An awakening. An opening into higher consciousness. A discovery. A parting of the fog of confusion, revealing a new kind of clarity. Webster’s says that an epiphany is a sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something. What an enticing definition! It makes me eager to get an epiphany right now. How about you?
In the context of the Christian church calendar, Epiphany is January 6, the day celebrated as the time when the wise men visited the newborn Jesus in Bethlehem. It’s the sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of Christmas to three guys from somewhere in Iraq or Iran. They were the first non-Jews to “get it” about Christmas. Think of it! Jesus was barely born before his message was out of the Jewish box. Hmmm – isn’t it about time that his message got out of the Christian box?
I love this story for a bunch of ephinaneous reasons. Yes, I made up that word, epiphaneous. That’s what happens when you have an epiphany: you expand your vocabulary. For one thing, I love this story because the three wise men show up with really weird gifts. Normal folks might think: let’s get Jesus a rattle, or a rubber ducky, or get his parents a couple months of diaper service. No, these supposedly wise men traveled many hundreds of miles on camelback to deliver gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold – sure. Valuable then, valuable now. That’s not so strange: at least for Mary and Joseph, it was probably a welcome sight. But frankincense and myrrh? Used as burial spices, at the time. Yes, valuable: Mary and Joseph could have traded them for something useful. The three wise men were like those relatives or friends who feel compelled to give you stuff for Christmas, except they are truly clueless about who you are, what you want, what you need.
Another thing I love about the story is that the three wise men apparently didn't become Christians after meeting Jesus. They already had a religion, and they didn't give it up. They followed the star because their own religion suggested it. Faithfully following their own religion got them outside of the box of their own religion, even while they continued practicing it. Maybe that’s something we can emulate today. By following Jesus in a serious way, he’ll lead us out of the Christian box and inspire us to explore other religions and become better global citizens. He'll lead us to be humble about our religion, even as we continue practicing it.
The recipe for epiphany is simple, but still challenging. It is about showing up: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. That’s what the three wise men did. They did not just send gold, frankincense, and myrrh by Fed Ex and then just email a Christmas letter from Baghdad. When they discovered that the star was hovering above a rude and crude manger, and that the so-called king was a peasant child, they still showed up in person and presented themselves.
Are we present? Really here? All here? Did your body show up, but your mind is someplace else? Did your mind show up, but your body get left behind? Are you awake and aware of your whole self, here and now?
The way to have an epiphany starts with being all here, and being awake to your inner and outer worlds. If you are awake to your feelings, your bodily and mental experiences in the moment - if you are aware of what is going on in your mind and body right now, then you will be awake enough to have a sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of things. What are we really thinking? What are we really feeling? To what are we really paying attention right here and now? Facing the truth about ourselves, reflecting our emotional and physical reality back to ourselves, lovingly, without judgment: that enables us to be present, body and soul, at the manger.
When we take a good look at ourselves in the spiritual mirror, we begin to experience higher consciousness. This is the kingdom of heaven Jesus was talking about: the heaven’s eye view of ourselves and the world around us. When we take this God’s-eye view of ourselves, lovingly and without judgment, doing an inventory of our inner worlds, then we are able to perceive the meaning of what we observe.
I do quite a bit of counseling for students at USC in the course of my job, even though I’m not officially a counselor. I find myself asking students questions to nudge them to examine their inner lives – lovingly, and without judgment. Just paying attention to their inner worlds, just describing their inner experience, is enough to trigger epiphanies. Suddenly they make new connections among their experiences and feelings, and make fresh sense of their lives.
It’s New Years, when we hear all that talk about resolutions. I say, forget about who you ought to be, what you ought to look like, what you ought to weigh. New Year’s resolutions are almost always about there and then. This New Year’s, let’s look at here and now. Who are you, really, now? Look with clear spiritual eyes. Pay full attention to your present reality, with love and acceptance of what is. If you can do this, you’ll be empowered to make whatever changes you need and want to make. You'll be epiphany-ready! Be here now, and you’ll be ready to go there then... in 2012, and beyond.
