While Christmas music playlists often include favorites like “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” there are also a handful of tracks that go a deeper.
Listen to “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” or “White Christmas,” and you’ll hear a deep yearning to be home for the holidays especially when having to spend the holidays somewhere else.
December is filled with Christmas rituals – the TV specials, Live Rockefeller Christmas Lightning, the gifts, the lights, the music, fireplace, hot chocolate, snow, and what remains is home. It is the beating heart of the holiday, and its importance reflects our primal need to have a meaningful relationship with a setting, a place that transcends the boundary between the self and the physical world.
Intuition is always with us, it is part of our human nature and mind. Working with your intuition and continually practicing using it will strengthen your ability to engage it when you need it.
Sometimes the holidays take us away from our usual routine, which is a good thing, it keeps our minds on our toes with the opportunity to experience something new. Just enjoying your physical senses, seeing, feeling, and hearing the holiday sights, and sounds without any thoughts or judgment exercises your awareness of your intuitive side. See what it recalls in you. This is how intuition comes to us, it pops up and is plain without criticism and just presents itself as it is. You may also enjoy yourself more to take this mini break from the hustle and rush of the holiday season.
You can also use holiday get-togethers to intuitively connect to someone. Take the time when conversing with friends for the family to receive not only what you hear when they speak, but what you feel and sense. Allow yourself to be the witness, the observer, and pay attention to yourself as the listener. You may be surprised at what pops up inside you when you are just present during the conversation and tuned in. This allows you to absorb so much more of what someone is sharing with you beyond their words.
When you’re shopping for a gift during the holidays you can use your intuition to help you choose the best one. Sometimes you may not be sure of what someone would like if you don’t know them well, or you know them too well it may be challenging to know that perfect gift. Here’s how you can use your intuition to help. Say you’re in the store and shopping for a clothing accessory for a friend but you’re not quite sure which color or style they would like. Among the choices in front of you, imagine your friend wearing each one and ask your intuition in your mind which one, choose the good-feeling ones, and use your eyes and your heart.
There are so many wonderful holiday displays, pictures, photographs, and sights that are a feast for your eyes. When you look pay attention to how it makes your heart sing or stir up some wonderful emotions. It’s a great intuition exercise! This all allows your intuition mind to give you impressions. You’ll probably intuitively discover things you didn’t realize before!
Enjoying the holidays is a fun way to exercise your intuition.
Tis almost the season for gingerbread cookies, a Christmas tradition. We think of “traditional” Christmas flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, and those are exactly the same spices medieval cooks would have used in their cookies ages ago. Gingerbread is a classic Christmas cookie, and yet it’s also a cookie that would have tasted strikingly similar back in the Middle Ages.
Winter solstice festivals have been held for eons, across the world. From Norway to West Africa, Ireland to India, groups of people gathered to celebrate the changing of the seasons. Celebrations revolved around food; after all, you had to feast before the famine of the winter.
By the Middle Ages, the Christmas holiday had overtaken solstice rituals throughout much of present-day Europe. The old feast traditions remained. And while the roast and drink recipes were probably quite similar to what earlier Europeans had enjoyed, the pastry world was experiencing some amazing changes. Spices like nutmeg, cinnamon and black pepper were just starting to be widely used, and dried exotic fruits like citron, apricots and dates added sweetness and texture to the dessert tray. These items, along with ingredients like sugar and butter, would have been prized as expensive delicacies by medieval cooks. Only on the most important holiday could families afford treats like these, which led to a baking bonanza to prepare for Christmas. And unlike pies or cakes, cookies could be easily shared and given to friends and neighbors. Our modern Christmas cookies date back to these medieval gifts.
Festive and fun gingerbread cookies are what we are baking today. These gingerbread men are crisp on the outside , soft on the inside and packed with ginger and everything Christmas.
Choose thoughts that make you happy now. Whether these are joyful memories, thoughts of appreciation about the present, or thoughts anticipating wonderful things to come, any thought that makes you happy puts you in touch with the love that is ever-present in the moment.
