Spiritual Solutions

Observing Lent The Unity Way

Unity believes that we can keep Lent best by denying ourselves not “things” but negative thoughts and feelings. And, through prayer and study, we can contemplate the victorious Christ and attempt to be more like Him.

Keep a True Lent contains material especially written by Charles Fillmore, co-founder of the Unity movement, to help you observe Lent in this way. You are invited to participate in these special lessons during the upcoming Lenten season, starting this week on Ash Wednesday and every day thereafter through Easter.

The word LENT comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for spring, which is derived from a verb meaning to lengthen. Lent comes in the spring when the days become noticeably longer.

This annual season of fasting, prayer, and penitence has been observed by the Western Church since the first century after Christ, although it has not always been forty days long. In more recent times it has been kept forty days, after the example of Moses and Elijah, and to commemorate the forty days of fasting and prayer that Jesus spent in the wilderness.

The first day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday from the custom that prevailed in the early Church of sprinkling ashes on the heads of penitents on the first day of Lent, in token of repentance for sin.

Ash Wednesday comes forty-six days before Easter. There are six Sundays in Lent, and they are not considered part of Lent, because in the Western Church Sunday is always a feast day. The forty weekdays beginning with Ash Wednesday constitute Lent.

The fifth Sunday in Lent is known as Passion Sunday, because it marks the beginning of Passion-tide, the last two weeks of Lent. These two weeks specifically commemorate the Passion of Jesus, or His experiences following the Last Supper.

The last week of Lent is called Holy Week. It includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday.

Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, commemorates Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem when the people strewed palms in His way.

Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter, is a corruption of the Latin word mandati meaning “of the commandment,” and refers to the command “This do in remembrance of me” spoken by Jesus in regard to His breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine at the Last Supper. Maundy Thursday commemorates the event of the Last Supper.

Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, probably known originally as God’s Friday, commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus.

Easter Day, of course, commemorates the Resurrection. The word Easter comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Eastre, the name of the Goddess of spring, in whose honor a festival was celebrated each April. Easter Day always comes on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after March 21. If the full moon falls on a Sunday, Easter is the next Sunday. Easter can never fall earlier than March 22 nor later than April 25.

Lent is a season of spiritual growth, a time for progressive unfoldment. When we can blend and merge our mind with God-Mind, the way is open for the Lord to glorify us and to lift us into a higher, purer, more spiritual state.

“Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,” said Jesus. Truth students everywhere are invited to participate in our Lenten program. Christ is in our midst. Place all burdens on your indwelling Lord and enter the Lenten season expecting definite results.

Fasting means abstaining from; it is abstinence. The place of overcoming is in the consciousness of man. The forty-day fast is an all-round denial of sense demands. In fasting, we as metaphysicians abstain from error thinking and meditate on spiritual Truth until we incorporate it into the consciousness of oneness with the Father.

The desire to excel is in all men and women. It is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which ever urges us on through earth toward heaven. It should be encouraged and cultivated in the right direction.

As day after day we steadily adhere to our firm resolve to follow the steps outlined for the Lenten season, we discover that we are building on a firm foundation, and are mounting into a higher consciousness. We come to know that Christ is indeed with us and is resurrecting in us His realizations of light, life, and substance

How to Study

1. Before beginning your day-by-day study, we suggest you set aside a definite time for prayer and study when you are least likely to be interrupted.

2. Read each day’s assignment, beginning with Ash Wednesday.

3. Read the Bible reference given at the beginning of each day’s lesson.

4. Answer the questions concerning what you have read.

5. Use the meditation given in the Study Guide.

6. Put the principles of these lessons to work in your life.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

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 Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-eight years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions.

Please feel free to publish this article in your blog or newsletter or share it with a friend, as long as you include this resource box.

If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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Your copy of my recently published mini-book, Miracle Power You Can Use Today, Seven Secrets of Spiritual Growth for Your Wealth, Health and Happiness is now available.

