December Blessings by Norma Gentile

This is an excerpt of a longer version published in the November 2001 issue of Sedona Journal of Emergence.

In the midst of December's business, I find it helpful to remember the importance of nourishing the physical body. One piece of information that my guides have shared with me is the difference between being well nourished and simply nourished.

In the USA we have a system for identifying the minimum daily requirement of vitamins and minerals. Many of us assume that by meeting that minimum we are achieving a healthy standard. In truth, the minimum daily requirement is just that - the level needed for the body not die. This level indicates minimal life force.

The level needed of most vitamins and minerals for well nourishment far exceeds the minimal levels described by most physicians. Well nourishment goes beyond simply existing. Well nourishment includes healthy vigor, an easy resistance to disease, and the keenness of mind that goes along with a balanced body.

Well nourishment helps stave off attacks from bacteria that cause infections in a body that is less healthy. Eating beyond the 5 fruits and vegetables suggested as a minimum each day helps the body recognize and create the appropriate auto immune responses to viral agents.

The spread of anthrax or any other biological agent in the US is largely dependent on our own laziness towards nourishment. This is a wake up call. As part of the process of spiritual ascension or growth the physical body is also called to grow. Just as meditation and prayer become daily habits, so too the well nourishment of the body brings a higher quality of energy into the body, so that spirit might flow more easily through the physical form.

December brings with it a challenge and possibility of creation. We are treated to both a solar and lunar eclipse (Dec 14 and 30 respectively). Nestled between them is the winter solstice. In this time period we can collectively choose to create a new reality of physical health for ourselves and the planet.

The winter solstice is a time of decision making on the inside. This past year many people have found themselves facing and releasing emotional wounds. Releasing the patterns of feeling and acting like victims, and stepping up to the tasks at hand has been a major issue for most women.

This is not unlike preparing the soil for tilling - removing rocks and stumps, while assessing the needs of the soil. At the time of the winter solstice we choose, usually on an unconscious level, those seeds that will be planted in the springtime.

During this month we begin to set into motion those relationships and connections that will serve to create new platforms for spiritual expression. We are not yet done with the emotional clearing, although there is a bit of relief until February for most people.

The energies of the two eclipses are quite different, and how they will effect us depends largely on our awareness of them. They bookend a two week space in which energies are apt to shift very strongly.

The annular solar eclipse on December 14 is most likely to be in the midst of a strong male energy. By this I mean life streams will be moving outwardly, with lots of socializing and busyness - a typical pattern for this time of year.

But the penumbral lunar eclipse on December 30 highlights the female or inner contemplative energies. Again, many people do experience a quietness after the passage of Christmas and before New Year's Eve. This year the quietness is apt to extend into the first few days of the New Year.

In regards to how the mass or collective consciousness and unconsciousness is faring, it is helpful to consider how we are dealing with the most obvious events in the world.

Each level of spiritual awareness that we attain responds differently to large-scale events. There are those programs still in us that feel threatened and fearful. And another level of us that knows nothing will not touch the eternal flame of being that animates our bodies.

From an energy perspective I see that the expanding awareness of the aura or energy field, especially that part of the field lying 25-30 away from the body, is the key to autoimmune function.

Paradoxically, as we have less fear of external agents (like diseases) acting upon us, this part of the aura becomes more stabile with energies that support our spiritual growth in this lifetime. Likewise, as we are fearful of outside energies, germs, or the actions of others, the outer auric membranes become more porous.

It may be helpful to recall that when you give your attention to something you are also giving your life force to it. Maintaining a persistent focus on that which we perceive as 'evil' merely creates more of the same in the world. And that creation is fueled by our own energies.

This is not to say that putting something out of our minds or avoiding it solves the problem. I mean to say that an awareness of a problem and a fixation on it are two different things.

One step that can be taken is to remember that no one can make us feel like a victim without our permission. Each level of spiritual awareness that we grasp helps us recognize that it is our tasks to convert energies. Each level of spiritual awareness, or dimension of reality, is unique in its ability to respond to an external physical threat

In some dimensions or levels of awareness the nature of physicality is defined by maintaining the roles of victim and persecutor. In other dimensions or moments of awareness we are able to take the stance of creator, and step out of the polarity of roles.

I do not believe that we live at one continual level of consciousness. Rather I see it as a shifting montage of awarenesses. In this fashion I am wondering if the threat of biological or chemical agents isn't another manifestation of inner fear and victimhood held in the mass consciousness and collective unconsciousness.

Our response to such a threat indicates the level of victim hood we are allowing ourselves to play out in our lives, most likely around other personal issues that seem unrelated.

One way to see this is to simply ask yourself, how are you altering your behavior now? What is it that you are doing differently that doesn't feel good to your body? That is the doorway into finding how you are holding onto the stance of victimhood.

In this season of creation, taking a few extra minutes each day for quiet reflection, meditation, or prayer may help each of us understand more deeply our own abilities to create and recreate our lives. Whatever you would most love to experience in your life today is possible. Let your attention be on that which you love, rather than on that which you dislike.

May there be many blessings, bright and beautiful, for you all in this star filled season.

-Norma Gentile
(with the assistance of Atamira and Amano)