4th DAY OF LENT – FASTING/FEASTING FOR THE NEW GOLDEN AGE
A TIME OF RETREAT
4th DAY OF LENT – FASTING/FEASTING FOR THE NEW GOLDEN AGE
(These devotionals can be best understood by reading them in order)
Nancy B. Detweiler, M.Ed., M.Div.
A Light for my Path
Living on the plane of duality (3rd dimension) has not been easy. We forgot so much that we took for granted while living in the Garden of Eden (5th dimension).
A most important fact that we seem to have almost totally forgotten is that we are eternal beings of spirit. We may change residential locations from one dimension to another, but our Soul is eternal.
Living on the plane of duality, with our dense physical bodies made of dust, it appears to us that when an individual Soul returns to the world of spirit, he/she dies. We grieve because we think we will never see that individual again. We have forgotten about life on other dimensions and feel that we cannot be sure there is life after the Soul departs the plane of duality. We hope … but, we also reason that we cannot be absolutely sure. The phrase “one life to live” has permeated our society … some religions teach “only one life to live.” This unknown factor … this facet of life that we have forgotten … creates fear of death. We have forgotten we are eternal spirit beings.
Believing that we have only one life to live leaves us with no way to explain so much about ourselves … about God. We approach life with an “I have this one opportunity to get it right” attitude that can lead to feelings of defeatism, pessimism … or … a me-first type of compulsive behavior. If we were born into less than optimal circumstances, we may wonder, “What did I do to deserve this?” We wonder why God allowed this or that to happen … God becomes the only avenue onto which we can place ultimate blame … Why is God punishing me? … What did I do? In short, our concept of life can take on characteristics that create concerns for survival, true personal fulfillment, and a longing to be loved unconditionally.
We can easily begin to believe “[I] am dust, and to dust [I] shall return.” (Genesis 3:19)
The thought of living many lives puzzles some. We say, “But, I don’t recall living before.” And we truly may not remember because the personality we think of as “me” has not experienced a prior lifetime. The personality named James … or Judy … or Max has not lived before.
What we have forgotten is that our Soul is who we truly are … our Soul is simply living a lifetime in the physical vehicle we call James … or Judy … or Max.
Our Soul is eternal and knows no death … it is the part of us that is spirit, created in the image of Mother/Father God. (Genesis 1)
Our personality/physical body is temporary … it is the part of us that is dust and has heretofore returned to dust upon death. (Genesis 3)
On this 4th day of Lent, may we fast from thinking of ourselves as having only one life to live.
May we feast on the truth that we are our Souls and eternal spirit beings—child gods—who may take on a variety of personalities/physical bodies during eternity.