The book, in addition to being a powerful spiritual resource for your reading pleasure, has two unique features:

You can enhance your experience of the book through access to an online environment for an even deeper, personalized experience of this book’s message. 

Secondly, after reading the book, you are invited to pass the book along to someone you know who you believe will benefit from the message in this book. After you’ve passed the book along you can access a tracking system to see where it goes and how it changes people’s lives.

Here’s what one person said about the book recently: “I virtually devoured it….reading, highlighting and enjoying some three times now. On my next trip through it I will be going to the online tool. Just didn’t want to interrupt for that on my first reading(s), but looking forward to that unique experience.”

He said his intent is to purchase more copies to send to others. Another person had the same idea; she said she is purchasing ten copies to send to friends and loved ones. That’s a great Christmas gift idea!

Just to whet your appetite, here’s an excerpt from the first chapter of the book, Connect with Your Source:

“God is constant as principle, always present, everywhere present, in wholeness, and at every point in space and time. There is no absence of God anywhere at any time.

“I’m not sure whether you have ever thought of God in that way, but if you have then it has changed your life.

“If you have not, then if you can capture that idea of God as principle, of God as present, the idea of unity with God, I can truly say that your life will never be the same again. It will change your life for the better . . .”

The paperback mini-book, Miracle Power, can be purchased for $9.95 through Amazon. com at http://www.amazon.com/dp/0977625117/?tag=spiritualsolu-20 

Or you can go to  www.messengerminibooks.com.

Just scroll down until you see the book and then click on the Amazon link. You can also purchase the book in e-book format on that same site. The e-book is $7.95.

After purchase of either printed book or e-book you will be able to access the online journal. If you purchase the printed book you will also be able to utilize the pass-along tracking option.

Enjoy your book! Maybe you’ll want to get extra copies to send out as wonderful Christmas gifts for friends and loved ones.

Remember, God is Blessing You Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Spiritual growth can be a Herculean task in a world defined by power, money, and influence. Modern conveniences, electronic equipment, gadgets and tools, and entertainment through television, magazines, and internet have predisposed us to confine our attention mostly to physical needs and wants. This has resulted in our concepts of self-worth and self-meaning being muddled, so we find it difficult to strike a balance between the material and spiritual aspects of our lives.

To grow spiritually is to look inward

It’s important to look closely and reflect on your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and motivations. Periodically, examine your experiences, the decisions you make, the relationships you have, and the things you engage in.

This will provide useful insights on your life goals, on your good traits which you must sustain and the bad traits you have to discard. It will also give you clues on how to act, react, and conduct yourself in the midst of any situation.

Learn the art of introspection; all it takes is the courage and the willingness to seek the truths that are within you. Here are some guidelines when you undertake introspection: be objective, be forgiving of yourself and others, and focus on your areas for improvement.

To grow spiritually is to develop your potential

It has been said that you are a spiritual being going through a human experience. A recurring theme in both Eastern and Western teachings is mastery of the self, where the needs of the body are recognized but placed under the needs of the spirit. Values, morality, spiritual laws, experiences and good works or service provide the blueprint to ensure the growth of the spiritual being.

In psychology, realizing one’s full potential is to self-actualize. Abraham Maslow identified several human needs: physiological, security, belongingness, estemm, cognitive, aesthetic, self-actualization, and self-transcendence.

William James earlier categorized these needs into three: Material, emotional, and spiritual. When you have satisfied the basic physiological and emotional needs, spiritual or existential needs come next. Achieving each need leads to the total development of the individual.

Perhaps the difference between the approaches of the Eastern and Western religions and psychology is the end of self-development. Both Western and Eastern teachings see that self-development is a means toward serving God, while the psychological view is that self-development is an end in itself.

To grow spiritually is to search for meaning

Religions such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam that believe in the existence of God suppose that the ultimate purpose of the human life in to serve the Creator of all life. Several theories in psychology proose that we ultimately give meaning to our own lives.

