Happy Easter!!!

Today's Daily Word - Sunday, March 23, 2008

Resurrection

Life, love, and abundance are resurrected in me today.Just as the rising sun overcomes the dark of night, the Christ light reveals my way, allowing me to overcome any belief in limitation or lack. I act on the new possibilities that may have previously seemed hidden from view.With a Christ-inspired perspective, I view my world with spiritual vision, giving thanks for all creation.

In prayer and meditation, I allow divine ideas to rise in my consciousness and give them expression in my life and in my world.Life, love, and abundance are divine expressions of the Christ of my being that can never be denied me.

As I experience the Christ Presence within, these God-given spiritual gifts are resurrected in me today.

"The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, 'Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.'"-Luke 24:5

What are you willing to stop doing?

During the past week how many times have you seen Lent referred to as

the season of giving up chocolate?

As a season of focusing and getting closer to God

what would you be willing to give up to know God better and

have Spirit or god express through every aspect of your life?

I seem to remember a story about someone selling all they had….

I have been seeing lent as a period of Sabbath.

A time of doing less to know God more.
In the beginning of the year some of us made out our goals lists,

or maybe a vision or treasure map,

for what we wanted to have or accomplish this year.

I invite you to make a stop doing list

For this time of living with spiritual intensity & intention.

What are you willing to stop doing, to know God more?

Have some fun with it.


Love

John

The Journey Begins-Ash Wednesday

We begin the season of Lent, which is a season of Spiritual Attentiveness.
What will you do to become more attentive to the action of Spirit/God in your life and the world?

Traditionally Christians would fast by having only one full meal on Ash Wednesday. They would also fast during the 40 days of Lent & give their extra food to those who needed it. Fasting was having two small meals and only one regular meal.

I invite you to explore how you can practice this tradition in your life.
Some of us will be going on a water fast where we will only drink water instead of soda etc. & will give the money saved to projects that will bring water to those who don't have clean water where they live.

You could do this for a day, three days a week whatever you think you can do. and each time you drank water instead of something else you can use that time to bring your attention to God in your life.

We'll give you some more ideas as our journey continues.
We behold the Christ in you!
John

Quote of the Week

We ought not to think of building holiness upon action,

we ought to build it upon a way of being.

For it is not what we do that makes us holy,

but we ought to make holy what we do.

Meister Eckhart

Fasting 1

One of the most well known practices for Lent is a fast from food. Traditionally to fast means to have one full meal a day and two smaller meals which together may equal one meal; meat was also abstained from on Fridays. Sunday is not a fast day as it is a celebration of the resurrection or a “mini Easter”.

Many children were taught to give “something” up for lent usually candy or soda. Many adults base their current observation (or not) of Lent based upon what they were told as a child.

Given the lack of a reasonable justification for abstaining from food given to them when they were a child many “new thoughters” reject the notion of fasting or abstaining from food and state they observe a “metaphysical” fast. This is in alignment with the Roman Catholic notion that the “deepest fast is the fast from sin, and it is above all the mind and heart that need to be cleansed by surrendering the illusory foods they love to feed on.” (Father Robert Pelton, Roman Catholic priest of the Mount Madonna House Community) though they also practice physical fasting.

Jesus took fasting for granted as it was the general custom among the people in those days. He is quoted as stating that when you fast no one else should be aware that you are fasting.

Emmet Fox explains that {in “Scientific Christianity” fasting is the abstention from certain thoughts, chiefly negative or error thoughts. He also states that physical fasting has occasionally been found helpful in the overcoming of a problem, especially what is a “chronic” difficulty when accompanied by a spiritual treatment (prayer) chiefly owing to the high degree of concentration that goes with a physical fast.”}

The Purpose of Lent is to increase our awareness of God’s presence in our life. In effect we are making a concerted effort to put God first. As this is a time of intensified awareness and practice would including the practice of some type of fasting from physical food be of assistance to you and perhaps to others?

Some simple fasts you might consider are a water fast (drink only water giving up coffee, soda etc.), no meat or other food on Fridays, eating one lighter meal a day. What if you then took the money you saved by drinking water and donated it to a program which drilled wells for third world villages to have clean water? Your spiritual practice would also be of benefit to someone else.

Have some fun designing your own activity.

Enjoy the journey!
John

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday the first day of Lent.

Lent is a period of intensified spiritual practice. The purpose of Lent is to take the time to focus on strengthening our connection and awareness of the presence of God.

What can you do for the next 40 days of Lent to strengthen your spiritual practice?
A traditional practice is eating less. As a child you may have given up candy etc. Another approach is giving up complaining or another negative thought process. Tomorrow I will discuss the tradition of fasting and Emmet Fox’s comment on the power of fasting from food and how this practice can be used to serve others.

What is Lent?

Lent is a season of spiritual growth, a time for progressive unfoldment. When we can blend and merge our mind with the mind of God/Christ, the way is open for us to be lifted into a higher, purer, more spiritual state.

Lent is a season of retreat from the things of the world for the cleansing of the mind and the recollection of the things of Spirit.

May we release that which needs to be released in order to allow us to be lifted higher in spirit realizing the Christ Within.

Let the Journey begin!

2007 Journey Begins February 21st!

Our Journey through Lent begins February 21, 2007 which is Ash Wednesday.
We should also be getting together weekly to support each other on our journey.

We have some journals you can use. If you would like one send me an email. johnzenk @ gmail.com.(there are spaces in the email to prevent spam.

More to come.

Thanks John

Let Your Inner Light Shine