| | Lenten Fasting 2022
Facilitated by Lelan Harris
Six Group Conversations March 6 through April 10 |
| | IMPORTANT NOTE:
This is an advanced course.
Lenten Fasting focuses primarily on the soul and spirit aspects of the fasting disciplines. It will not include introductory training on the essential and practical body (physiology) foundations of fasting.
The prerequisite for participation in this Lenten Fasting course is either (A) the Wise Cosmos course Extended Fasting for the Healing and Metamorphosis of Body, Soul, and Spirit offered during Advent 2021 [and coming again during Advent 2022]; or (B) previous successful achievement of at least one major fasting experience.
|
| | Letter from an Advent Fasting course participant
Hi Lelan,
Gosh, I am really in amazement and I am not even sure how to say what is happening. I am watching the fasting recordings from December, really paying attention to all the great details.
I just have to say, I am sitting here and having all of these experiences to what is being said. First, I did not even “hear” half this stuff during the live sessions. Nor did I realize the true impact that the fasting exercise even had on me at the time.
Since then, I’ve had some questions I have been wondering and asking, even writing them down addressed to my guardian angel. I was not even expecting to have any of these questions answered, but as I watch the videos, some of these questions, a lot of these questions, are being answered. And even though some are not yet being answered, a lot is being explained and leading me to different questions – possibly better starting questions.
For example, several weeks ago I was hungry and ate, and realized that wasn't it. But thought, gosh why? So, I’ve been just trying to wait and eat and see what happens. Why am I hungry but then I am not? Then listening to session 7 and paying so close attention, all this is being explained. I must not have been ready to hear any of this during the actually fasting, which I am laughing about now. It’s like my spirit team is right here explaining everything to me now – even though it was technically already explained last December.
There is a long list of things like this I have been asking myself and asking my angel for help with understanding. I am just so amazed. I am amazed that I keep getting amazed. It’s extremely deepening to discover how closed off I was to the spiritual world, but now have done a total 180 and see things completely different. It’s just so beautiful.
Blessings!
|
| Why fast during Lent?
It is an ancient tradition to prepare for the Easter festival through (1) fasting, (2) deepened meditation and prayer, and (3) the practice of assisting and serving the poor through the generous giving of alms or donating food. The practice of these disciplines was formalized during the First Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, with evidence that they go back to apostolic times.
Yet the roots of these three united disciplines go back even further in time. They were intimately connected in ancient Judaism before the incarnation of Christ. Fundamentally, the weaving unity of these three disciplines is that the time and money that would otherwise have been utilized for preparing and eating food was invested instead in prayer (time) and gifts to the poor (money).
Lent is uniquely designed to support a particular form of medium-length intermittent fasting practice.
There are 40 days in Lent . . . across a 46-day period that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Maundy Thursday. The days of Lent are Monday through Saturday. Sundays are not included in the 40-day count.
Therefore, one possible fasting practice for Lent is to abstain from food Monday through Saturday for a cumulative total of 40 days, interspersed with eating lightly and very nutritiously as part of celebrating each Sunday (Sun-Day). The Sun represents Christ, who is the Light of the World.
The 40 Lenten fasting days (Mondays through Saturdays) help prepare us for Holy Week, which culminates in Christ washing the feet of the disciples, Passover, and the sacrificial death and burial of Christ. The 6 Lenten celebration days (Sundays) prepare us for the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday.
This is not the only way to fast during Lent, but it is certainly one of the classic forms. The bread & water fast (eating only whole multigrain bread) and the Daniel fast (eating only vegetables) are two other classic Lenten forms.
|
| | |
Zoom group sessions
During six live online Zoom group sessions once a week (Sunday or Monday, depending upon your time zone), Lelan will answer questions and offer a range of conscious methods and precise means to support your individual path toward healing, purification, integration, and transformation. The appropriate balance and interplay of body, soul, and spirit exercises can ultimately lead to miracles and metamorphosis.
Including this kind of healthy weekly group conversation to your individual daily spiritual practices and fasting disciplines increases the potential for unexpected perceptions and expanded understandings.
All the Zoom sessions will be recorded and available for replay as soon after the live session as possible.
Optional personalized mentoring and healing sessions
Outside the course itself, Lelan offers personalized one-on-one and/or tailored small group sessions to help you perceive and follow through on the guidance and gifts offered to you by the spiritual world. You may schedule either phone or Zoom meetings to work on specific questions or needs that will help you achieve increased understanding, healing, development, and metamorphosis.
|
|
|
Private Facebook group
Registration also includes access to a private Facebook group for broader dialogue and deeper discovery. The group is only open to those who have registered for one of the Wise Cosmos fasting courses.
You are encouraged to contribute your questions, epiphanies, and experiences to the private Facebook group that is open only to course registrants. This provides an opportunity for broader discussions on topics of particular interest.
Further, not everyone will be able to participate in all the live Zoom sessions, so this will be the best alternative place to contribute your thoughts, queries, struggles, and triumphs. You may also contribute feedback to what others share, offering the best of yourself in the forms of compassion, understanding, affirmation, and recommendations.
Rudolf Steiner and other spiritual masters have repeatedly affirmed the soul-development power of putting our spiritual discoveries and questions into written form. This practice becomes even more beneficial and transformative when we enter into interesting, meaningful, and beautiful written dialogue with each other.
|
|
|
|
| | Letter from another Advent Fasting course participant
Dear Lelan,
Well, this is too uncanny! Five minutes before your "sneak peek" email arrived about the Lenten Fasting opportunity, I had sent up a BIG heartfelt request to my whole spiritual team, God, Christ, and my Higher Self to be shown whether I should continue with my plans to do a Lent fast. I was questioning whether it was what I needed to do and if it was coming from the right motive and what was my motivation/goal!!
I spent time with this prayer, felt peace, and was meditating when your email arrived!! So YES, I am in for sure!
I think it would also be beneficial for me to book an individual session with you, too. Perhaps even before we start? Or near the beginning might be most beneficial for me. I think there may be some questions that only you can answer for me.
Warmest gratitude-filled thanks.
|
| | Lelan Harris is a founding member and the executive director of Wise Cosmos Educational Initiative (WiseCosmos.org). He is an experiential explorer and integrative practitioner of many human development and spiritual paths. For Lelan, every day is an adventure of discovering the wisdom of the cosmos – God in every guise – and then sharing those treasures through healing, coaching, serving, and pioneering. Lelan has been married to Julie for over 30 years, and among their greatest delights together is playing in and with nature through every season, ecosystem, and altitude; self-guided town and country tours; plus art, music, and dance. |
|
For more information on Wise Cosmos Educational Initiative, please visit our website where you may:- Register for Human Being and the Stars, an online course by Brian Gray.
- Register for Parzival, an online course by Brian Gray.
- Register for The Lord's Prayer, an online course by Lelan Harris.
- Investigate all of the free resources available.
- Donate to support the production of more courses.
- Volunteer as a typist, transcriber, or translator.
|
| Images Fasting with Bread and Water by JCFotografo, Adobe Stock License Lent: Fast + Pray + Give by Frederica Aban, Adobe Stock License |
| Wise Cosmos Educational Initiative is a worldwide community that welcomes all who, in the words of Rudolf Steiner, are endeavoring to unite the spiritual element within the human being to the spiritual in the universe.
Wise Cosmos Educational Initiative is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational corporation. All donations by U.S. donors are tax deductible.
Please add WiseCosmos@wisecosmos.org to your contact list so that our communications get past your spam filters. |
|
|
