February 2nd marks the midway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It is a time of hope. I notice in the evenings, the days are getting longer. I sense the stirring of activity deep in the earth and anticipate snowdrops popping up from the cold, wet ground.
I trust nature’s promises and observe that they are fulfilled season after season, year after year. Through no action of my own, the seasons come and go.
Being human holds promises as well, promises that lie dormant in the soul, awaiting external circumstances and inner forces to align and activate them. Knowing promises have been planted like seeds in my soul, gives me hope.
What actions will it take for these promises to be fulfilled in my life? Will they be awakened by a warm rain or will they need a torrential storm? Do they grow best in direct sunlight or do they like partial shade? Remember promises are not guarantees but rather seed potential; I remind myself.
Listed and described in a nutshell below are the twelve promises that came to me in Lynn Jericho’s Inner Christmas messages. They are my interpretations of them. I am still working to deepen my understanding of them.
I plan to tend them with care, to keep them alive and growing in my soul throughout this year.
Contemplate the possibility of each promise and see what they awaken in you. Imagine your soul, like a garden, blooming with them.
There is a promise of holiness. It involves embracing the wholeness of life with innocence and nonjudgment. It suggests reverence for all that is, the spiritualization of matter. This affects how we interact with everything and everyone.
There is a promise of freedom. In the spiritual world, all things are free. Aligning with that world creates space for acceptance, non-resistance to exist. Letting go of conflicts within frees blocked energy, allowing it to flow without hindrance.
There is a promise of newness. To make our world new again, we need to be willing to pause, to receive, to be healed, to allow for becoming. Each moment, each day, each year, each decade is full of the promise of newness.
There is a promise of beauty. Beauty is the incarnation of our personal contribution, getting it just right, without too much or too little. There is beauty in a well-prepared meal, a carefully tended home, an essay written and edited with love.
There is a promise of harmony. Harmony involves goodness, self-compassion, gratitude and forgiveness. Perfectionism, people-pleasing, pretending and proving block harmony. Balance within and connection in relationships create harmony.
There is a promise of mystery. We cannot know all there is to know and we cannot control what is beyond our own behavior. Miracles happen when we do our part and let go, see what comes, live in the mystery. It just might be beyond our wildest dreams!
There is a promise of art. There are creative forces within our soul that can manifest in the material world as art. There is the art of living, of working, of recreating, of spiritualizing matter. We make art when we align our creative powers with the spiritual world.
There is a promise of kindness. There is the potential to look with interest and kind eyes at whatever is happening, at ourselves and at others. Kindness opens the door to goodness, compassion and at least, avoiding harm, possibly healing the hurts that have already happened.
There is a promise of laughter. There is a way to see what is with humor, regardless of the degree of difficulty presenting; laughter will dispel the darkness and make space for lightness to enter in.
There is a promise of solitude. Finding quiet and intentional aloneness is not loneliness. It is being with the self, not only being without others. It is a path to inner peace, resolving conflicts and honoring the self. We honor the self so to be able to honor others.
There is a promise of impact. Each one of us has a mission and purpose to fulfill. Some are here to make big waves and others smaller ripples. Notice your impact. Make it intentional.
There is a promise of conversation. We live in conversation with ourselves, the universe and others. I ask my closet what to wear. I ask my soul what I am experiencing. I ask others to tell me their truth and I share mine. Letting go of preconceived ideas creates space for sacred conversations.
According to Rudolf Steiner, the potential of our humanity is the materialization of spirit and the spiritualization of matter. Do your own experiments with awakening these promises and discover what you may not know, yet. You might be surprised.
Go to imagineself.com to learn more about Lynn Jericho’s work.