The season of miracles is upon us, so it seemed appropriate for me to address the miracle of imagination and the power of the present moment in remembering the past and dreaming about the future. When I was organizing the chapters for my book, Mirror of the Soul: A Flutist’s Reflections, I decided to devote the first five chapters to the roles of Jesus and the final two chapters to the manner in which ‘70’s and ‘80’s pop culture reflects the highest ideals of the Creator. The final chapter, especially, evolved from years of lecturing at the Art Institute, where I tried to enter the minds of pop-culture obsessed students in order to provide them with meaningful and memorable analyses. Animation, audio production and digital film majors fill my classes, so I needed to select films that were entertaining for my inner child, still relevant in society today and for which a stunning musical score crucially enhanced the script. The Star Wars saga fit the bill perfectly, and I found an article online, which drew some parallels between the Star Wars hexalogy and Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung. Since I planned on analyzing What’s Opera Doc? as well, Richard Wagner, a man who had brought German romantic opera to its consummation, would be prominently represented in my narrative. Wagner believed that “fantasy-imagination creates. Imagination creates reality.” This mirrors the teachings of Neville Goddard, who believed one’s imagination created all life’s circumstances. Our outer world is merely a reflection of our inner world. The subconscious mind cannot distinguish between future dreams and present reality because all thoughts about past, present and future occur in the present moment, and it only knows “now.” The imagined world can be brought to fruition when it is felt so strongly to be true, that the subconscious has no other choice but to move heaven and earth in order to match the greatest vision of one’s higher self. In other words, one’s sense of “knowing” is so strong that miracles are expected! The vibration of the Divine is heavenly and thus transcends the lower vibrations of the earth plane, and therein lies the peace of God. Miracles are all around us every day!

The season of miracles began on Sunday with the commencement of the Advent season – the biggest miracle being God humbling himself to be born as a human being and given the name “Emmanuel,” or “God with us.” That Divine being was raised as one of us, walked amongst us and, in so doing, raised our vibration from that of the earthly human realm to that of the Divine. He is with us, guides us on our journeys and welcomes us home to Heaven. One of the Christmas seasons that is vividly burned into my memory is the Christmas of 1979 when I was a nine-year-old child in the process of losing my grandfather. My pop had been diagnosed with lymphoma three months before Christmas, which metastasized to his lungs and his spine. My two-year-old sister was battling leukemia at the same time, and I can remember my mom telling me that Jesus was going to take Pop before Christmas, but that souls who died on Christmas went straight to heaven. After my family had eaten dinner on Christmas Day, we went to visit my semi-comatose grandfather. My sister and I took our new dolls to show Pop, but he slept for most of the visit. My sister had gotten a “Sweet Licks” doll from Santa, and if you squeezed its belly, its tongue would lick from side to side. I remember calling Pop’s name and placed the doll in front of his face. It was the only time he opened his eyes during our time together, and I squeezed the doll’s belly. When he saw the doll’s tongue move, he smiled. It was the last time I saw him. He died just after midnight in the wee hours of the morning of 26 December. To this day, I can hear the sound of his voice say, “Tania, Dolly.” I hear his bellowing laugh as he spoke to customers at his bar, and I remember that he was absolutely over-the-moon when John Paul, II was appointed pope. Pop was 100% Polish and never thought a Polish pope would be elected. Because I am a student of metaphysics and often contemplate symmetry and synchronicity in life, I can’t help but think another Christmas season is underway, and this time my grandma’s life is near the end. She’s had a long, productive life, and, God-willing, will turn 102 in January. She has been living in a nursing home and is unable to do anything but sit in a chair and pray all day long. Her time is spent sleeping, and, according to the end-of-life websites, patients sleep a lot when they are “preparing for the big sleep.” She is in and out of reality and has been getting visits from most of her family who passed on before her. I wonder if she will join her husband, my pop, on Christmas. In my imagination, I vividly taste the delicious food she always made during the holidays. [When I was trying to lose weight years ago, I never had to eat food that I was avoiding because I had tasted it all before and knew what it felt like to consume it. It tasted just as good in my imagination.] I remember how she used to wake up at 4am Thanksgiving Day to put the turkey in the oven and make pumpkin pie from scratch. I am not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, but hers was the creamiest I ever tasted, and it was the only pumpkin pie I would eat. She would gather the family around the table and say grace with tears in her eyes because she never knew if we would all be together the following year. The meal was so delicious because it was prepared with so much love. My grandma never complained about all the work involved or the dirty dishes that had to be washed by hand. Dirty dishes were a symbol of abundance. Christmas Eve dinner was just as yummy as we celebrated a traditional Polish meal with the breaking of the oplatek. This was the Christmas wafer given to everyone seated at the table. We broke bread with one another as we wished each other the best of everything in the new year. My grandma made pierogies from scratch that were filled with either cheese or prunes. My mom made the meal on Christmas Day, and again, no finer food was ever eaten. My mom has a knack for dessert concoctions as well, especially cookies, which overflowed by the truckload. New Year’s Eve was another celebration at my grandparents’ bar where a spread was provided as a thank you to all their customers. My favorite food at that party was pigs-in-the-blankets because Gram had wrapped the most tender meat, rice and carrots in the softest cabbage shell. They never missed a New Year’s celebration, even in 1979 when my pop had been buried the day before. Life still had to go on. God had a plan for everything. He brought everyone together and kept us all together even when we couldn’t be physically present. All of these memories flood my present moments and are as real to me now as when they actually happened. Chapter one of my book discusses the overlapping of past, present and future. Whether it is a memory or vision of the future, all are real as we feel the love in the present. That love is sent out like a beacon of light from a lighthouse. A heart full of love has a strong magnetic field – five thousand times stronger than the brain. Its electrical field is sixty times greater than the brain. Love creates reality. Love given freely returns to the giver exponentially.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving and with Christmas fast approaching, I have so much gratitude in my heart for the blessings I received this year. I married my soul mate in July – the happiest day of my life! My grandma attended the ceremony and I got to dance with my dad who has been fighting Parkinson’s for over a year. He’s got the eye of the tiger! My husband and I bought our first Christmas tree and have been decorating our first home together. Our ornaments abound with Disney, Peanuts and Marvel Comics characters. We’ve definitely got our geek on! We are looking forward to the 15 December release of the latest installment in the Star Wars saga, too. Ironically, the release date is on our five-month anniversary. The first concert we will attend in the new year is a Philadelphia Orchestra concert with John Williams conducting his famous film scores. Like Wagner, he created memorable leitmotivs or theme songs for iconic characters, and we love to listen to his music. Our past will overlap with our future in a super-colossal moment of “now.” The miracle is our ability to store our memories in our hearts and carry them with us to infinity and beyond. My wish for you, dear readers, is music to fill your holiday season, magical encounters with your loved ones and a life overflowing with miracles! Merry Christmas!