Begin your Lenten season of renewal at this special program
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lenten season leading up to Easter. Lent is a period of time consisting of approximately 40 days, a season of reflection and preparation for new life.
In New Thought, Lent is typically a time in which we are encouraged to turn within, to fast from negativity and feast on the positive. We do not view Lent as a reason to sacrifice, punish ourselves, or abstain from something that we consider “bad”. Let’s simply use the Lenten season as a time to purposely give more attention to our spiritual practice. Here are some suggestions for doing that:
- Limit time on social media and electronic devices.
- Avoid rich foods, and take one day a week to eat lighter than usual.
- Dedicate one hour each week to read, study, journal and contemplate.
- Spend an entire day in silence.
- Pause throughout your day to take a break from regular activities and just breathe and be still for a moment.
Metaphysically, the number 40 signifies “a sufficient amount of time for something to occur.” Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting, praying and resisting the temptations of the outer world. The great flood in the Hebrew scriptures, which symbolizes cleansing, lasted 40 days and 40 nights.
We are offering this special program on Ash Wednesday, February 26, at 6:30 pm in the Unity Sanctuary to support you in beginning your season of release and renewal and help you be on purpose during Lent. (This program is in place of our usual 4th Wednesday Healing Service.)
You are invited to pick up your free copy of the booklet Fasting and Feasting 2020: a Spiritual Practice for Lent as a guide for daily practice during Lent. You can also request an electronic copy of the booklet by visiting this link.
Lent is a season of spiritual growth, a time for progressive unfoldment. When we can blend and merge our mind with God-Mind, the way is open for the Lord to glorify us and to lift us into a higher, purer, more spiritual state.
Charles Fillmore, Keep a True Lent