By Chuck Robison
It’s remarkable how we Christians have narrowed our view about the past. The farther back we look, the less we see….even though it is right there before us.
Take the number 40. To our species this number is critical and everywhere you see it, it translates to its’ original meaning.
That meaning is this: When our species was quite young, all births were Virgin Births. The reason for that is we did not know the process of conception. The whole affair was a woman’s issue. Women conceived, bore, raised and guided all the children in the tribe. And, of course, women were in charge. A matriarchy.
And then one day a very bright ancestor of ours discovered that 40 weeks after he had mated with one of the women, a baby arrived! Walla! Now the man was clearly involved in the women’s domain and he wasted no time in tearing down some of the old myths. Babies were named after the father. The end of virgin births came to pass and religion sealed the deal when the baby was consecrated in the name of the father. Now we had a patriarchy.
All of a sudden 40 weeks takes on a symbolic meaning much greater than we thought. Forty is the universal signal for growth and birth, and when it is used in history, the story is usually about that. Noah prepares for 40 days of difficult change and then a new genetic strain of man and animals species survive the flood and life begins again.
The Jews wandered for 40 years before being given the lands they considered as God’s gift to them.
Jesus spent 40 days alone in the wilderness before he began his life’s work. He returned to that work when his life was fully directed and fully empowered.
It’s an interesting point that many plants in the deserts are hallucinogenic. It is possible that Jesus was about to gather more of his powers through a process that other indigenousness cultures still use today.
So the church fathers may or may not have known this long history of 40 or the importance of that number to our species’ history, but by making Lent begin 40 days before Easter, they followed the real meaning of this original pagan rite of spring.
It is our understanding that in the 40 days prior to Easter we are being prepared for a new experience. And of course we need to make room for that. Thus this 40 day period is a preparation for our new life and a cleaning-up of the things that have hindered our lives in the past.
Because this naturally timed season has been around since before recorded time, you can be certain that your observance of Lent and Easter is supported not only by Christian Tradition, but also by the genetic memory of our species.
Your use of this time before Easter can be a powerful spiritual tool to use in raising your consciousness and in speeding up your spiritual experience. There is new life energy coming to this hemisphere within a month. It is open to all and the story of Jesus’ resurrection is there to demonstrate to you to have no fear of death nor massive change.
As we let go of the harm we have done to others, and ourselves and realize that God is Love and Life is Eternal, we free ourselves from the guilt of the past and the fear of the future.
We were put in this garden to grow and be happy. To do that requires one main thing: Every day, as often as you can, just think about God, and God will take care of everything else. That’s the big secret.
It is simple beyond measure and powerful beyond out wildest dreams. Come and see.
Recent Comments