Fall Celebrations: The Time of the Thinning Veil

Throughout history, celebrations have occurred at this time of year: Halloween, Samhain, The Day of the Dead, and All Soul's Day all take place between October 31st and November 2nd. On these dates we are at the halfway point between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice. We are also experiencing the time when the veil between the material and physical worlds is at its thinnest. Some believe this means it's the best time to communicate with departed loved ones. I would like to suggest that it is also a good time to commune with angels and other divine beings who have humanity's best interests at heart. 

The angels and all divine beings who do God's will are working tirelessly to promote the Oneness of humanity, to help us recognize that we are ALL children of God, and that nothing we do can separate us from one another or our divine parents. These divine beings do not recognize the political, religious, and cultural divisions that people have created to separate ourselves into Us and Them camps. The Divine Plan is for all people to realize that we are interconnected and interrelated - so when any one of us hurts another, we also hurt ourselves and all of Creation. The Time of the Thinning Veil is a good time for people and divine beings to work together on this plan. 

One way this happens on Halloween is felt in the comradery of trick-or-treaters and treaters. When I was growing up in the '60's there were a lot of tricksters out on Halloween night: squirting shaving cream on unsuspecting friends and throwing eggs at windows. I don't see this kind of behavior anymore - maybe because there is a 4-6:00 limit on the activity that used to take place only after dark - but maybe because people as a whole have become more considerate of others. 

Last night when trick-or-treaters came to our door, I greeted them in my hippie-peacenik costume. I offered a piece of chocolate to each person who came to our door, regardless of their age, color, or costume. Nearly all of the children said "thank-you," and one boy even gave me a hug! I know that everyone else in our neighborhood was being kind and generous in the same way. Halloween is an equal-giving-and-receiving opportunity!

Our grandchildren live in West Bend, Wisconsin, where trick-or-treating takes place on the Saturday before Halloween. The whole town celebrates, so it feels like one big party. Mark and I joined our family for this event, and I carried my "Imagine Peace" sign as we accompanied Mary Potter, Belle, and a little witch on their treasure hunt. 

As you can see in the above photo, the good people of West Bend like to hang out in their front yards, often sitting around a portable firepit to pass out candy and other treats. As we moseyed from one yard to another, we only met one person who didn't quite get the meaning of togetherness that the rest of the neighborhood was feeling. This guy had generously set up a table with candy for kids and jello shots for adults. But next to the table was a poster insulting President Biden. 

When Mark and I approached his table, this man proudly showed off the front and back of his T-shirt and baseball cap, all with messages that either insulted Biden or extolled Trump. Mark and I were so dumbfounded, we were at a loss for words. The man was clearly disappointed with our lack of response, and we were disappointed that he used this non-political holiday to promote his Us and Them politics. 

Obviously, this man enjoyed the feeling of comradery in his neighborhood. His mistake was believing that everyone in the neighborhood shares his opinions and his inclination to make fun of people with whom he disagrees. I hope that our lack of response helped him to realize his blunder. Thinking about him makes me realize that many people who enjoy being part of a larger family just need to enlarge their circle further in order to help create the peaceful world most of us long for. 

Now, when the veil between the divine and material worlds is thin, it is an opportune time to pray that humanity learns to overlook its differences. Let us pray that all people realize: nobody is better than anyone else, and being in line with divine will means loving all of our neighbors, no matter what they believe, what they look like, or who they vote for.