by Yugen Fardan Rashad

In December, the faithful ignore the truth about the actual birth date of Jesus the Prophet. Parents tell their children little white lies about a big white man plummeting down a rustic chimney to lay gifts under a pine tree. Americans keep this legacy of the manger birth and chimneys an annual event, while seldom ever considering this is an agreement made with a falsehood. Merge the two (Jesus, Santa), we get the concept of Christmas.

The former represents the epitome of love while the latter is the material manifestation.

One is sent by the Creator, the other by the maker of capitalism. Ironically, many confess equal trust in both: God and money. And so this is what Christmas is all about — “In God We Trust.” A kind of agreement that’s become, at least in this country, one big agreement to spend and lie. Why haven’t we seen more outrage among religious leaders about the perpetration of the lie about the birth of Jesus and the corresponding wave of ridiculous cash spent in his name?

What happens when a lie grows so big that it becomes the paradigm? You already know the answers — we get Christmas, a war, and four more years of George W. Bush.

Acquiescence to untruth is a growth industry in America. We spend billions of dollars on Christmas; wasteful spending. And the supposition is about lying. Americans are predisposed to falsehoods.

We lie to our bosses, spouse, banker, tax collector, and on applications and school exams.

What happened in the 2004 election is a clear example of presidential decisions over a four year period, gilded by untruth, for political gain. And now the real danger is the seeming loss of our ability to discern truth from reality.

The movie experience has forever changed our sense of what is possible thanks to an unrelenting technology that mimics imagery on the screen with overwhelming, seductive power. Hollywood covers the human domain of the senses so thoroughly one becomes addicted to its influence. You can believe what ever you want without accountability. And this is how a lie works.

Unchallenged, lies can destroy the individual, family, neighborhood, community, town, cities, state, country — the world. The only road to recovery begins with the individual. A journey more of us need to take. We must first get the right idea before doing the long term work of regaining control of the self.

The fundamental problem here is that most people are outward-directed. This person is looking for an answer outside of themselves. Which then places them at the mercy of whomever can attract and keep their attention the longest with their story. An agreement is struck not between you and the other but the one you’ve made with self to believe the other! And this is the key.

Author Don Miguel Ruiz writes about this metaphysical alchemy between self and others in his book — The Four Agreements. (Space limitations prevent me from going into greater detail, so buy the book as a gift).

Personal histories of pain and hurt play huge roles in our vulnerability to a lie. The replay of this original pain is what hinders personal growth, impedes spiritual progress, and puts the lie to truth. Our spiritual and emotional maturity is at the mercy of the outside world that tells a story about us based on assumption. This happens when the gatekeeper falls asleep. Until we confront what’s causing our pain the past will forever rule our present. The transference of unresolved personal pain and drama is why a lie can wield such enormous power over us. The answers will come flooding in once we take inventory of our personal histories. Now suddenly, we have an audience with the self. It sounds a little tricky at first, but stick with it and listen.

As we enter a season of giving why do we always neglect ourselves by putting everyone else’s happiness first?

My richest hope is that we all give each other the greatest gift — to forgive yourself. Shed the demons, make a new agreement to live in the present. This will be a start to giving new meaning to the holiday season, and dispel untruths.

Yugen’s writings deal with culture, aesthetics and spirituality. His topics, opionions and insights pay homage to the scholarly search for truth which lead to personal responsibility and the preservation of community life.