Another holiday season is upon us in the United States and worldwide. For Christians, this season celebrates the birth of Jesus, whom we know as Emmanuel, “God with us.”
If we were to imagine for a second that Jesus was born at the year 0 CE (historians differ as to the actual year of Jesus’ birth), He would have been celebrating His 16th birthday 2000 years ago. Imagine that, Jesus as a young person, with all the hopes and dreams, the fears and insecurities, the hormones and emotions associated with a 16 year old maturing human being.
Prior to that he was a child, full of curiosity and questions, and prior to that a toddler brimming 
with energy. And prior to that, like any human child, Jesus was completely dependent on His parents for sustenance, nurture, love, and protection. Jesus was born in an area of the world that was perhaps as unstable and dangerous at the time of His birth as it is today. He was born homeless besides.
But the story of the birth of Jesus is not only about vulnerability. Nor is the birth of any child only about weakness and vulnerability. A newborn child has a mind that is not limited by learned rules and desires. The heart of a newborn child is not scarred with resentments and disappointments. And the core of a newly born child is not burdened with learned fears and responsibilities. A newborn child represents 
pure, unfettered potential for a free and joyful life, filled with unconditional love and meaningful accomplishment.
And this is my prayer for this Season, that we may all take a lesson from the newborn child, and make an effort to lay down our desires, resentments, and fears so that we may see, feel, and experience the world in new joyful, hopeful, loving, and faithful ways.
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With this in mind, consider sharing the gift of Meditation for Christmas. The Christian Tantric Meditation practice helps people to let go of desires, resentments and burdens, and realize our potential as joyful, loving, and confident human beings.
The Christian Tantric Meditation Guide book is available through Amazon at http://sunrisemeditation.org/publications/, and our next Christian Tantric meditation classes will be conducted in February of 2017. The series of four classes will be held on Saturdays February 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th. In addition to the core practice classes, we will also be offering classes oriented towards addiction recovery, and advanced classes in compassion for people who have already taken the first four classes.
These classes are useful for beginners and people who are experienced in meditation alike. Our pricing will be 25.00 per individual class, or 80.00 if all four classes are signed up for in advance.
For more information, either call us at 678-358-8775, email us at dave@sunrisemeditation.org, or register at http://sunrisemeditation.org/contact-us/ on our website.
Whatever your tradition, religion, and culture, we wish you a joyful holiday season, filled with hope, love, and peace.