Yesterday marked the beginning of Lent. As is my habit, I did a labyrinth walk, and will be conducting one a week until Good Friday. I had two people join me (and a third passer-by, briefly), and one of them asked me what to focus on. I usually recommend that you choose a word or a mantra to use as you go in, to help in setting up a meditative space for yourself.

Lent, to me, is about finding ways to let go of our attachments, of reducing the ego-generated noise in our heads. Jesus’ forty days in the desert, which Lent is based on, is a symbol of the human condition, of the struggle between negative ego and free will, and reminds us that anyone in a human body, even Great Masters, have had this challenge. Once a year, those who observe Lent as asked to go inward, to release themselves from the bondage of self, as best they can, so that they can be reborn, as free and unfettered as possible, at Easter.

So I asked her what, for her, was the opposite of ego. Was it love? Was it peace? Was it abundance? Conversely, I offered, she could work on releasing as she wound her way toward the center. There are three phases to any labyrinth walk – going in is about release, the center is about contemplation, and leaving is about receiving. If Lent is about releasing our attachments, using the walk in to focus on that is an excellent exercise. I use that even when it’s not Lent sometimes!

If you would like to spend the next forty days freeing yourself of the noise in your head, ask yourself what your opposite of ego is. Wake up every morning and list out your attachments, on paper, consciously releasing each one. Instead of making knee-jerk or instinctual actions, think about who it is you want to be, and take thoughtful action instead, considering the ramifications of your choices. Make sure you are meditating every day, even if it’s just to spend 10 minutes letting the noise in your head be as important to you as a radio station in the next room. Journal your progress, and see what happens.

Namaste.
The Divine within me greets the Divine within you.