DISCOVER YOUR AQ What's Your Authenticity Quotient? Be sure to visit www.soulfast.com to take the free AQ Assessment and find out how authentically you are living today! GET THE APP Share with your friends. Track your progress. Keep up with your journal. Change your life. The 40 Day Soul Fast App http://soulfast.destinyimage.com © Copyright 2012–Dr. Cindy Trimm All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NCV are taken from The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version. Scripture quotations marked CEB are taken from The Common English Bible Copyright © 2010 by the Common English Bible Committee and the Christian Resources Development Corporation Inc. (CRDC), Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Used by Permission. 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For more information on foreign distributors, call 717-532-3040. Reach us on the Internet: www.destinyimage.com. ISBN 13 TP: 978-0-7684-4029-4 ISBN 13 Ebook: 978-0-7684-8848-7 For Worldwide Distribution, Printed in the U.S.A. Contents Introduction Week One: The Power of Forty: Enlarging Your Capacity Day One: Awareness Day Two: Godliness Day Three: Truth Day Four: Commitment Day Five: Patience Week Two: The Purpose of a Soul Fast: The Self-Leadership Challenge Day Six: Capacity Day Seven: Wholeness Day Eight: Balance Day Nine: Peace Day Ten: Goodness Week Three: The Nature of the Soul: The Essence of You Day Eleven: Discipline Day Twelve: Simplicity Day Thirteen: Uniqueness Day Fourteen: Passion Day Fifteen: Joy Week Four: The Properties of Thought: You Are What You Think Day Sixteen: Beauty Day Seventeen: Effortlessness Day Eighteen: Authenticity Day Nineteen: Focus Day Twenty: Order Week Five: The Importance of Identity: Becoming a Master by Mastering Your Mind Day Twenty-one: Faith Day Twenty-two: Gratitude Day Twenty-three: Destiny Day Twenty-four: Identity Day Twenty-five: Purpose Week Six: The Power of Words: Healing the Hole in Your Soul Day Twenty-six: Integrity Day Twenty-seven: Responsibility Day Twenty-eight: Potential Day Twenty-nine: Impeccability Day Thirty: Compassion Week Seven: The Power of Doing: God’s Chosen Fast Day Thirty-one: Respect Day Thirty-two: Loyalty Day Thirty-three: Credibility Day Thirty-four: Temperance Day Thirty-five: Morality Week Eight: Sealing the Healing: The Cleansing Power of Love Day Thirty-six: Justice Day Thirty-seven: Tolerance Day Thirty-eight: Ethics Day Thirty-nine: Interdependence Day Forty: Community Appendix A: 24 Questions Introduction It is my own firm belief that the strength of the soul grows in proportion as you subdue the flesh.—Mohandas Gandhi Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? (Isaiah 58:6 NIV) Welcome to 40 Days to Discovering the Real You! The volume you hold in your hand will accompany you on this eight-week journey. I am on a mission to reconnect you with the true essence of a healthy soul—to lead you to a place in God where your soul can be healed—to reacquaint you with your authentic self. The next 40 days of getting to know the real you are going to be the best 40 days of your life! More importantly, when you learn to live authentically, from a healed, whole soul, no leaks, no punctures, no wounds—free and clear from artificial, socially modified, cultural toxins—you will not only change your life, you will be poised to change the world. We have all heard the phrases, “She’s a beautiful soul,” “Bless your soul,” or “He’s a mean old soul.” These phrases describe our perception of an individual’s nature or character. We are all “soul-people,” and I believe that strengthening people at the level of their souls—restoring the soul and establishing it as the core and essence of who they really are as self-directed people of value, intelligence, and greatness—will change the world. We must break the false perception that as individuals, what we do does not make a difference in the greater scheme of things. We are as a nation, as a people, nothing more than the sum of our parts. As the giant world-changer, a small man by the name of Mohandas Gandhi, once said, “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.” We will only be as whole and healed as a country as we are as a people. Oscar Wilde, the famous Irish poet and novelist said, “Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.” To reiterate a soul-searching question posed by Jesus, “What does it really profit us if we gain the whole world and lose our souls—the essence of who we really are and what it means to be human?” If you are here reading this today, I imagine you have asked yourself that same question. For those of you looking to reclaim your soul and recapture the essence of who you really are, you are in the right place. I created this 40-day journal to guide you step-by-step, day-by-day, into a more authentic life. I am so glad you have chosen to join me on this journey to greater mental, emotional, and spiritual health! If you are looking to transform your life, you need look no further! But before we begin, I want to encourage you to make sure you have a copy of both The 40 Day Soul Fast book as well as this journal. You will benefit from the deeper teaching and depths of insight offered in the book that are not touched on here. Also, because it is a proven fact that we increase our probability of completing a task or reaching our goals if we have someone supporting us—I encourage you to ask four other people to join you on this journey. The problem most of us have, when it comes to completing any program or accomplishing any goal is that we procrastinate in doing the very thing we know we need to do. My mother told me, “Never put off until tomorrow, what you need to do today.” This is my advice to you—whatever you are going to do for the health of your soul, do it now. Put the support system in place that you need, and make sure you have all of the