Forms
In its simplest form, mortification of the flesh can mean merely denying oneself certain pleasures, such as abstaining from alcoholic beverages, internet, porn, or any area of life that takes the place of god (so, basically anything you do other than sit in contemplation and worship of God/Jesus - your job, your family, your interests, your amusements, etc.). For example, "I might sit on the internet all day everyday, and therefore be committing adultery against Jesus because my affections are with that rather than god himself. Therefore we must focus on Jesus and put him first in our life as Christians." It can also be practiced by choosing a simple or even impoverished lifestyle; this is often one reason many monks of various religions take vows of poverty.
Traditional forms of physical mortification are the cilice and hair-shirts. In some of its more severe forms, it can mean causing self-inflicted pain and physical harm, such as beating, whipping, or piercing.
Read more about this topic: Mortification Of The Flesh
Famous quotes containing the word forms:
“Culture’s essential service to a religion is to destroy intellectual idolatry, the recurrent tendency in religion to replace the object of its worship with its present understanding and forms of approach to that object.”
—Northrop Frye (b. 1912)
“One way to think about play, is as the process of finding new combinations for known things—combinations that may yield new forms of expression, new inventions, new discoveries, and new solutions....It’s exactly what children’s play seems to be about and explains why so many people have come to think that children’s play is so important a part of childhood—and beyond.”
—Fred Rogers (20th century)
“The Dada object reflected an ironic posture before the consecrated forms of art. The surrealist object differs significantly in this respect. It stands for a mysterious relationship with the outer world established by man’s sensibility in a way that involves concrete forms in projecting the artist’s inner model.”
—J.H. Matthews. “Object Lessons,” The Imagery of Surrealism, Syracuse University Press (1977)