Christmas Unwrapped: A Radical Invitation to Awareness
Bringing Presence to the Season: How Mindful Awareness Transforms Christmas
Christmas at its core is an invitation for everyone to see the world in a radically different way—one that comes from stopping, being deeply aware, and uncovering what’s really going on beneath the surface. If we pause and practice mindful awareness, we can discover profound and wonderful realizations about what it means to be human. This means looking past our current cultural and religious contexts—not dismissing them, but looking beyond them.
We are celebrating the embodiment of the divine—the world acknowledges that humans are divine beings. We are all divine beings. In Buddhism, they describe the divine abodes, and these are the very qualities that define Christmas: peace, joy, love, and generosity. These divine essences are realized when awareness of awareness is deeply understood and we rest and dwell in mindful awareness. In the present moment, there is only peace, love, and joy.
It is very possible to access these qualities- It’s a simple approach, but it requires an intention to shift from being on autopilot to being present. It begins with becoming aware of the breath - the constant action that anchors us to the present moment, then expanding awareness to include the body, feeling the physical sensations that act as an anchor to the present moment. Then, with the same awareness, notice thoughts, watching them arise and pass just like the breath. Then becoming aware of emotions, holding them with awareness and the compassion that accompanies this perspective. With the awareness of breath, body, thoughts, and emotions, begin to notice the awareness of awareness itself, the consciousness that witnesses all these experiences. From this expanded awareness naturally arises the recognition of our interconnectedness with all beings. It is this place that Christmas celebrates.
When we begin to see Christmas as an invitation to recognize our own divinity and interconnectedness, it has the power to transform more than just our individual lives—it changes our families, our work, and our world. When we embody peace, love, and joy, we create a ripple effect. Families become places of healing, workplaces foster collaboration and kindness, and communities embrace generosity and unity. As this perspective spreads, it reshapes the way we relate to one another and to the planet itself. By living from the qualities that Christmas celebrates, we have the opportunity to collectively build a world grounded in compassion, equanimity, and shared humanity—one where the divine in each of us is acknowledged and celebrated every day.