Christmas Presence
Most of the information my spirit guides serve up on a daily basis comes in the form of keywords. When I read for other people, it’s a different process and much easier to separate the voices and retrieve elaborate detail — when the messages are for me, they are often enigmatic — as if I am meant to contemplate, work through the puzzling layers, unravel the threads…
I’m often fortunate to hear a shining sentence, such as “Joy only happens in the present.” But even these are more like poetry or lyrics than statements of pure direction.
During this Holiday Season, for the past several weeks, each time I’ve asked for divine guidance — “What should I be focusing on right now?” — I hear the same word over and over:
“Presents!”
My guides have a childlike energy, and their vocabulary is often limited, fixated, like toddlers more excited by simply being able to say a word than concerned with conveying meaning. In the South, we rarely say “gift” in everyday dialog, unless we’re quoting or paraphrasing a specific named concept such as “gift card” or “gift-giving.” We give birthday presents, Christmas presents…
One of the first levels of interpreting intuitive information requires a question of whether the message is literal or symbolic. When in doubt, I lean toward metaphor — the Story of the symbol — although I’m shocked by the number of times the literal details prove to be true.
Presents? Surely not…
I continued to roll the word around in my conscious attention — clairaudience means I hear the words; I rarely see them spelled out clairvoyantly.
Presents or Presence?
Here’s where the poetry of clairaudience comes into play — Am I hearing the word presents or presence? Which has significance and resonance with the concept of Christmas? The answer this time for me is delightfully Both.
I look for threads of connection between both words/meanings — here are some of those threads:
- “Joy only happens in the present.” A shining sentence that my guides have been fond of using for the last five years or so. Joy’s being another operant seasonal keyword.
- The Present — The Power of Now. Time. Regardless of religion, faith, or dogma, it’s inescapably true that the very concept of Time in the modern world is defined by the birth of Jesus.
- Presence is a gift in and of itself. Anyone you exchange gifts with this year is inevitably present in your life, on many levels. I think of one of my mother’s dear friends who passed away last month from cancer; his daughters are painfully aware of the gift of presence this Christmas…
- Your presence — as in your energy – the self that you bring to gatherings of family and friends — is the greatest blessing of all. A bright and joyful presence is a choice you may wrap yourself in, regardless of any material or physical detail.
I also can’t ignore the literal and the virtual meanings for me personally — my web presence. My blogs literally extend my life and the sphere of my human experience. As a present to myself this Holiday, I’ve taken time off from writing and posting articles to lose myself in code — a creative, addictive activity that I can’t indulge as often as I’d like to.
And most of all, I’m thankful and infinitely blessed by your presence in my world — a humbling experience that I barely have words for.
How does your presence today define your joy? Leave a comment below — I love it when you read for me!
Merry Christmas with love
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8 Responses to “Christmas Presence”
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Merry Christmas to you too, Slade!
I’m glad you gave yourself time to indulge in another area of passion and it’s also wonderful to hear your voice again!
This was so cute…it made me smile on so many levels
Much love,
PK
Hi Slade,
I subscribe to your posts by email. Normally, I read then delete, knowing if I want to re-read, I can simply click on your site.
Today I wasn’t so quick to let you go back from whence you came. I decided to leave your presence in my inbox for awhile longer.
Or was that your presents?
With holiday thoughts and wishes,
Barbara
Dear Slade,
This year, probably for the first year since somewhere as a child, I have lived in the present. And the gifts to me, because of it have been incredible. By being aware in the moments, I have had to deal with all that is me. My truths, my lies, my fears, my joy. Incredibly humbling but most importantly REAL!!! And so, I have given my ’self’ an incredible present that keeps on giving. By giving myself the present to just ‘be’, I now have more presence, and the abundance of flowing energy that I have around me, allows me to offer my abundance with freedom to others!
Bravo to presents!!!
Also, Slade, a big hug to you for doing all you do. For the present of your presence
The Spirit Guide reading was a key turning point in my year. When all that I thought I knew, became what I know. Blessings to you!Lynette
MERRY CHRISTMAS SLADE AND A JOYOUS NEW YEAR!
Your presence in our lives Slade, is a loving, sincere, present to ALL of us who receive your readings and newsletters.
Journey on in 2008 with Divine Blessings, Love, Light and optimism.
PEACE.
Slade, Merry Christmas and have a glorious 2008. Someone told me on Sunday that 2007 was a 9 year which in numerology is a number of endings, cleaning up before going into a number 1 year which is what 2008 will be — A new beginning. I am definitely ready to be present to the presence of 2008 and all that it brings. I am very grateful that you are a presence in my life. You have given me many presents with your presence. Love you,
Slade, what a lovely, perfect post.
For me, some of the most precious gifts I have are the presence of the people in my life who truly care about me. When I stop to consider that, I realize there are many.
Wishing you blessings for a joyful new year.
Slade,
Whenever there is a major holiday, I go into T.E.D. (Total E-Mail Deprivation) for as long as possible — or as long as I can stand it! Actually, I usually go for a Total Computer Detox if I’m able to swing it, but at the very least I do not allow myself to touch e-mail. You have to understand that I LOVE my computer, especially my e-mail which allows me to “reach out and touch someone” in a more convenient format than the telephone (my bias as a writer, of course). So it’s an accomplishment I am proud of when I go into T.E.D. every holiday.
Why force myself to do something a little nerve-racking (for me)?
Simple. Holidays are for spending time In The Present Moment with family and friends who are actually there. It is NOT a time to spend with “virtual people,” nor bits and bytes, nor a “box” that sits on our desk impersonating reality!
Don’t get me wrong, I really like what you have to say about the Technological Singularity, Slade, but even you’ve got to admit that there’s a whole different energy going on when we are one-on-one with the people in our physical soul-circle. Yes?
When I first hopped online back in the ’90s I swore up and down that I wouldn’t allow my computer/e-mail to rule my life. I could see my addiction coming like a train wreck. I’ve often said that we don’t really own computers; they own us!
A couple of years or so later I violated that promise to myself. The result was a great big smack in the face (or I should say knee) from The Universe. Long story short, I busted my knee and had to spend an entire month bedridden, and another six months recovering after that. Interestingly, even now — YEARS later — my knee will swell up & give me pain if I get too busy & forget to live In The Present Moment. You gotta love that little barometer given to me by The Universe! I didn’t consider it a gift at the time it happened, but now I can see what a gift — what a present — I was given.
Merry Belated Christmas/Winter Festival and a Happy New Year to all! And virtual hugs to you, our dear Slade.
Love & light,
Jewels
Julie,
Of course I value one-on-one interaction! But of course I don’t have that opportunity with 99.999% of the people I reach online.
I also relate to your need to turn the computer off — I don’t just do this at Holidays, I must regulate my computer time on a daily basis. I spent four years sleeping, eating, and breathing on the computer, 20 hours a day.
Now, I live part of everyday in the virtual world — just as anyone goes to work 8 hours a day and then comes home. My laptop gets shut around 5:30 pm each day and does not get opened until about 7am the next day.
I have to be really strict about this. I also value taking total and complete computer vacations — usually a few days here and there per month.
And absolutely any (rare) opportunity to spend face time with friends and family — I give those moments total priority.
The Technological Singularity? It’s not like we’re there yet. And once we are, technological will actually become less visible and less demanding. Technology is meant to enhance and empower our lives, not the other way around.