Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

As I write this article people all over the world are getting ready to mark Remembrance Day in a couple of days’ time.  Remembrance Day was instituted to remember the sacrifices of the many young men who gave their lives for their country during the First World War, which ended on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month in 1918.  Nowadays it is extended to remember all who have sacrificed their lives for their country in war, both men and women.

During the 2 minutes silence at 11 am on the 11^th of November this year I will be imagining something John Lennon and Yoko Ono imagined early in 1971.  A world without war.  Or to put it in a more correct, affirmative way, a world filled with peace.  This is something I have always done on Remembrance Day since I was a child.

I do not imagine a world without religion though.  Religion has its place.  As long as it is not divisive.  It was the divisiveness of man-corrupted religion that made Lennon and Ono want to throw it away.  As Lennon himself said, he wanted a world “without this my-God-is-bigger-than-your-God thing”.  I imagine a world at peace, where we each seek the Truth in our own way, some of us by following a particular religion and others finding that Truth in a different way.  All of us recognizing and respecting the differences between us.

Nor do I imagine a world without possessions.  I believe the Universe wants all of us to enjoy the possessions we have and to provide us with even more.  It is simply not true that there is a limit on those possessions and that if I possess something it means someone else cannot possess what they want or need.  So there is nothing immoral about wanting more and going out and getting it.  But I also believe we are intended to use those possessions for good, using them to help all those around us.  In that sense my thinking is perhaps not so far apart from John Lennon’s as it might at first seem.

Probably most of you reading this believe in the immense power of visualization.  I certainly do.  If you do believe in this power, or even if you are not sure but are prepared to agree it may exist, and if you believe a world at peace is much preferable to a world at war, I would ask you to join me in a 2 minute visualization for peace.  Visualize everyone, regardless of country, race or religion, working together, living together in peace, being happy together.  Let us all do this visualization together for 2 minutes at 11:00 am on the 11^th November, this year, next year, and every year.

Imagine the power of that visualization!  Let’s do it!

What is Christmas?

This week most of us have celebrated Christmas.  But what exactly should Christmas mean to us?

Most of my readers probably know Christmas has its roots in pagan religion.  It is a celebration of the death and then the rebirth of the sun – hence the date just after the Winter Solstice, when the sun is the lowest in the sky and then gradually rises higher and higher.

Ancient druids decorated trees with fruit and cakes.  Their custom was much more sustainable than ours.  They left those “Christmas trees” living in the wild rather than cutting them down to brighten a room inside the house for just a week or two.

Kissing under the mistletoe may also have been an ancient druid custom.  This may be because the white berry of the mistletoe was considered to represent the semen of the sun, and therefore kissing under it could perhaps increase the chances of fertility.  If you are attending a late Christmas party where there may be sprigs of mistletoe maybe you should remember this before kissing!

The idea of feasting and exchanging gifts comes from the Roman festival of Saturnalia.  During that festival, which was usually full of revelry which would make most of us blush, those with wealth and power were expected to display some humility and serve those with none.

The original Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, was St Nicholas, who lived in Myra in what is now Turkey – not, I am afraid, at the North Pole.  This real Santa Claus was a wealthy man who gave away his wealth to help the poor around him, particularly young girls who might otherwise have drifted into prostitution.  Santa Claus was particularly fond of and protective of children.

Christians have adopted, and adapted, these early celebrations to create the festival we now know as Christmas.  Celebrating the birth of someone who wanted us to renew our lives and become better people.

Whether you are Christian, Pagan, of another religion, or of none, you should perhaps wish to take the inner meaning of all these early elements of the season.  Reverence for nature, love, humility, charity and generosity all feature in the festival.  A festival of renewal and rebirth.

As John Lennon said in his “Happy Christmas” song, “So this is Christmas, and what have you done?  Another year over and a new one begun.”  A time for renewal.  A new chance to change and create a better life for yourself and for all around you.