With great thanks to Eleanor O'Rourke for this guest blog on my favourite subject!
Why Christmas is for crack addicts
It happened every year. The first signs appeared on his commute to work. Shy reindeer and slightly embarrassed baubles edged their way into the shop windows. "Jesus Christ it's only the first of November" Joe Turner would rage as he stormed into the office of Fabulous Brands Inc.
Joe's staff were familiar with his contempt for 'the whole Christmas malarkey'. Some of them shared his disdain and watched with horror as the nation descended once again into a frenzy of present buying and binge drinking accompanied by the hypnotic mantra of dreadful Christmas music.
Joe's family teased him for being a Grinch. Then, without a trace of cynicism, he would argue the facts: Christmas was supposed to be a celebration for the Baby Jesus, not a ritual for the Retail Sector – who were only concerned by the announcement of their own year end Profit. It was over-hyped. It made no sense.
During the third week of December he usually cracked. It happened so quickly – a triple whammy of twinkling fairy lights, the smell of mulled wine and the the opening bars of "chestnuts roasting on an open fire." The assault on his senses, tugged on his heartstrings, rendering him senseless.
But what's really going on?!
We have inside us a blueprint for the next stage of evolution. Our future selves are calling us towards higher ground (remember time is just something we made up so this is not as wacky as it sounds). Some artists, mystics and visionaries have glimpses of this through a crack in the fabric of our current dimension. They can gain access to genius levels of consciousness - if only for brief moments.
Leonard Cohen famously wrote "There's a crack, a crack in everything, that's where the light gets in". Our senses lead us to this place – a fact that the Catholics used, to much effect. The smell of incense, the visual feast of stunning architecture, the haunting beauty of Gregorian chants. Guaranteed to produce a hyperlink to the edge… But instead of using these senses to scaffold to higher ground, many got seduced by the senses, becoming indulgent, manipulative and power crazy. (Have you seen the Vatican?)
Like many people of his generation, Joe Turner rejected religion in the sixties. He found other means to travel to the edge of consciousness – LSD, peyote, magic mushrooms. But when the music died, he ditched the patchouli oil, cut his hair and became a copywriter. That was all behind him now. Or was it just another indicator of his longing to glimpse through the veil?
Like curious children, we are drawn to the crack in the curtain – particularly at Christmas. But we get hijacked by our senses. The sight of gifts piled high, the taste of rich food, the smell of fir trees, the poignancy of carols, the anticipation of hugs on the exchange of presents (I'm so touched!). We become enchanted.
Then we wake in January with monumental hangovers, having maxed out our credit cards. Just like Joe we rail "it was that damned spell… it got me again!"
We can't really blame the Magic of Christmas. Something inside us longs for a transcendental experience, we just forgot how to get there. Our senses were supposed to signal the way. But in our crazy wisdom, we made an altar out of the signpost, pitched tents and stayed put, making sacrifices to the Gods of Consumerism who bring us such lovely things that delight our senses.
We gather, transfixed around the crack of light, because we lack the discipline to go beyond our five sensory world.
We need to come to our senses – all of them, including the sixth and possibly a seventh, eighth and ninth! This requires our spiritual expansion (not the literal expansion of our waistlines!). It requires the mental clarity that we are the saviour we've been waiting for. And it requires the stretching of our childish heart, to gain access to the mystical heart - one that isn't indulgent, sentimental or manipulative. In short, the heart that can love for no reason.
Because we are now going beyond the Age of Reason.
It's a tough gig, and it will require our courage.
But anything less is just crack addiction.
See a bunch more at http://geometryofbehaviour.posterous.com/
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