What gifts of spirit will you carry with you through this holiday season? It can be a season that tests the best of us!

What creeps in? We have many memories and traditions which bring both joy and pressure. Also, family interactions can sometimes be way more than interesting. At times I have been guilty of looking at the pressures and negative stressors more than the joy.

I started a class in September called the Master Key Experience. It is a plan for a total personality makeover. It was overwhelming in the beginning but at its core, we focus on faith and family (relationships) first. That was key to me!

Here is one of the core thoughts that struck me:

If you wish to change conditions you must change yourself. Your whims, your wishes, your fancies, your ambitions may be thwarted at every step, but your inmost thoughts will find expression just as certainly as the plant springs from the seed.

Charles Hannel, The Master Key System, Part 9, Introduction

So, what seeds of thought are you planting?

In Week 2 of the Master Key Class, I learned about the “Seven Laws of the Mind.” I will share two of them here that may be helpful to you:

1. Law of Forgiveness:
To access the Divine and connect the subconscious to the Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent Creator, we must forgive everyone and anyone to clear the channel. There can be no connection to the Divine mind where anger or resentment against a brother or sister, justified or not, exists.

2. Law of Substitution:
We cannot think about two things at the same time. If a negative thought enters your mind, try to think about God instead. If that is too big a reach at the time, use any fond memory or other pleasant thought. Jesus, the Master Teacher, said, “Resist not evil,” meaning turn from it and think about something else instead.

I have realized that I had unresolved resentments and have been letting them go. Also, this law of substitution makes a dramatic difference for me. I took the time to figure out my favorite memories as well as God and I use them daily (Smile!). These are the seeds of thought I want to plant (still learning.) Seeds yield fruit if tended to and this is the kind of fruit I want!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Bible (NIV), Fruits of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23,

Of the best gifts we could place under our tree or live out loud in our lives, these are the ones that will last. The Gifts that Keep on Giving!

Wishing you baskets of blessings as you celebrate this very Holy Season of Christmas!