tools and resources on hand that will ensure your success. So pause for a moment, pick up the phone NOW and call those four other people. Your four soul fast companions will help provide the added support, encouragement, and accountability you need to finish strong! A good support system can offer what no program or diet can ever provide: The ability to compensate for your weaknesses and ensure that success is the only option. In order to achieve your ideal health, you don’t need to act perfect all the time. You just need the right support to keep pushing you forward. —Adam Bornstein Let the journey begin! WHAT IS A SOUL FAST? The purpose of 40 Days to Discovering the Real You is to not only bring health and restoration to the souls of individuals, but also to provide a mechanism for all people to learn to live from the inside out—from their authentic, God-nature selves. This Soul Fast is not addressing the issue of what you are eating, but what’s eating you. The goal of this 40-day journey is to guide you through the process of discarding useless toxic emotions—self-sabotaging thoughts and viruses of the mind—so that you can fully live into who God created you to be. You will be invited to examine all of your objectives and relationships, any hidden agendas or motives that have governed your subconscious, in order to thrust you onto a new path of achievement and abundance. This journey is about setting you free once and for all to maximize your greatest potential. 40 Days to Discovering the Real You takes place over eight weeks. Each week is divided into five days for the purpose of this guided journey. A 40-day fast commonly practiced in the Christian tradition, known as Lent, is followed six days a week and does not include Sundays. It begins on a Wednesday, known as Ash Wednesday, so that the first week is comprised of only four days. For simplicity’s sake, I have taken our eight weeks and divided them evenly so that you can establish a regular routine Monday through Friday, allowing for weekends off so you can focus on family and worship or make up a missed day if necessary. Put aside time for “me-moments.” Give yourself adequate time and place to focus on nurturing your inner self. Part of the soul fast discipline is not allowing everyday distractions to deter you from cultivating the inner life of your soul. It will require disciplined focus, a heightened mindfulness, and keen sensitivity to the Spirit of God. We will begin our 40-day journey by talking about capacity building. Week one of our eight-week venture focuses on “The Power of 40: Enlarging Your Capacity.” This theme is more fully explored in The 40 Day Soul Fast, but for the purposes of this journal, it ties together the five characteristics you will find in week one. In week two, we will talk about “The Purpose of a Soul Fast: The Self-Leadership Challenge.” In week three, we will discuss “The Nature of the Soul: The Essence of You.” In week four, we address “The Properties of Thought: You Are What You Think.” Week five brings us to “The Importance of Identity: Becoming a Master by Mastering Your Mind.” In week six we look at “The Power of Words: Healing the Hole in Your Soul.” In week seven, we begin wrapping up by dealing with “The Power of Doing: God’s Chosen Fast.” And in week eight, we conclude by “Sealing the Healing: The Cleansing Power of Love.” The focus of this journal is on the 40 characteristics of an authentic person. These characteristics tie in with The 40 Day Soul Fast, but you can also use this journal by itself as a tool for focused self-exploration. Each day, you will read a meditation about one of the 40 characteristics of an authentic person. Then you will be given several “Action Steps” to consider as you put these characteristics into practice. Use the provided lines in this journal to write your responses, reflections, meditations, and anything else God lays on your heart as you delve into these powerful characteristics of authenticity. Also, note that there are 24 questions listed in Appendix A at the end of this book. Take some time to look them over at the beginning of this 40-day journey. You don’t have to answer them all right now; return to reflect on them occasionally throughout the Soul Fast process. Insights will come to you along the way. When these questions keep you awake at night and make you listless during the day, set aside time to pray and journal your thoughts until you find the answers. THE SOUL OF THE MATTER Be your authentic self. Your authentic self is who you are when you have no fear of judgement or before the world starts pushing you around and telling you who you’re supposed to be. Your fictional self is who you are when you have a social mask on to please everyone else. Give yourself permission to be your authentic self. —Dr. Phil McGraw 40 Days to Discovering the Real You is about finding rest and restoration for your soul. When all is well with the souls of humanity, all will be well in the world. When you have peace in your soul, you will bring that peace to bear on the world around you—you will become the change you are hoping to see. Over the next eight weeks, you will learn and grow and be empowered like never before to maximize your personal potential and break through to greater success. May we all feel the presence of God each and every day as we “do our best to enter that rest” (Heb. 4:11 NLT). And as we take up residence there, may we become more acquainted with our authentic selves and equipped to walk in the light of what we discover. Let this journal be a tool you can use to clear the ground of every obstruction and build a life of obedience into full maturity—the fully complete you! Are you ready to spend the best 40 days of your life? Let the soul journey begin! Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 1:2 NKJV). You don’t have a soul. You are a soul.—C. S. Lewis