Hello,
This is Mary Theresa and today's meditation is Lent through a new lens.
I'm actually recording this on Fat Tuesday,
The traditional time to party before it's time for Renew and going into the Lent season.
We are going to take a look at this through metaphysical eyes.
Let us begin.
We are not here by accident.
We are here by divine appointment.
Breathe deeply.
Experience completely.
Feel freely.
Take a delicious deep cleansing breath.
Then another.
Then a final cleansing breath.
And settle into your meditation space.
Center on an aspect of your life where there is great joy or love like a person whom you love or an experience you have had that has brought you great joy.
Rest into this feeling and know that you are loved.
Just as you feel love and joy with this person or experience,
Allow it to experience you.
We do this to center ourselves into our heart,
The place of deep feeling and love.
Once centered into this feeling,
We are receptive to all that we need in our meditation practice today.
And how are you feeling?
Lent is a time of reflection.
Lent is the season of preparation for Easter beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter.
There are 40 days of reflection with 6 Sundays included.
Lent also coincides with the change of seasons.
During this period,
The northern hemisphere will move from winter into spring so Lent is often symbolized by a return of spring and newness.
In the old tradition,
People would give up something to symbolize pittance to become closer to Jesus.
It was in suffering that one became more connected to the suffering,
Sacrifice and withdrawal into his journey into the desert for 40 days.
Let's investigate the metaphysics,
Which is characterized by beyond the physical.
The metaphysics of Lent and begin to create a personal practice of giving up something that no longer serves us and to embrace something that does.
Lent is not something,
Not simply a season of renewal.
It is also a period of reflection and release.
We must face discomfort before we celebrate renewal.
We must look at the shadow then turn to the light without dismissing either.
We need to clear away any thoughts that block our good before we can embrace statements of our truth to guide our days.
Lent is the idea of reducing what does not serve us and adopting what nourishes us with something more helpful.
Let us create a space right now to begin a reflection on what we need to give up,
Release or express differently.
Creating a void to be filled will take us to a brand new level.
We will go deeper and it will make meaning for us personally.
We do not need to suffer to improve.
However,
We do need to face what is no longer serving us.
What is something that is uncomfortable for you right now?
Is there a habit you want to release?
Can you let it go?
What is something that you feel deep in your heart that you no longer need to accept?
Ask yourself,
Can I let this go?
Give it a name,
A color,
A shape,
Whatever you need but identify what it is that you need to release.
Rest in the silence for a few moments.
Once you have this,
Slowly creating your mind's eye,
What you can replace it with?
What does serve you?
Is there a habit you can embrace to make the change you want in your life?
What is something that you feel deep in your heart that you want to embrace?
Ask yourself,
What can I adopt into my life in the next 40 days that will feed me deeply and spiritually?
Give it a name,
A color,
A shape,
Whatever you need.
Identify what it is that you need to embrace and rest in this in the silence the next few moments.
You now have what you want to release and what you want to embrace.
By focusing on what you want to release,
You might think of the discomfort and need for willpower to overcome an unwanted habit.
By focusing on what you want to embrace,
You might have memories of abundance,
Serenity,
Or love.
From a spiritual perspective,
However,
Releasing and embracing align with the tools of spiritual growth called denials and affirmations.
Releasing unwanted beliefs and embracing positive statements can,
Quite literally,
Change the way you see the world.
Denials help to clear out limiting self-sabotaging beliefs so that when it's time to embrace affirmations,
They can give you power.
It's natural to not want to linger on unpleasant memories to uncover self-sabotaging beliefs,
But it's important to undertake denials without judgment about holding negative thoughts.
So be gentle and loving with yourself as you get in touch with thinking that you no longer serve you.
Once you become aware of your limiting beliefs,
You can begin to embrace them by denying that they have lasting,
Enduring power over you.
Affirmations are not wishful thinking.
Denials help you deeply realize that everything you could ever need or want is already yours at a deep level of consciousness.
Words have power.
Your words,
Repeated in prayerful contemplation and assimilated into your daily life,
Can forever change you.
As your consciousness is infused with your own true words,
Your affirmations,
You will become what you are seeking.
Let us create our own denial and affirmation.
Complete this sentence,
I release,
Remember this can be a feeling as well,
And contemplate that for a moment.
Next,
Complete the sentence,
I embrace,
And focus on this for a moment.
As we rest into these feelings,
Emotions and physical sensations,
Let us continue to send love through our physical body and into our own emotional awareness,
Rest and feel.
Nowhere is this more apparent than when we experience this together in the stillness and quiet of our inner being.
Go to the center of you,
In the quiet of you,
In the stillness.
I will meet you on the other side.
Together,
We can enter a place of grace.
Feel yourself in your entire glow.
Feel the beauty of you,
The miracle of your practice.
Lean into the practice and presence.
Your body has a knowing.
Stay awake to this knowing.
And now,
Take this as far into your day as possible and bring your attention around behind your eyes into your meditation space.
Move the bones in your fingers and toes and allow gentle movement in your body.
Let us be free to feel.
Andre!
You
