Michael Bernard Beckwith - 40 Day Mind Fast Soul Feast. A Guide to Soul Awakening and Inner Fulfillment

Living from the Overflow

Inspirations of the Heart

A Manifesto of Peace

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Copyright 2000, 2007 by Michael Bernard Beckwith

Published in the United States by: Agape Media International, LLC 5601 W. Slauson Ave., Suite 150 Culver City, CA 90230 (310) 258-4401

Agape Media International is a publishing, film, music, and new media expression of the Agape International Spiritual Center and the Agape Movement world wideMichael Bernard Beckwith, founder and spiritual director

Distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast: www.raincoast.com Published and distributed in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Publishing executive: Stephen Powers Edited by: Anita Rehker
Photo of Michael Bernard Beckwith: Maria Rangel

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Print ISBN: 978-1-4019-3812-3
Digital ISBN: 978-1-4019-3916-8

14 13 12 11 4 3 2 1
1st edition, November 2011

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

It was one year ago at Morehouse College that Dr.

Michael Bernard Beckwith was inducted into the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Order of Preachers. In a room of three thousand people his light shone brightly. Him I must meet, I promised myself.

Little did I know on that occasion that I was destined to be spiritually mentored by one of the contemporary mystics of our time. I made repeated pilgrimages to his Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles, California. In a sanctuary filled with thousands from diverse cultural and spiritual backgrounds, I heard him pronounce: There is only one power, one presence, one life, and it is the very essence of your life. You are what you are looking for. His words resonated with such absolute conviction and clarity that I felt their truth reverberating within my consciousness long after they were uttered. With an ear acclimated to great orators from university lecterns and church pulpits alike, I recognized that I was in the presence of that rare individual who embodies that of which he speaks.

I say with complete confidence that as an undisputed forerunner of the New ThoughtAncient Wisdom teachings, Dr. Beckwiths commitment to his personal practice of these timeless truths makes him a worthy vehicle for pointing many souls in the direction of spiritual unfoldment. I find him to be firmly planted in the earthly and the sublime, which gives him a deep compassion and sense of playfulness so refreshing in a spiritual teacher.

My recent trip to India and Nepal with Michael was a revelation and a transformation into the nature of personal chaos, order, and agape. Mind fasting and soul feasting are activities of consciousness that ease us into an understanding of the transforming powers existent within us. Filled with practical guidance, encouragement, and affirmations, this book speaks to myriad aspects of the interior life encountered by the modern spiritual seeker. Through application of its wisdom, your life will provide factual evidence of your true nature: wholeness, wisdom, love, peace, compassion and joy.

Dean, Morehouse College Chapel Professor of Religion and Philosophy

Lawrence Edward Carter, Sr.

Dean, Morehouse College Chapel
Professor of Religion and Philosophy

The science of quantum physics has forever dissolved our rational, three-dimensional understanding of time and space, of energy and matter. It has proven that there are no random or accidental acts in the universe. Dr. Carl Jungs theory of synchronicity describes this principle, supporting the fact that holding this book in your hands is aligned with synchronous right timing.

This is a book about how to arrive at profound inner fulfillment. But it contains no information on how to get what you think you need to be happy or how to improve relationships in this world of effects. This books purpose is to usher you into a soul awakening. In tune with your soul-nature, you will automatically demonstrate the realization that your oneness with God is the source of your supply, joy, and peace of mind.

One of the greatest spiritual scientists, lovers of God and humanity that graced our world is Jesus the Christ. His life and teachings proclaim that he is not an exception; rather, he is an example of how we are to live if we are sincere about our own spiritual enlightenment.

An experience of Jesus that speaks to my heart is described in the fourth chapter of Matthew about the temptation of Jesus. From a metaphysical viewpoint, the rite of purification Jesus underwent during his forty days and nights in the wilderness proved him to be an enlightened being. He annihilated any sense of an egoic self, any sense of separation from the Godhead. Jesus knew he had the power to manifest bread to appease the hunger of his physical body, yet he claimed that he lived not by gross food but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. His mystical declaration indicated that he lived directly from the life force that sustains the cosmos.

His second temptation was an invitation to put on display his spiritual powers by commanding angels to appear and protect him from bodily harm. Here he overcame the egos sense of false self-importance. Finally, during the third temptation to succumb to the allurement of owning worldly kingdoms, Jesus conquered the egos hunger for materialism, the false sense of ownership of things belonging to this temporal world.

Every number held a significance to the ancients, and the number forty resounds throughout the Bible, specifically in connection with purification and spiritual triumphs: Jesus forty days and nights in the wilderness; Elijah fasted for forty days; the great flood of forty days and nights from which Noah was spared; Moses forty days and nights on Mount Sinai conversing directly with God. And it took the Israelites forty years from the time they left Egypt until they arrived in Canaan.