Religion & Spirituality
Silent Night is one of the most beloved carols of the Christmas season. Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright Round yon virgin Mother and Child Holy infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peaceIt seems to epitomize the essence of Christmas. This hymn conveys the silence, beauty and peace at the heart of Christmas. Christmas celebrates our intuitive awareness of our innate union with God, which I call unitive awareness or nondual awareness. This is represented in the Christ child. The harsh patriarchal judge that is the usual symbol for God gives way to God as an infant, so fender and mild. The Tao te Ching uses this image for the Tao, comparing the Tao to a newborn child. God as an infant holy, infant lowly as another Christmas carol says. In the Silent Night, holy night of Christmas, we know that we are one with God in heavenly peace. For a moment we remember that this is our natural state, the Reality that we were born into and born from. This is true of every one of us, not just the Babe of Bethlehem.