Fourth Sunday of Advent, and Christmas Novena - Day Four

The fourth and final part of advent begins today. When I have observed advent well, I find that I am now mostly prepared for Christmas - my house is fairly clean, shopping is finished, and the cupboards are filled with yummy food. I need to complete only a few finishing touches. Even so, I find myself fretting over details!

This is a good day to take a deep breath and go back to the source, back to the Spirit that brings me to this place of light and grace; back to living in Spirit, being Spirit. I remember then that happiness comes in calm simplicity, and awareness in the moment. I experience Spirit through my breath, and with each sensation, sight, sound, smell, and taste. I only need to be fully awake to the ordinary miracle of Being, and keep my focus on the Spirit of Love that guides me.

Today is also the fourth day of the Christmas Novena, a Catholic ritual of a prayer recited or sung during the nine days leading up to Christmas Day.

Agenda:
1. Read a novena

2. Advent wreath ceremony
3. Plan ways to give attention to God

4. Winter Awareness Walk

1. Read a novena:

I've been reading this Creation Novena from the Indian Catholic Matters site:

Day 4: A Prayer for the Land:
Creator God, we give thanks for the land. Thank You for the confidence and comfort we feel from the earth beneath bare feet. Thank You for the earth that sustains us, as it is the home of the plants and animals from which we draw sustenance. Thank You for the many uses of minerals in our lives—uses that shelter us, heal us, and connect us.

As we mine Your Earth beyond its capacity, as mountains are carved to nothing and rich soil turns to dust, give us a sense of measure. Help us see when we’ve gone far enough—when we’ve taken enough. As we anticipate Jesus’ birth, help us find a new direction.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

2. Advent wreath ceremony:

Tonight (and every night this week through Christmas day) we will light four advent candles, and recite four prayers:

"We light the first candle for the earth, which sustains us. May we cherish and care for it."

"We light the second candle for all the people of the world. May we find unity and peace."

"We light the third candle for our family and the joy and love we bring each other."

"We light the fourth candle for the Spirit of God in each of us, which is our guiding light."

3. Plan ways to give attention to God:

This week of advent my focus is the Guiding Light of God. My image of God is the Creator Spirit of earth and sky, and the Love and Light that lives in all people. I try to live always awake and listening for the message of Love, and always feel a connection to Creation, but I often get distracted. I want to have a more effectual connection to God, and so this week I'll practice and improve my mindfulness habits.

Things to do this week to give attention to the Spirit of God:

• Each morning as I wake, pause to take a slow breath, and center on the Light within. Stay in this gentle meditation as I get dressed and move through my morning.
• Light a candle, and sit every morning for a few minutes of silence, simply feeling a presence of Love.
• Start a new prayer journal: Write my prayers of gratitude, dreams and desires I want to hold up for Spirit, and list people to hold in the Light.
• Say my brief Dawn Creation prayer and make an offering of sunflower seeds.
• Go on a morning Awareness Walk, and send prayers to my loved ones, all the people of the world, and to the earth.
• Write about my personal spiritual path, how I weave together the threads of my belief, and spiritual practices.
• Start an Inner Guide trance practice, to access new insights.
• Light all the candles at night to remind me that the Spirit of God is our guiding Light.

Seneca said: “You are a fragment of God; ... Will you not bear in mind, whenever you eat, who you are that eat, and whom you are nourishing? ... Whenever you mix in society, whenever you take physical exercise, whenever you converse, do you not know that you are nourishing God, exercising God?”

4. Winter Awareness Walk:

The simple fact of Being, along with a feeling of love, defines my essential self. I am sometimes distracted by searching for meaning and purpose, collecting experiences, relationships, and knowledge, and I forget to enjoy the being of now! 

When I relax and allow myself to appreciate the mystery and feel the wonders of the season, an awareness of the harmony of life emerges, and an amazing quality of aliveness; everything is in its place - just so. 

This week I plan to enjoy an Awareness Walk practice, for the purpose of being present to the winter and to Creation. Each morning as I walk my dog I will give attention to these:

1. Physical Awareness: Concentrate on my feet as they touch the ground, the feel of my muscles, my breathing, my surroundings, the breeze, the sky. Continue this for 1-2 blocks. 

2. Heart Awareness: Turn a corner, and focus on my tender heart. Feel it soften and open. Send loving thoughts to my neighbors as I walk by their homes, to my family, to my community, to the world. Continue this for 1-2 blocks. 

3. Mindfulness: Turn another corner, and pay attention to my thoughts. Make an effort to open my mind to the ambiguity of the moment, and my life. Continue this for 1-2 blocks. 

4. Spiritual Awareness: Turn the last corner, and (holding on to the awareness I've raised) speak a prayer out loud as I’m moving; feel the power and energy move through me. Say, “Spirits of Love and Light and Creation, I remember thee. Amen.”