Whether we believe that life’s meaning is pre-determined or self-directed, to grow in spirit is to realize that we do not merely exist. We may not consciously know the meaning of our lives at birth, but we gain knowledge and wisdom from our interactions with people and from our actions and reactions to the situations we are in.

As we discover this meaning, there are certain beliefs nad values that we affirm or reject. Our lives have purpose. This purpose puts all our physical, emotional, and intellectual potentials into use, sustains us during trying times, and gives us something to look forward to – a goal to achieve, a destination to reach. A person without purpose or meaning is like a drifting ship at sea.

To grow spiritually is to recognize interconnections

The concept of our relatedness to all creation, live and inanimate, is stressed by all religions. Moreover, deity-centered religions speak of the relatonship between humans and a “higher being.” On the other hand, science focuses on our link to other living things through evolution. This relatednes is clearly seen in the concept of ecology, the interaction between living and non-living things. In psychology, connectedness is a characteristic of self-transcendence, the highest human need according to Maslow.

Recognizing your connection to all things makes you more humble and respectful of people, animals, plants, and things in nature. It makes you appreciate everything around you. It moves you to go beyond your comfort zone and reach out to other people, and to become a steward of all other things around you.

To grow spiritually is a process

Spiritual growth is a process; thus to grow in spirit is a day-to-day encounter. We win some, we lose some, but the important thing is that we learn, and from this knowledge, further spiritual growth is made possible.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at Spiritual Solutions.

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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For most of us non-resistance does not come easily. It goes against our normal reaction to life, where we usually tend to push ahead against all obstacles. Jesus’ teaching of “Resist not evil” is one of supreme spiritual power, for when you antagonize any given situation you give it power against yourself. But when you offer mental non-resistance the opposition will crumble before you.

Unfortunately, there is a tendency to resort to using force to get our way, to use a battering ram rather than a key to open doors. And it is this tendency which is the cause of most world conflict, and most of our own inner conflicts, which in turn cause most of our physical and mental ills.

To foster a clear perspective of our relationship to life, it would be helpful to reflect upon this statement by Jesus: “In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” In other words, in the world there are many conflicts, dilemmas, and problems; but, says he, I have risen above these things and do not let them stand in my way. He made a clear distinction between the world “out there” and the world within.

Life is “outer-directed” for most of us, the world around us and the people within it setting the tone of our lives. When you are outer-directed, you have permitted yourself to grow a relationship to life wherein anyone has the power to push the buttons which disturb, frighten, or anger you, or make you discouraged.

Jesus says for us to be inner-directed, to “go into your room and shut the door.” Go into yourself to find your inner direction; forsake the outer-directed way. When you are inner-directed, you know that you are your own person and your life is lived from within out; you possess an inner poise and an inner security.

With your mind stayed on God, you are free from fear of outer conditions or person. Our troubles really stem from whether we are outer-directed or inner-directed. In the one case, we react and get disturbed, blaming the outer person, situation or event; in the other case, we are committed to keep our inner peace, refusing to react to the turmoil. In a consciousness of inner peace and calm, we can deal effectively with the situation. When inner-directed, we can deal with people in an understanding manner, realizing that they may have good reason to be feeling and acting as they do; however, we never have a good reason to let them cause us to be upset or hostile.

The real test is how you react in every experience. You have heard it said, “Life is consciousness.” You react not only from your particular level of consciousness, but your reaction begins a new chain of causation which then becomes your new level of consciousness. If you react in an outer-directed manner, then in a way the other person or situation has done you a favor in showing you that you are in the wrong state of consciousness, so you need to change that; and it is a good thing that you have been reminded of it.

Non-resistance does mean simply following the path of least resistance or taking the easy way out. If, in contemplation, you find something disagreeable, stop thinking about it and go out and meet it with an attitude of serene non-resistance.

The key to non-resistance is what Jesus pointed out; it is overcoming. It is to change the mind and to keep it changed, not to fight the person, the job, the debt, the situation. It is to “overcome the world” or worldly view, not to come over these particular things.

