitude, or make a donation, you can do so here:
http://paypal.me/thebendywitch
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The Bendy Witch 