| “Separation is the illusion.”
In Unity, an axiom that has been used for Lent is Lose Every Negative Thought.
Those words help us to shift our eyes away from the outside story of Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection and all he sacrificed for us, and onto the interior of our Being, where we begin to live the story and realize Lent is a spiritual journey that takes us into the wilderness of our Being where we begin to clear away the outdated error thoughts and beliefs that we’ve picked up throughout our lives. To see this story as perennial ancient wisdom shows us how to release, renew and be reborn. Elizabeth Sands Turner writes in Your Hope of Glory that from a spiritual standpoint Jesus baptized by John the Baptist represents the illumined intellect (John) must surrender unto Jesus (Christ).
Likewise, Lent is our time to lose every negative thought or to make changes in our life for the better, yet this is implausible at the psychological level. Jesus said “I have overcome the world.” Overcoming the world is not about denigrating, fighting or destroying the world, but acknowledging ego error thoughts have crystalized into beliefs. Rather than struggle with the ego we simply shift our attention onto something meaningful to us. If we want to overcome anything, it helps to Center into our Higher Power/Spiritual or God Self to reframe and see things from a higher Ontological perspective.
Lent is entering into the wilderness, where we no longer judge appearances, conditions, people but see things as they are; no longer depend on the material world to give us security but enjoy the world of things and rise up and give ourselves up to Spirit.
“Into thy hands I commit my Spirit…” The Grace Prayer is a surrendering of our learned, intellectualized dualism.
Ash Wednesday is a day of repentance. Repent is to turn into your interior wilderness and give yourself 40 days of Fasting and Feasting – Fast from negativity and Feast on what is right, what is good, what is beautiful. Follow these Truth teachings and practice living from Centered Beingness. Let your words be Yes or No, which is another way of saying, use denials and affirmations to keep ourselves centered in Spirit. Then from this higher perspective watch as the illusion of separation dissolves naturally into Unitive consciousness.
Blessings on our Spiritual Journey,
Rev Janice |
