Thursday Entry - Asceticism

1.	the manner of life, practices, or principles of an ascetic.

2.	the doctrine that a person can attain a high spiritual and moral state by practicing self-denial, self-mortification, and the like.

3.	rigorous self-denial; extreme abstinence; austerity.

"The principle of asceticism never was, nor ever can be, consistently pursued by any living creature. Let but one tenth part of the inhabitants of the earth pursue it consistently, and in a day's time they will have turned it into a Hell." - Jeremy Bentham

Wimbush, Vincent L. Asceticism. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc, 1998.
From meditation and fasting to celibacy and anchoritism, the ascetic impulse has been an enduring and complex phenomenon throughout history. Offering a sweeping view of this elusive and controversial aspect of religious life and culture, Asceticism looks at the ascetic impulse from a unique vantage point. Cross-cultural, cross-religious, and multidisciplinary in nature, these essays provide a broad historical and comparative perspective on asceticism--a subject rarely studied outside the context of individual religious traditions.


I am exploring both self-denial and indulgence within my imagery.