Once upon a time there was a grinch who thought he was ready for Christmas, but then found out there was a Christmas so incredibly joyous and wonderful he couldn't have possibly dreamed of it even in his most expansive grinch dreams.
To those of us who have been experiencing the ecstatic joy and unbelievable peace of the enlightened Christ consciousness, it would feel like a huge reduction of the gift to wish others Merry Christmas in the way most people of earth make such a wish.
In enlightened consciousness, our whole being is constantly saying to the world, "Merry everything! Merry every moment! Merry every cell of your body! Merry every light ray of your being!" We are constantly cheering everyone on. "Come up here and experience the joy I am experiencing, the peace I am experiencing, the ecstacy I am experiencing!" It's like the loudest "Merry Christmas" you could imagine, shouted from the deepest depths and highest heights of the universe.
The only way to really, really, really wish someone Merry Christmas is to put all the energy of the universe into the wish, which requires coming from the experience of being all the energy of the universe.
This is the way those of us at Utah's Center For Total Enlightenment wish you an unbelievably merry and joyous Christmas and hope you can feel our wish. If you really let yourself feel it, you'll have the merriest Christmas anyone could have imagined and much, much more.
Of course if you let yourself feel anything 100% you'll begin to have glimpses of the experience of enlightenment.
Enlightenment Christianity doesn't say, "If you accept Jesus Christ as your savior, you'll have a happy dream on earth until finally someday you'll find yourself living in heaven."
Enlightenment Christianity says, "If you really, really, really, really, really accept Jesus Christ as your savior, with all your being, you'll find yourself in heaven, not later but right now."
"The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you." (Luke 17:21)
Enlightenment Christianity does not say, "You will only reach total enlightenment after years of cleansing and transforming your mind, forgiving yourself, meditating, and studying A Course in Miracles."
Enlightenment Christianity says, "There is a way to choose the kingdom of heaven so fully, completely, and thoroughly right now that you become the experience of enlightenment right now."
Enlightenment Christianity knows what you really, really, really, really want because we are already dwelling in the very experience you want, lovingly and patiently waiting for you.
There is an old story about a woman who was not satisfied with a world of pain, sickness, suffering, and death. She wanted the experience of being totally enlightened, the experience of living in heaven.
Everywhere she mentioned to those she met that she really wanted to become totally enlightened. One day someone said to her, "Get in touch with a teacher called Beau."
So she traveled to Beau's house and met him. She asked, "What do I have to do to become totally enlightened?"
Beau laughed and said, "You need do nothing. But in your current state of mind you cannot imagine what it's like to do nothing, so attend a few of our sessions and you'll be enlightened in no time."
She replied, "Well, I suppose I could do that. But the trouble is it's a long distance to drive, and I've got all these friends and family members I have to spend time with, and I'm not sure I'm ready for all the light you have here because it looks a bit weird even though it feels good, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable around people who see everything, all my secrets and everything."
In all she had about six hundred and sixty-six reasons for not attending sessions. Which means as deeply and thoroughly as she wanted enlightenment, she was still too in love with her own reasoning, her own past learning, and her own ego-vested interests.
Some years went by during which she attended any number of study groups for A Course in Miracles as well as other workshops, all of which were fun, but none of which offered her what she most wanted deep inside. During all these years she thought she was making spiritual progress, but she also was painfully aware that the real thing, the real enlightenment experience, was still out there somewhere seemingly out of reach.
So finally she went back to visit Beau, the teacher she had stayed away from for so long.
Beau laughed and said, "You still know nothing of doing nothing. But attend a few of our sessions and you'll be enlightened in no time."
This time around the woman started attending sessions and sure enough found out how really easy it is to expand into unbelievable out-of-this-world light the magnitude of which she would never have been able to imagine possible. She also found out that all her activities in the world became incredibly enhanced. She was able to set the world afire with miracles as never before.
One time when she was ecstatically bright, overwhelmed with love, and enraptured with joy not of this world, she managed to bring the experience down to earth just enough to ask Beau, "Why didn't you push me harder to attend your sessions long ago?"
Beau laughed and answered, "The only way was to vacuum you up."
Because she was now very enlightened, she knew what Beau meant and laughed right along with him, as him.
Enlightenment Christians do not stop, turn around, look back and attempt to pull others up with them. Enlightenment Christians know that if they keep looking up and moving up they create a vacuum. All are automatically pulled up in their wake.
Enlightenment Christians are aware that there are students of A Course in Miracles who meet in little groups and are satisfied to be living a slightly happier dream than ever before but without total enlightenment as a full-being experience. We love these students dearly and are infinitely patient in waiting for them to come up. To these dear ones, and to everyone else in the world, we say with all our being, and with more meaning than anyone could possibly imagine:
"Merry Christmas!"
Oh yes, and our grinch.... He went up and became Santa Claus and all he ever does anymore is laugh and give gifts.
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CENTER FOR TOTAL ENLIGHTENMENT