Lent: Time for Spring Cleaning

In the Christian churches, Lent is the period of penance and prayer running up to Easter. It’s intended to prepare you for the Easter and its annual cycle of sacrifice and renewal. In 2013, Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 17, and of course it ends at Easter. In New Orleans and Rio, they celebrate Mardi Gras (‘fat Tuesday’) as one last hurrah before settling into the fasting and whatnot.

Especially if you were brought up Catholic, you were told to give up something you really like for Lent, such as chocolate. As Lent is really an extension of the preparations for Passover, with its prohibition on anything fermented or leavened, it is not surprising that we are urged to sacrifice goodies as a form of atonement and penance.

From time to time, it’s a good idea to detach ourselves from our minor addictions, such as sweets or chocolate. That gives the physical system a chance to reset, and it tends to clear allergies, too. However, we are not just physical bodies: we have souls (what you think, feel, believe and desire) and also spirits (the light that is always connected to God). Most people live from the soul level, and that then creates or attracts their physical experience. Once something has turned up in the physical, it’s pretty much here to stay. From an energetic point of view, even though we spend the most time there, the physical is probably the least significant part of our reality, while also being the most difficult to adjust.

Now, what gives you mastery over this world is detachment, so it’s advantageous to pull away from your habits from time to time so that you can be free to reset our choices and obedience. (In this case, obedience means alignment with your divine blueprint.) Because we are physical beings, it’s natural to start with physical tastes and preferences… and that’s a good beginning. The real work is done in the soul level: your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and desires.

Although it’s always a good idea to drop the physical bad habits, it’s even better to let go of the soul-level habits that create or allow the physical habits. Do you get angry easily? Do you hold grudges? Do you blame others or yourself? Do you feel like you’re a victim? Do you indulge in hatred or greed? All these will block your ability to be aligned with your own spirit and the Spirit of God. What you need is a good spring clean!

So here you are, cleaning house for six weeks every year… what are you going to do with all that interior space? After all, ‘nature abhors a vacuum’. If you don’t eat your usual goodies, you’ll have to fill up with salads and vegetables instead. If you drop your bad emotional habits, it’s a good idea to have better feelings to put in their place. In fact, it’s always easier to develop good habits to crowd out the bad habits…

So here are some good habits you might like to consider starting up for Lent:

1. When you start to worry, consciously turn to trusting that you are looked after.

2. If you start to get angry, take three deep breaths and remember you’re bigger than that.

3. Find a new way to be kind to someone every day.

4. Choose some way to have fun every day.

5. Morning and evening, spend a few minutes remembering you are the cherished child of the most high God, and giving thanks for all the blessings in your life!

Are you willing to sacrifice your lower personality habits and addictions in order to function at a higher level? This is where to start. Let go of the lower life and you really can rise again in spirit… just like the Resurrection.