Exploring Beyond the Horizon

During the Christmas season, there are often many reminders to remember the reason for the season - reminders to focus on the spirit of kindness and charitable giving rather than commercialism and greed.  And of course, there are many reminders about the birth of Christ with the origin of the very word Christmas being "Mass on Christ's Day." This got me thinking and wondering about the true origins of the Christmas celebration.  How did we arrive to our modern Christmas celebration? Why December 25th?  Why Christmas trees?  Why Santa?  What truly are the "reasons for the season"? December 25th - Winter Solstice Dating back to at least the Neolithic period (12,000 - 6500 BC), the winter solstice seems to have played an important role in human civilization.  The winter solstice is the longest and darkest day of the year, but also signals the beginning of a new hope - the dawn of a new brighter day.  In many ancient cultures, the sun itself was consid...

"Furthermore, I want to say to you, we may not be able to reach it right away, but  we expect to see the day when we will not have to ask you for one dollar of donation for any purpose, except that which you volunteer to give of your own accord, because we will have tithes sufficient in the storehouse of the Lord to pay for everything that is needful  for the advancement of the kingdom of God.  I want to live to see that day, if the Lord will spare my life.  It does not make any difference, though, so far as that is concerned, whether I live or not.  That is the true purpose of the Lord in the management of the affairs of His church."  - Joseph F. Smith, 1907 Conference Report My professional career is in accounting.  One of the core aspects and value that accounting provides is transparency that engenders trust between stakeholders. One of the difficulties of doing business is that while we may assume that others are generally acting in...

One practice I've begun to add to my life is meditation.  I use an app called InsightTimer for a daily 10-15 minute meditations, where I try to clear my mind of thoughts and focus on the sensations associated with breathing or on an aspect of the light background sounds from the app. I've found great peace in observing my thoughts as they inevitably still arise and then letting them go as I refocus on the object of my meditation. I have noticed a greater sense of calmness and peace from this small daily practice.  Not only during the meditation but throughout my day, I've noticed a quieting of the mind - the "narrative voice" or "story teller" in my head seems to have less to say. This has allowed me to focus more on the present moment than the worries of my past or future.  I don't claim to be anything but a novice meditator and do not feel like I have "achieved" enlightenment, nirvana, or complete ego-death.  But I do feel like even these...