Love is another key to non-resistance, which is why Jesus tells us to love our enemies, not because they are deserving of our love, but because when the other person causes us resistance we are not acting the part of our divinity. The power that accompanies our divinity is only ours when we act the part. When you take an inner-directed approach, you reach for and act in accordance with your higher, divine self.

Jesus says that we must go into the inner room and close the door in order to restore our contact with God and with our innate potential. So, when we find resistance in our world, instead of fighting it or resisting it, we are to perceive it as a warning light that we are dealing with the rest of the world in an outer-directed consciousness.

In other words, don’t fight the other person, change yourself! Bless the situation; love the other person, not because he or she deserves your love, not because of what it will do to him or her, but because in the act of blessing and loving you can rise above it and get your thoughts back on the right track.

Non-resistance is a key element in our personal development and spiritual growth.

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at Spiritual Solutions. Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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Spiritual growth is the process of inner awakening, and becoming conscious our inner being. It means the rising of the consciousness beyond the ordinary existence, and awakening to some Universal truths. It means going beyond the mind and the ego and realizing who you really are.

Spiritual growth is a process of shedding our wrong and unreal conceptions, thoughts, beliefs and ideas, and becoming more and more conscious and aware of our inner being. This process uncovers the inner spirit that is always present, but hidden beyond the ego-personality.

Spiritual growth is of great importance for everyone, not only for people who seek spiritual enlightenment and choose to live in far away or secluded places. Spiritual growth is the basis for a better and more harmonious life for everyone, a life free of tension, fear and anxiety.

By discovering who we really are we take a different approach to life. We learn not to let outer circumstances influence our inner being and state of mind. We manifest composure and detachment, and we develop inner power and strength, all of which are very useful and important tools.

Spiritual growth is not a means for escaping from responsibilities, behaving strangely and becoming an impractical person. It is a method of growing and becoming a stronger, happier and more responsible person.

You can walk on the path of spiritual growth, and at the same time live the same kind of life as everyone else. You do not have to live a secluded life in some far away place. You can raise a family, work or run a business, and yet at the same time engage in practices that lead to inner growth.

A balanced life requires that we take care not only of the necessities of the body, feelings and mind, but also of the spirit, and this is the role of spiritual growth.

10 tips for spiritual growth:

1. Read spiritual and uplifting books. Think about what you read, and find out how you can use the information in your life.

2. Meditate for at least 15 minutes every day. If you do not know how to meditate, it is easy to find books, websites or teachers who can teach you meditation.

3.  Learn to make your mind quiet through concentration exercises and meditation.

4. Acknowledge the fact that you are a spirit with a physical body, not a physical body with a spirit. If you can really accept this idea, it will change your attitude towards many things in your life.

5. Look often into yourself and into your mind, and try to find out what is it that makes you feel conscious and alive.

6. Think positive. If you find yourself thinking negatively, immediately switch to thinking positively. Be in control of what enters your mind. Open the door for the positive and close it for the negative.

7. Develop the happiness habit, by always looking at the bright side of life and endeavoring to be happy. Happiness comes from within. Do not let your outer circumstances decide your happiness for you.

8. Exercise often your will power and decision making ability. This strengthens you and gives you control over your mind.

9. Thank the Universe for everything that you get.

10. Develop tolerance, patience, tact and consideration for others.

Spiritual growth is the birthright of everyone. It is the key to a life of happiness and peace of mind, and the manifesting the enormous power of the inner spirit. This spirit is equally present within the most material person, and within the most spiritual person. The level of the manifestation of spirituality is dependent on how much the inner spirit is close to the surface, and on how much it is covered and hidden, by thoughts, beliefs and negative habits.

Remez Sasson writes and teaches about spiritual growth, meditation, self-improvement, positive thinking, creative visualization, success and mind power. He is the author of several books about success, creative visualization, affirmations and the development of inner strength and power.http://www.SuccessConsciousness.com for articles, quotes and e-books.

Visit his website

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

You can go directly to the blog, at http://spiritualsolutionsblog.com/blog/

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at

www.alanrowbotham.com

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