It draws near; this Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent – for me, a period of 46 days to be spent in spiritual introspection and self-denial. For me, this has become the most important time of year. Insights gained during Lent have helped me climb the upward spiral, giving me new understanding, peace of mind, and inner joy.
Above all, Lent is the time to ask and re-ask the Big Questions, honing the answers with ever-greater nuance and precision:
- What is the ultimate nature of reality – is it really nothing more than atoms, or is it something greater? And why is there Something rather than Nothing?
- What is consciousness? A neuronal activity? A mere by-product of biological evolution found only in the brains of higher-order animals? Or is it the fundamental property of the Universe?
- Science and religion – are these mutually exclusive narratives – or is it possible to reconcile the two?
- Who or what is 'God'? A person, a force – or something ineffable, beyond our comprehension?
- What are we? Bodies or souls? Containers of consciousness, or merely matter? Consciousness or ego?
- What is the role of belief in our lives?
- To what extent can we will our own future? Is mind over matter a real phenomenon, or an illusion, a product of wishful thinking? Do we have undiscovered supernatural / metaphysical / paranormal powers that are lying dormant or that have atrophied?
- What happens to us when we die? Is it game over? Eternal oblivion? Or does our consciousness – stripped of the body and its ego – survive death? If so – in what form? How?
- In light of the way we answer the above questions – how should we go on to live our lives, how we should treat ourselves, others and the environment around us?
This time five years ago:
Build your own religion: trappings of faith
This time eight years ago:
Health: duty of care
This time nine years ago:
Cognitive bias in the search for God
This time ten years ago:
A spiritual frame of mind
This time 11 years ago:
Sunday in the City
This time 12 years ago:
God's teachings
This time 16 years ago:
A week into Lent
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4 comments:
Never one to miss an opportunity to quibble, sorry, but officially Lent is a period of 40 days - those 6 Sundays aren't counted as lenten days since they are feast days (mini Easters effectively) and are meant to be celebrated as such. So no minus or plus points for refraining or continuing any sacrifices you've made for Lent on Sundays, at least from a Catholic point of view.
Look forward to your thoughts during this time,
Best,
A
@ adthelad
I'm not doing 'official' Lent; so not interested in plus or minus points from the Vatican or anyone else :-)
Taking a day off makes it easier – Jesus did indeed fast in the desert for 40 days, but did the lot in one go, without Sunday breaks:
Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
Interestingly, Orthodox Christianity observes Lent as 40 days without a Sunday break from Clean Monday (!) to the Friday before Palm Sunday (!!)
I know you're not doing an official lent - it's just that you described lent as a period of 46 days TO BE spent in introspection and denial when it's not. If you had said "...Lent - a period in which I/some people spend 46 days in introspection and denial" I wouldn't have quibbled :)
Yes – thanks for that, I added the words 'for me' to make this clear.
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