A Christmas with No Bells or Whistles

The NPR story was about the Christmas celebration happening in Jerusalem, Jesus’s birthplace. It was a story about what usually happens there and how quiet it is now because of this recent Omicron variant shutdown. And then Scott and company played Arabic voices singing in Aramaic, Jesus’s language. It was in that wave of voices coming through the speakers in my tiny Airbnb that a wave of holy light flowed through my kitchen and brought me to joyous tears.

In that moment, because my Christmas was all stripped down with no bells or whistles and my soul was more than a little cracked open; because my Christmas was just me and my two dogs, Jasmine and Peanut; because all I’d been doing was focusing on staying present and breathing – I heard him.

I heard him.

I heard Jesus, in all that gold and white light flowing through my tiny living space, with a crystal clarity vibrantly, poignantly and briefly arriving and saying, “Dana, see. They’re all celebrating me.” And then He showed me such a purity of light flowing through the planet. And He showed me such a purity of love flowing through the planet. And He showed me such a purity of peace flowing through the planet.

Jesus showed me that the alter of sacred Christmas, even through all the holiday crap that goes with the day, contains a purity of love that most of us practice on this single day around the world. Where we stay briefly focused on one thing: being together in a space of peace and love.

In those moments that He was showing me this, He showed me how happy He is to be with all of us in this space celebrating the qualities He brought to Earth: peace, humanitarianism, and love for self and fellow people. Most of all, a crystalline purity of light in the darkness. Like Christmas lights shining out in the middle of the darkest night as the Sun and the Son turn with the Earth during a Solstice season.

Merry Christmas, everyone – no matter where you are or what time of year it is when you read or hear this. No matter how challenging our landscapes and our journeys are right now, the Spirit of Christmas truly is alive and making a difference in the world.


Dana Stovern is founder and coach of The Magic of Somatic Money, and author of the blog Along the Learning Curve of Life. Even though her profession is body-based money relationship coaching, her first love is words, writing and exploring the depths of the human conscious (or unconscious) condition in body and soul development.

2 thoughts on “A Christmas with No Bells or Whistles”

  1. Beautifully written Dana, and spoken
    right to the heart of this time.
    Even tho I’m living w family, we are on different planes of existance. Which can be hard at this time.
    Sending you much love and when is your book coming out wise one!!??

    1. THANKS so much Meg!

      The book cover and book are the goal to keep me writing and posting here. So far I’ve compiled 65 pages! So, I have a ways to go, but that’s a pretty good effort for the year. 😁

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