Imaginary Flight and the Odyssey of Christmas

By Julian Wash 
Rattleberry Pie  |
For: rattlereport.com |
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Dear Humans,

Today I wish to return to your awareness the virtue of the season, the power of love and the power of imagination.  I invite you to take a little journey with me into a world of magic and wonder.  And this journey comes with a promise that a certain truth will radiate as clear and bright as the tapestry of stars dotting the constellations of winter.

The Solstice and The Cross

On around the twenty-second of December, Earth transitions into Winter Solstice, ushering in the shortest day of the year.  About this time the Sun appears to rise and set exactly in the same place for three days.  This was once seen as most unusual because the Sun normally scoots over a tiny bit either higher or lower every day.  On Christmas the Sun “wakes” from its three days of slumber and once again begins scooting over a little bit higher in its daily arc across the sky.   The mythology of the ancients told the story of how the Sun “died” on the celestial cross of the Solstice.  The cross can be thought of as a point in the heavens where the axis of precession crosses the ecliptic.  The return of the migrating Sun, or “rebirth” brought great joy, relief and celebration to early observers.

The more modern meaning of the date may well have been a Roman contribution.  On Christ-Mass, or Christmas, Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus on the very day the Sun emerges from its three days of rest.  Religious scholars of all walks and persuasions have long questioned the authenticity of this date as His true birthday.  The subject continues to be a matter of conjecture. 

Debates aside, Christmas remains a very special, whimsical celebration of light and birth.  With each passing day that follows, Christmas brings the promise of a slightly longer day of light as a “gift” to a weary world facing a long, bleak and often brutal winter.

But our journey is not about the study of religious dogma or scholars and not about astrotheology, paganism, saturnalia or druidic customs and tradition.  Today we will walk our own path and discover our own little secret truth about this time of love and joy.  Did I say walk?  Why walk when… we can fly.

Taking a Ride in an Open Sleigh

Let’s start our journey on board a magical, candy apple red sleigh which by all accounts defies gravity, aerodynamics and pretty much matter, space and time as we know it.   There are no special requirements for this flight, no qualifying certificate or license.  One should simply bring an imagination and perhaps a Santa hat if so desired.  Flying reindeer take us from rooftop to rooftop all across the world -and our driver who is both robust in size and demeanor, effortlessly glides down chimneys with a sack full of toys and goodies for the children who believe in this jolly fellow –and even to those who don’t. 

Of course there will be a good many that would dismiss any of this as real.  For this group of well-meaning skeptics I would be remiss by failing to ask the Socratic question, “What is real?”  The very question is presented rather stridently by the gatekeepers of wisdom- one must try to answer if they plan to enter higher realms of reason.  No worries- we’re together on this one.  One of the more clever tools in the arsenal box of sages is to simply respond to a question with a more focused version of the original.

What is the Reality of Thought?

The chair you’re sitting on, the computer you’re tethered to, the lights, the car, the structure you dwell in were nothing more than “imagination” at one time.  Some would go so far as to say they still are.  So the question becomes “what is the reality of thought?”  Where exactly is the line drawn between thought -and what is “real?” 

In the case of a loving romance some believe validation comes in the form of a physical representation, such as bringing flowers.   By doing so one has manifested an external construct as a device to help reflect what is real on the inside.  There are margins of error in these external constructs.  Anybody can bring flowers to someone and say they love them- even if it’s not so.   In such a case it can be sensibly argued that the sincere thought is more “real” than the representative physical action of delivering a bouquet.  

To be fair, “it’s all in your head” is a rather valid expression though generally regarded as sarcastic in intent.  A thought, a spark of creativity, an imagined place, person or thing are to some just as real as the feeling they get when seeing  a child’s eyes light up on Christmas morning.  The physical aspect of the experience is external- but what goes on in the inside is very real. 

Our interaction with physical matter, like using a wrench to turn a bolt or miscalculating a hammer swing onto a finger, is an experience brought to you by the physical universe- but it’s your awareness, your thought about the experience that validates it as real.  This imaginary world is not so imaginary after all.   So I’ve got another secret to share with you-

Santa Claus is Real

Over a billion children could not possibly be wrong.  If one does not hear sleigh bells on Christmas Eve then perhaps they’re not listening hard enough.  And should one insist that Santa Claus is just an imaginary person then I would be the first to agree.  I would also proceed by introducing myself as an imaginary person and go on from there.

Before one tells little Johnny or Jenny there is no Santa- they should first ask if that is what they believe or is it just what they’ve been told.   Santa Claus may be “merely a thought” and yet, are we not all born from thought?  During this magical season, let’s not be so hasty deciding what is real and what is not.  After all, if one were to keep looking deep within, down to the atomic level and beyond, they would eventually see themselves as pure energy.  And that, my dear Humans, is exactly what a thought is- Pure energy.

The secret I’ve been alluding to is that Santa, as a “state of mind” is quite real.  So let your inner-child run free, embrace the boundless excitement, the thrill of anticipation and all the power of imagination the season has to offer.  And should you decide to ride with the bearded one in the red suit on that special flight, imagine Peace to all and to all a good night.

-Until next time

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Article originally published at:
http://www.rattlereport.com/rattleberry/2013/2013-12-17
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Picture credits:  
http://lighting-ideas.org 
North Pole