Lent is a time of preparation for awakening.
The season of Lent lasts for approximately 40 days and is a reflection of the time Jesus spent in fasting and prayer before beginning his public ministry. Metaphysically, the number 40 represents “a sufficient amount of time for something to occur”. Jesus’ experience in the wilderness symbolizes our inner “wild life” that must be tamed before we can realize the Truth of our being.
Traditionally the time during the Lenten season is a period of sacrificing and fasting from what we may consider bad or sinful, or at least unhealthy. In New Thought we not only encourage fasting from habits of thinking, feeling, speaking and acting that no longer serve us, but we also engage in feasting on new thoughts, feelings, words and actions to replace the old.
Let’s Eliminate Negative Thinking
Let’s Embrace New Thought
This art of fasting and feasting is a powerful way to use negations and affirmations, a core teaching in New Thought spirituality. We negate that which we no longer wish to experience and we affirm the Truth. The Truth we teach is that we are all living expressions of the Divine and therefore we are everything that God Is.
Here are some pairs of negations and affirmations published in the Unity booklet Fasting and Feasting 2020 that you may find helpful in your practice. Pick out one or two of these pairs that really speak to you and focus on them in your quiet time and throughout your day during Lent, and see if your life is different in some way afterwards.
| I fast from doubt. I feast on faith. I fast from fear. I feast on courage. I fast from insecurity. I feast on feeling con dent. I fast from distraction. I feast on being fully present. I fast from loneliness. I feast on connection. I fast from hiding behind a mask. I feast on being my authentic self. I fast from overreacting. I feast on responding thoughtfully. I fast from competition. I feast on cooperation. I fast from apathy. I feast on enthusiasm. I fast from feeling stuck. I feast on moving forward. | I fast from limitation. I feast on freedom. I fast from being rigid. I feast on resilience. I fast from stress. I feast on serenity. I fast from chaos. I feast on order. I fast from confusion. I feast on clarity. I fast from resistance. I feast on acceptance. I fast from false starts. I feast on determination. I fast from overindulgence. I feast on self-care. I fast from the fear of scarcity. I feast on the assurance of abundance. I fast from self-pity. I feast on renewal. |
— Adapted by Rev. Teresa Burton from a poem by William Arthur Ward