Lent JourneySample

DAY 7 A new consciousness I follow Jesus, and part of my journey is to constantly develop this consciousness of who I am, and who my God is. Thomas Aquinas said that we normally don’t see what there is, but that we see as we are. ‘Whatsoever is received, is received according to the mode of its receiver.’ Paul echoes these words: ‘To the pure, all things are pure . . . .’ Titus 1:15. How I perceive and interpret the world, has everything to do with what is happening inside me. My observation is an indication of the type of consciousness I live with. A story from another tradition illustrates it very well: A spiritual person sat under a tree, when a soldier walked by. The soldier said: ‘You look like a pig’. The spiritual person calmly replied: ‘You look like the Lord’. The soldier was uncertain about this reaction, and asked how He could say this. The spiritual person’s explanation was that one observes according to one’s feelings. He said he thinks of the Lord all day long and he sees God everywhere. ‘But you probably think about other things,’ he said to the soldier. What I observe and say, is important. It explains something of my primary consciousness. My words expose what I observe deep inside me. What Jesus thinks, says and does, flow from a deep consciousness – a consciousness rooted so deeply within Him that his first word on the cross is ‘Father’. To discover one’s consciousness, and the effect it has on one’s life, is the first step in transformation. EXERCISE You are invited to sit quietly for a few minutes and observe your thoughts without analysing, or evaluating them. • Observe them and let them go. • At the end of the exercise, share your impressions with God.