What a blessed, sunny February day! As I sit in prayer this morning, I feel the presence of Community, trusting that each of you is finding Peace, Beauty, and Joy as you move through this Grace-filled morning. I know Absolute Contentment and Fulfillment for each of us, as we prepare to enter the Lenten Season.
Tomorrow, February 17th, is the first day of Lent for 2021. In the early church, the Season of Lent was a time of fasting and feasting. In New Thought, Ancient Wisdom, this takes on a different meaning than it may have had in humanity’s past. In addition to the practices of fasting from negative thinking and feasting on Spiritual Truth, a Spiritual Independent sees the Lenten Season as a time to celebrate new life…the new life that is created by shifting our habits, our stories, and therefore our consciousness.
The word Lent derives from the Anglo-Saxon and is the word for spring, which is a verb meaning to lengthen. The Season of Lent begins in the spring when the days become noticeably longer. This season has not always been 40 days in length, but in recent times it has been set at this length to honor the 40 days of prayer and fasting that the Master Teacher Jesus is said to have spent in the wilderness, dealing with temptations of mind and body. The number 40 has been called sacred by many spiritual traditions, and is a symbol of spiritual completion. Saying that I am going to engage in a spiritual practice for 40 days means that I’m going to continue the practice for as long as it takes for a new state of consciousness to be reached.
It is not so important for students of our philosophy to know and understand the many celebrated days of Lent; this is all part of the Catholic tradition and has to do with the honoring of the Master Teacher Jesus from his time of solitude, presumably coming to terms with what was ahead for him, lasting until his crucifixion and resurrection. Of course, Charles Fillmore, co-founder of the Unity tradition, has a wonderful book called Keep a True Lent that has lots more information for anyone who would like to know more.
But for most students of New Thought, the Perennial Wisdom, or the more recent Evolutionary Spirituality, it is enough to celebrate the season of Lent as a time of reflection, repentance (facing a new direction; creating a new thought pattern) and fasting (abstaining from, rather than overcoming), which prepares us for the resurrection (revealing or rising again) of the Christ Consciousness within.
Charles Fillmore defines Lent as “a well-rounded or completed season of retreat from the things of the world for the cleansing of the mind and the recollection of the things of Spirit…a preparation for the resurrection of the mind from the darkness of its sins (mistaken thinking), doubts, and false beliefs into the light of understanding”. He continues, “In abstinence from worldly things the mind must be filled with thoughts of God, else there is no spiritual value in fasting…to observe Lent according to the spirit rather than the letter we must fast from criticism and condemnation and feast in brotherly love; fast from false beliefs in sickness and weakness and feast on the truth of God’s omnipresent, perfect life; fast from false beliefs in lack and limitation and feast on the truth of God’s bountiful good will”. (Charles Fillmore, Keep a True Lent, pp. 4-5)
The Lenten Season is also a time of devotion, so as we begin our journey together, let us devote ourselves to the real transformation of our human stories, both individually and collectively. Let us release those habits of behavior and perception that no longer serve our personal lives or the life of our Beloved Mother Earth. And let us renew our intention to grow and expand beyond our past patterns and world views, revealing and embracing the Universal Christ at the heart of Creation.
In my last post, I spoke of changing our stories as a way of changing our experience of life. I don’t know how many of you read Harold and the Purple Crayon to your children. If you have never read this book, I think you would find it a delightful treat, even in this stage of life we call adulthood. Harold used his thoughts, imagination, intentions…and his purple crayon…to literally draw his life. Of course, the author is exposing his young readers to the idea that each of us has the power to create our lives in the way we choose.
Sometimes what Harold created was scary, sometimes it was delicious (like the nine kinds of pie he couldn’t finish), sometimes it was on purpose, and sometimes he unintentionally created deep water. There were times when he was not watching where he was going, and he fell in. But no matter the adventure, he always managed to get up or be lifted out of his circumstance. He always kept his vision on a point of reference, and always found his way home. There is a deeper symbolism at the end of this amazing story. Harold used the position of the moon to orient him. The moon symbolizes Power and reflects Light…so keeping his focus on his own Power and Light…on the God within…he never stayed lost for long. Doesn’t this ring true? Aren’t we just like Harold?
“But wait,” you may say. “I do not create in a vacuum. Sometimes things just happen. Sometimes the direction of my story is changed by forces outside of myself…by God working through people or situations, because I am not getting the message…not tuning in or receiving what is trying to be revealed directly.” Ever had that experience? “No, God, it’s not this way, it’s that way…wait, wait, wait! Let me show you!”
This is where writing the story of my life can get confusing. I feel like I know where I want to go and I’m consciously creating to get there, but things are just not working out the way I planned. My purple crayon is broken. Maybe, like Harold drawing hundreds of windows, I am being too specific in my intention. As long as Harold was focused on drawing windows, that’s all he got…windows. But when he stopped and remembered his own Power and Light…the moon, he regained his frame of reference. As human beings, we tend to be pretty narrow in our vision for setting intentions for our lives.
What if, in 2021, I expand my view? What if you expand yours? What if I let go of needing to determine what the outcome must look like for me to be happy? What if my conscious intention becomes to align myself with the Natural Order of things, with the Divine Blueprint for my life, with Flow and Wholeness? What if I set an intention to allow my Inner Wisdom to guide me, and to take one step at a time in following that Guidance?
But what if my story so far has been a drama, a tragedy, a tall tale, or even a horror story? Have you ever heard of a sequel? Have you ever heard of a Choose Your Own Adventure story? What if I write one of those…the story that God intended for me at birth? The story that says I Am perfectly and intentionally made, that I am not broken, have never been broken, can never be broken… and that there is nothing missing in me or in my life? The story that says I am Powerful beyond belief, and that I have Purpose here on earth…that I have unique gifts to share…gifts that nobody else can offer? The story that says I am loveable, loved, and capable of loving in return? What if my story can revolve around the inherent Peace, Joy, Beauty, and Freedom that are my Divine Birthright?
I can literally choose to author my life…to step into my Spiritual Authority…the Authority that comes from knowing Who and Whose I Am…from knowing and acknowledging where my Wisdom and Power come from and inviting it to Live Its Life through me. I can literally complete the final chapter to the current book of my life and begin writing Chapter One of the sequel. In fact, I have…and so can you. And if you need help finding your Authority, knowing the Truth of who you are, just ask me. I can know the Truth for you while you are revealing it within yourself…I can remind you of who you are as you set your flame of intention and rekindle the spark of Divinity that is forever present within you.
I look forward to our Lenten Adventure – thanks for joining me, and may it be fruitful for you and for us. I know that individually and collectively, we are in this thing for the whole 40 days…or as long as it takes for the current paradigm to shift, for the Universal Christ to be revealed on earth. There is no going back. It is where we have always been headed. What a privilege to be alive at this time. What a privilege to serve in this way.
Know that today and always, I am here to support you.
Know that today and always, the Christ Light shines within you.
May we be well…know our unity…and thrive! And…
May we know the Absolutely miraculous nature of this Grace-filled, once-in-a lifetime day!