When traditions and memories inspire a sense of happiness within you now, enjoy them!
If traditions or memories no longer give you joy or don’t resonate with you now, choose to focus on something different, new, or better.
Your holidays are a celebration of light birthed in darkness. By choosing the thoughts that make you happy now, you birth the light into your life… one day, one thought at a time.
Invite guests to come in and warm-up with a decadent hot chocolate. Whether you’re hosting an after-dinner event or a catch-up with friends, hot chocolate bars are always a great idea!
Here’s how to set up the perfect hot chocolate bar:
1. Gather your ingredients: The star of the show is, of course, hot chocolate. Make it from scratch using cocoa powder, sugar, milk, and a dash of salt. If you’re tight on time, store-bought packets work just fine. Just be sure to have plenty to go around!
2. Variations of hot chocolate: Offering a variety of flavors adds a fun twist. Consider white chocolate, dark chocolate, or mint chocolate. If you want to go the extra mile, consider adding specialty flavored syrups or a mocha option.
3. The add-ins: This is where your guests can get creative. Mini marshmallows, whipped cream, chocolate shavings, crushed candy canes, flavored creamers, and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg can all add unique twists to a classic hot chocolate.
4. The adult options: For an evening gathering, you may want to include adult add-ins like Baileys, Kahlua, or peppermint schnapps.
5. The mugs: While paper cups work just fine, a variety of mugs can add character and style to your hot chocolate bar. You can stick with a theme, mix and match, or ask guests to bring their favorite mug.
6. Keep it hot: Invest in a couple of insulated carafes to keep your hot chocolate warm throughout the party.
7. The decorations: Consider a winter wonderland theme with snowflakes and pinecones or go classic with a cocoa and cream color scheme. Either way, make your hot chocolate bar as visually appealing as it is delicious.
8. Don’t forget the sides: What’s hot chocolate without cookies or brownies on the side? Whip up some sweet treats or ask guests to bring a dish to share.
Lastly, remember the most important ingredient – good company! The fun is in the camaraderie, so invite a great mix of people and enjoy your warm, sweet event. Cheers to a delicious and cozy hot chocolate bar party!
Intuition is always with us, it is part of our human nature and mind. Working with your intuition and continually practicing using it will strengthen your ability to engage it when you need it.
Sometimes the holidays take us away from our usual routine, which is a good thing, it keeps our minds on our toes with the opportunity to experience something new. Just enjoying your physical senses, seeing, feeling, and hearing the holiday sights, and sounds without any thoughts or judgment exercises your awareness of your intuitive side. See what it recalls in you. This is how intuition comes to us, it pops up and is plain without criticism and just presents itself as it is. You may also enjoy yourself more to take this mini break from the hustle and rush of the holiday season.
You can also use holiday get-togethers to intuitively connect to someone. Take the time when conversing with friends for the family to receive not only what you hear when they speak, but what you feel and sense. Allow yourself to be the witness, the observer, and pay attention to yourself as the listener. You may be surprised at what pops up inside you when you are just present during the conversation and tuned in. This allows you to absorb so much more of what someone is sharing with you beyond their words.
When you’re shopping for a gift during the holidays you can use your intuition to help you choose the best one. Sometimes you may not be sure of what someone would like if you don’t know them well, or you know them too well it may be challenging to know that perfect gift. Here’s how you can use your intuition to help. Say you’re in the store and shopping for a clothing accessory for a friend but you’re not quite sure which color or style they would like. Among the choices in front of you, imagine your friend wearing each one and ask your intuition in your mind which one, choose the good-feeling ones, and use your eyes and your heart.
There are so many wonderful holiday displays, pictures, photographs, and sights that are a feast for your eyes. When you look pay attention to how it makes your heart sing or stir up some wonderful emotions. It’s a great intuition exercise! This all allows your intuition mind to give you impressions. You’ll probably intuitively discover things you didn’t realize before!
Enjoying the holidays is a fun way to exercise your intuition.
Intuitive Magazine 