Lent

BHelmet

BHelmet

The Living Force
It is the season of Lent. How are you, anyone, using this time to “prepare” or cleanse or exercise discipline in your life? Or using Lent to break up patterns that have solidified? Lent can be a catalyst for “the work”; To challenge yourself to put your money where your mouth is; to take positive action or to cease negative action.

I have started doing yoga again. I’m distancing myself from the never-ending soap opera of geopolitics. I’m thinking and praying a lot about what aim to have for the last chapters of my life. I also will do some fasting.

Lent isn’t just some arbitrary religious ritual. It can be seized consciously and intentionally as a laboratory for work on the self. It’s a fantastic mirror for observing our response to what we say we are all about. “OK, get off your ass and do that thing you always say your going to do but haven’t.” Or forego that BS you always do that you say you’re going to quit. Or just open up to the guidance of higher realms. Whatever.

In the cosmic drama of religion, lent is that time to prepare for rebirth or ascension.

So, anybody using this time and idea in their life? Others playing along with this game? Comments and insights?
 
We have started the prep work for spring by taking down the last of the Christmas decorations and removing the winter plastic from the windows. I didn’t make the Lent correlation until you mentioned it though, saw it on the calendar and it only reminded me of growing up Catholic :)

In terms of sprouting new growth and removing the decay I have been praying a lot as well. I am also working with a constitutional homeopath because all other avenues of healing haven’t been enough. Time to revamp what I’ve come to understand as being well.
 
Completely unaware that it is indeed lent season.. I’ve decided to become abstinent until further notice.

Abstaining from orgasm from self pleasure and sexual intercourse. Talked about it with the wife, and she took it rather well after a day to let it sit. I told her I want to learn to love her beyond our physical feelings.

I, being an STS being of course want something out of it, and it is to further be able to connect with myself.. the creative, loving aspect of myself. I felt a glimpse of it in my dreams recently and it stayed with me waking up, and I didn’t want to lose it. It is a decision that i decided to make for myself.

Since then, I started writing my struggles on a planner. My achievements and my loses. Because of this I became aware of the daily battle I face with myself and how I can stack the achievements more throughout the day.

Writing things down allowed me to not miss a single morning crystal prayer or evening and song, drink salt with my water. It allows me to write them down as achievements, because they ARE. I tend to brush off what I do on a daily basis as not a big deal, but it is. Every decision is a big deal I’m starting to realize, And it makes me very proud of myself. Love myself.

Through this abstinence, I do feel resistance, but it is not self torture. I feel happier. It feels like letting go of junk food. You know it tastes good, but you feel like crap afterward. And you know once you start eating right you feel wonderful and why would you go back to the previous lifestyle?

I would really like to find out what the C’s meant by “love is all you need” when concerning this subject, and I intend to extend this beyond lent. What a coincidence that it happened during this time. But we know there is no such thing.
 
I was brought up by a strict Catholic mother who made us give up cake, cookies, ice cream, candy, and any form of junk food for Lent every year. Ever since I left the church, I take a perverse pleasure in totally ignoring Lent and enjoying meat on Fridays. :-D
 
Mrs. Peel said:
I was brought up by a strict Catholic mother who made us give up cake, cookies, ice cream, candy, and any form of junk food for Lent every year. Ever since I left the church, I take a perverse pleasure in totally ignoring Lent and enjoying meat on Fridays. :-D
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You made me laugh, Mrs. Peel. I'd probably feel the same way if brought up under such misguided application.

This should give a bit more insight into the penance chosen during Lent....From a practicing Catholic:

"We do not do penance for the sake of suffering. We should not choose what is going to make us suffer the most, that isn't the point. We do penance in order to deny ourselves the movements of the lower parts of our nature, thus making our will grow stronger towards the higher parts of our nature, so that we will be better able to resist temptations to sin. Virtue is only gained by choosing it over against the vice that is most opposed to it (for example, to conquer pride, one must practice humility)."

Does the above give any a 4th Way vibe?

​

 
I’ve also been focusing on keeping my opinions to myself and just observing my reactions and then figuring out the nature and structure of the automatic reactions. I have a finely tuned BS-o-meter and when I keep my mouth shut, the volume inside the head goes up. This gives the chance to see, how was the BS meter formed? What are the specific triggers for the triggered reactions like: “this is uninformed lower level garbage” or the very simple, basic and to the point “Fock Yoooo….”

Kinda hilarious but also informative. And a challenge to allow others to choose whatever they do while thinking “interesting” instead of “you are so wrong and I need to set you straight”.

What a dance the human engages in.
 
I’m dredging this up. It’s one thing I have to give credit to the Catholic Church for: a recurring practice of a lengthy period of reflection.

I am intentionally interrupting my habits, for starters. I quit smoking 4 days ago. I want to see if there are discernible biophysical changes. Blood pressure, circulation etc. So far I can see my tobacco use is at least partially driven by boredom and self-calming. IOW I am a bit more antsy and irritable.

This Saturday I’ll start fasting, and drop coffee while adding yoga. Part of the reason is: can I still do it? Am I in charge of my carriage?

The deeper discernment is: can I submit to the higher will? To “God”. And if so, can I even discover what that higher purpose is? Good open questions to dwell in. And yes I realize the higher will may just be emanating from my own higher self. All I know for sure is that at least a part of “me” said “yes” to something as a reason for coming back to this world (aside from the standard karmic homework).
 
if you practice yoga seriously, you can't be depressed," explains the teacher I'm studying, éric Barret.

with yoga naturally follows pranayoga and then meditation, so the space within for Lent is available.

Lent for the mind too.

non-violence towards oneself is also Lent, gentleness in self-discipline.

when inner suffering is faced head-on, non-fighting is supreme.

and the world's sordid war becomes so grotesque that tears turn to laughter.



Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
 
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