To apply celestial values in the world is to align the ego with the soul.

Perfect harmony consists not only in singing songs to the stars that light up dark nights, nor in building reliable ships to cross a rough sea, but in using one to guide the other. "To you the mysteries of the kingdom of God have been made known, but I speak to the rest in parables," Christ will say to his disciples, according to the Gospels.

Language adapted to each interlocutor, at a level appropriate to the personal capacity for understanding. Step by step. Although the truth has always been available, each one will reach the peak of understanding, each in his own time. "For there is nothing hidden that is not evident," the master also said, in the sense that we must eliminate the appearances that obscure the essence.

How is fasting on the surface of the world? Those who covet worldly things grow fat without evolving. Day after day they live as if they were in a restaurant. They try all the dishes on the menu, but are only satisfied for a short time, get nothing to nourish them in return, and live the life of pleasure. They live for pleasure. Are they wrong? Of course they are not.

Everyone should live for pleasure. The next question is fundamental to explain the previous one: what kind of pleasure does he seek? If it is the power to feel the greatest of all, it will strive to dominate all those who threaten its desires. If it is about the vanity of being applauded, you will manipulate your relationships like a small jar of cosmetics, always seeking to hide the defects and highlight the virtues that do not yet exist.

If it is a laugh of outrageous irony, it will show what it is to despise someone in order to feel satisfied, even for a brief moment.

If you insist on speeches that push the multitudes like waves that destroy everything they pass, with the illusion of changing the world before you have calmed down, you are spreading misery in vain, without knowing what you intend and without understanding the result you intend.

If it is only about sensual pleasures in bed and at the table, without deep feelings and motives of the soul, you will remain fragile and hungry. If it is all about accumulating possessions in the hope of being prudent in the face of life's inevitable circumstances, then fear will be your master and profit your protector.

For them, the world is a place full of discontent and problems, and existence is nothing more than an unpleasant and ultimately frustrating journey.

Epictetus, the Greco-Roman Stoic philosopher whose thought greatly influenced early Christians, taught that to live for pleasure is to perfect the virtues and expand the mind. This would allow free choice, favoring values that transcend matter and value the individual. He said that everything in life has two fundamental aspects.

There is what belongs to us, and all that belongs to us is only as users. Our possessions are only what gives qualities to the spirit, that is, virtues, consciousness and choices, all of which are intangible. The rest, such as property, work, fame, reputation and even the body, being transitory, ephemeral and subject to the vicissitudes of existence, such as imprisonment and limitations in the form of persecution or disease, contribute little or nothing to sustain the beauty of life.

For the philosopher, it is the values of the spirit that pave the way and advance existence. They are also irresistible. Already the conquests associated with the conditioning of the world, still associated with the primordial patterns of fear and ignorance, are weak and are the cause of all suffering due to the addictions they create and ultimately enslave.

It is also worth remembering that Epictetus was a Greek and that, although he was sold into slavery in Rome and mistreated to the point of being mutilated at a very early age, he was a free, happy, decent and loving man who lived in peace. His ideas were like beacons guiding generations through the dark nights of existence to the dawn of the soul.

Should we renounce the things of this world?

The answer is no. All matter exists to serve as an instrument of human transformation. To work without the intention to accumulate, to enjoy without the intention to possess, to communicate without the intention to dominate, to live without the intention to oppress. This is how we fast. We become stronger the less we need the things of this world, the freer we are.

Fasting is to renounce the needs, the obvious needs that we think we cannot live without. When we talk about vices, we tend to limit ourselves to the most talked about ones, such as tobacco, alcohol, anxiolytics and other drugs, legal or not. There are, for example, intellectual vices that prevent us from thinking outside the established norms and prejudices and that are invisible to most people.

There are also raw emotional addictions that include pride, vanity, jealousy and self-interest, all of which cause resentment, jealousy and irritation. By eliminating the ego from the soul, we eliminate ourselves from ourselves, and then the kingdom no longer exists.

What would it mean to keep the Sabbath as such at the risk of not seeing the Father?

In ancient traditions, man was encouraged to deal with matters of survival during the week, while the Sabbath was reserved for transcendence. In other words, attention was paid to satisfying the necessities of life without neglecting its fundamental values. Without the soul, the ego is like a confused dog that bites its master.

By ignoring the soul, the ego is saddened by the general feeling of abandonment. Together with the soul, the ego becomes a watchdog that protects us from the evils of the world around us. Live in peace, never forgetting the movement of Heaven within you. When we are successful, we feel protected and enlightened.

The images in this post are my property. You can see more HERE.

Love, Johnny