Hello my friends and happy Ash Wednesday.
Welcome to day one of a 48 day series on Lent.
The first couple weeks is simply going to be a focus on the voice of God.
To begin this series,
I invite you to relax your body and close your eyes.
Notice when you close your eyes,
Your mind naturally quiets down,
Your heart calms,
Your spirit becomes still.
Let's just take a moment to be still in this quiet and calm.
Focus on the sound of my voice and the words I'm saying.
Lent is often celebrated with fasting.
Increasingly so,
People take this time to fast from something they want to cut out of their lives.
This is one purpose for this meditation series.
Mindfulness and meditation can serve as a reminder of what we want most,
Over and above what we may want right now.
So,
Today,
Let's begin our series by simply envisioning what it is we want most.
Let's take a few moments just to listen for the voice of God.
To hear firstly if we are being called to fast for Lent,
And secondly if so,
What we are being called to fast from.
And sometimes,
When we're listening for the voice of God,
Whatever pops into our mind first,
Sometimes we have the tendency to disregard it as our own thoughts.
And yet often,
This first thought is in fact the voice of God.
So,
I would encourage you to not just disregard that first impression,
But to examine whether that may be the voice of God.
So,
Let's give ourselves space to simply listen and pay attention to that first thought.
Take as much time as you need or want here.
If you need more time,
Feel free to pause this track.
I will still be here for you when you come back.
Neurologists have discovered that the best way to cut something out of one's life is actually to replace it as opposed to simply cutting it out.
This is another reason for this meditation series.
If you are being called to fast from something for Lent,
I invite you to close your eyes and practice a mindfulness or meditation exercise when you are being called to fast.
Whenever the fast becomes difficult.
So,
To conclude this first meditation,
I leave you with that simple invitation.
That if you are being called to fast from something for Lent,
That whenever the fast becomes difficult,
I invite you to simply close your eyes and practice a mindfulness or meditation exercise.
And simply be still.
Be with God.
Thank you for sharing this tender,
Sacred moment with me today,
My friends.
May grace and peace,
Light and love,
Be with you.
