Hello Unity Friends,

The days are getting noticeable longer.  Even with the snow on the ground, there is no denying that spring is coming.  This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of the season of Lent.  In forty days and six Sundays, Easter will be here.

Lent is a time of spiritual growth and preparation.  It is a time of transformation and unfoldment.  During this season, we prepare our thoughts to be God-thoughts, our minds to be in alignment with God-mind.

In Unity, we use this period of Lent as a time to fast from error thinking and to meditate on the spiritual Truths of God.  We cease our thinking of lack, poverty, disease, ill-will, and death.  We turn our minds to thoughts of plenty, abundance, health, good-will, and life. 

Rev. Shay St. John developed A Forty-Day Journal, which is a wonderful tool for helping us to clear out our repetious thinking.  Here  is how it works.

1. Choose a notebook in which to record your thoughts for the next 40 days.  Choose one of color and design that energizes you and contains at least 70 pages.
2. Create an affirmation that clearly states the intended purpose of this journal.  Be clear, concise, focused on one specific, measurable area of your life.
3. Write your affirmation on the first page of your journal.  You may desire to add photos and pictures to this first page to help you visualize your intention.
4. At the top of each of the next 40 pages, place the date for that day's writing.  Enter dates like this, "Day 1 - February 21, 2007."  On the 10th, 20th, 30th, and 40th pages, place a * to remind you of the need to fulfill the next step.
5. When you come to a page with an *, reread all you have written up to that point.  As you review your writings, be observant of patterns that may be emerging in your writings.  Notice the things you write that state "I think," indicating a mental energy around it. Observe the things that say "I feel, " revealing to you the emotional nature at work.  Be alert to things that say "I know," reminding you that these are key statements of your inner belief system.
6. Make a commitment to write in your journal at least 5 minutes every day for the next 40 days.  Prior to beginning to write, read your affirmation on the first page of your journal.  Allow a moment to be still and move inward in your thinking.  Then turn to the appropriate page with today's date.  Do not try to program what you will write.  Let Spirit guide your words.  They may or may not appear to be relevant to your intended purpose for this journal.  Sometimes we have to go around the mulberry bush before we can let the real message through.  Just be patient and trust Spirit to open you to receive the Good you desire.
7. At the end of the 40 days, reread your journal and evaluate where you stand in relation to the affirmation that guided the purpose of this journal.  And when that is done, burn the journal.  Let the burning of the journal be a cleansing time of release and clearing for you.  If you are an avid writer and have a difficult time burning your creation, transfer the "jewels" of your work into another notebook or file and burn the original journal. 

Namaste,
Robin