Traditionally during Lent, we are asked to give up things like chocolate, ice cream, soft drinks, high fat foods, doughnuts, potato chips, and so on. The phrase “deny yourself” is equated with “deprive yourself of pleasure.” And the focus is generally giving up certain types of foods, some luxuries like eating out in restaurants, reducing TV time, turning off house lights and using candles, and so on, throughout the Lenten season. Then when Lent is over, everyone falls right back into the old habits. Seems like a silly program to us!
As you might expect, we have a totally different take on Lenten sacrifice. Our spiritual practice is to fast from error thoughts, choices, and actions that create an illusion of separation with the Truth of who we are. . The dieting we advocate during Lent is dieting from doubts, fasting from fear, abstaining from believing we are unworthy, and eliminating the thinking that we are sinful by nature.
And, yes, if there are foods that are harmful to your physical body you may want to fast from them as well – not just during Lent, but as a lifestyle decision. The important thing to remember is that Lent is not a fad. It is a lifelong spiritual discipline.
Here are three important things to give up, not just for Lent, but forever:
We encourage you to fast from the belief that you are here just to learn lessons. You have lessons, and sometimes they are harsh lessons, but your lessons are the consequences of your error thoughts and actions. They are effects, not causes. You are here for one reason, and one reason only: to become one with and fulfill your Divine Nature – just like Jesus did when He became one with His Christ Nature. Feast on your oneness with Spirit.
Fast from the belief that there are incurable illnesses. You have the pattern of perfection within you. It is called the Christ pattern or ‘I Am’ consciousness. It is your Core Nature, the truth of who you are. Because you are whole at the level of Spirit, feast on becoming whole on the human level by connecting with your Core Nature.
Fast from the belief that life has to be filled with suffering. Although the belief that we are meant to suffer is a belief some people wear like a badge of honor, it is not one of the teachings of the Christ as Jesus. Jesus did not say in John 10:10 – “I came that you might have suffering and have it more abundantly.” He said – “I came that you might have LIFE and have it more abundantly.” So feast on living life more fully.
True Lent is a lifetime of fasting from anything and everything that we allow to separate us from our Divine Nature. So make Lent a life-long practice: Fast from fear and doubt. Fast from worry and thinking you don’t measure up. Fast from anything that denies the Truth of who you really are!
You are put here to enjoy life. Use this Lenten season to discover the Kingdom of Heaven, the spiritual muscle, the depth of compassion, the profound bandwidth of loving kindness, the abundance and prosperity that are yours by right of consciousness. You can do it because you are worthy … you are Divine … and you deserve to experience the very best — as you walk the spiritual path on practical feet!.
© 2016 Bil and Cher Holton, YourSpiritualPractice.com
Photo credits (used with permission):
© graphicstock.com and Cher Holton
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7 thoughts on “What Should You Be Giving Up for Lent? A Spiritual Perspective”
Yes indeed. It is an “inside job”. When asked when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “–for behold, the Kingdom of God is within”.
Luke 17:21
I speak of an ancient cosmic curriculum, embodying lessons. From the world of quantum physics we hear that each atom vibrates its own specific frequency. It is my understanding that as atoms evolved into molecules, and aggregated into elements and compounds, these levels of frequency grew in magnitude. Our universe is a mass of vibrating frequencies.
These frequencies were created and are sustained by one singular force. The monotheistic western sectarian world has labelled this source by many names Yahweh, God, Allah and the like. In the eastern world this became known as the great unknowable. “The Dao that can be named is not the Dao”.
We also know that thoughts are energy. Our most basic are our emotions. E-motion- energy-in-motion. To this we have added intellectual knowing – categories of knowledge. Each of these emotions has its own frequency, which became archetypes of human behavior. It is from here that this ancient curriculum created lessons to be learned by each of we humans. Humans being in form, based in the singular source. One Source, many forms. We are in essence “chips off the same old block”. Each of us adds our bits of data to the source. Our essence is what some call our soul. Its destiny is to fully align with and merge in to the great Infinite Source from which it originated.
Over time we humans became aware of these patterns of behavior. From the Old Testament we read;
“What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.”
As we are human forms having a spiritual journey we are infinitely blessed by Infinite Source – what I call Our Creator; neither male nor female, but both. Omni-all as I stated above, I note from the New Testament, “Fear not, little flock, for your Father desires to give you the Kingdom” Luke 12:32 Aramaic bible translation.
Unlimited abundance (of all good things) from an Infinite Source is our birthright. Look inward, with the eyes of your soul and connect with and align yourself with Infinite Source of all you/I are given/graced with as our birthright.
Well ’nuff of this philosophizing. I can get very deep, and do not wish your eyes to gloss over from intellectualizing!
Blessings to you both, Bil and Cher. You two are a delicious pair!
Each year I use Lent as a time of reflection over my past 12 months. As I reflect, I write a list of those things I see that were honorable and ‘good’. I hold no judgment at all, rather I see the good, and say, “That served me well.” If I consider it negative or fear based I simply say, “That did not serve me well and I’ll avoid that type of action from this point forward.” I do not compare myself to anyone else, but I DO compare myself today to myself yesterday. In this way, I can see if my life is moving in the right direction.
Thanks for sharing this great spiritual practice! It reminds me of a favorite quote of ours, from the great ballet master, Mikhail Baryshnikov: I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.”
Blessings!
Thanks for your thtushog. It’s helped me a lot.
Sorry. I thoroughly disagree with the idea we are not here simply to learn lessons.
I am by nature and passion an educator. My view of the universe recognizes existence of Infinite Source; omnibeneficial, omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. We are by our nature divine expressions of this universal entity, which some call God.
We are here to learn all the lessons from an ancient cosmic curriculum, established long ago by a benevolent Creator. The universe is our school, our lifetimes are our classrooms, we are the students and our Ego is our test coach and test administrators. Our persona is the illusion we create to “fit in” with the society we are born into.
Our lives are enriched by the wisdom of many Master Teachers; from many sources; “Western and Eastern”, secular and sectarian.
IMHO Jesus was a Master Teacher, a Way-shower, who was a manifestation of divine wisdom and goodness. You/I would be hard pressed to find a more perfect example of Divine Power and Wisdom.
We chose which lessons to learn/relearn prior to each incarnation, spend our earliest years recognizing that we are here to learn lessons, discover the lessons (from the repeating patterns of our life journey), spend the remainder of our lives learning the lesson(s) and
using the wisdom gained to expand our essence, our soul.
Acknowledge and accept the gifts of learning present in every situation. They are divine gifts from ancient wisdom.
Get the lesson, be thankful for it’s fertilizing effect, and go on with life. “Manure happens because it fertilizes our growth” as divine expressions of divine Infinite Source AKA God.
Once you learn all the lessons you achieve full enlightenment and “graduate” to the next level of spiritual existence.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Rich — and I think we are more in agreement that you might have thought! We do agree that we learn lessons — but our point was that we were not put here by some external “God out there” to learn specific lessons. Rather, because of decisions and choices we make, we put ourselves in situations where lessons can be learned — if we so choose! And indeed, we want to learn them. But the lessons come as we fulfill our true purpose, which is to express the Divine Nature that is the Truth of who we are. That’s just our opinion! 🙂 We hope others chime in — Keep the conversation flowing!!