July 2024 Newsletter Have you ever tried to fast? It's an amazing way to go slow!

Now that the fast is over, I can only think of good things about it and cannot think of one negative aspect. 

I love to share new perspectives on the world and health with my community. I’ve been fasting for decades. Now that I have mastered my schedule, I try to fit in four fasts each year. Who knew that the simple act of not eating could yield so many benefits? 

May 15, 2001 ~ Fasted for five days.

I started fasting on returning from a mother-daughter trip with dear cousins in Toronto. I kept up my routine. This maintenance taught me that I can incorporate this form of spirituality into my life without disrupting it too much.  

Forgetting about food is easy while fasting.  The day becomes one long work/play session without being dictated to by mealtime/my stomach. It was a great week to fast because the weather was getting hot—85 degrees on some days. The heat makes fasting so much easier for me, who quickly gets cold.  

Coming off the fast, I started exercising and realized I felt strong and light instead of being weak and out of shape from not exercising for five days. It was a great feeling to do a front leg stretch and feel myself fold in half further than I could before I fasted. 

It’s amazing how heavy food feels after fasting.  Food is such a tie to the earth.  Reading Martin Prechtl’s article in The Sun magazine, I realized that fasting is like being dead, and I don’t need anything for sustenance.  It’s that light feeling I have after I’ve been sick and haven’t eaten for several days. Eating slowly during the five days after the fast is the hardest because my original hunger is returning. I don’t want to eat as much as I did before my fast, and I don’t want to get back on the chocolate/snack thing, but everything looks good.  

This was a diary entry from 2001. Fasting has brought so much to my life, especially spiritually. I love how it allows me to look at anything and notice its beauty and awe. Withdrawing from everyday life during a fast is a gift, especially now that the kids are grown. The silence is profound, and I miss it after the fast. 

And then there are the biological benefits. Autophagy, a process that can be simplified as the body’s way of cleaning house, is activated during fasting. It's like a cellular recycling system that breaks down old and mutated cells, leaving only the up-and-coming and fully functional cells. This must be why I feel so rejuvenated at the end of a fast. 

Recently, I’ve incorporated silence into my fasts. I have a new appreciation for talking at the end. Fasting also helps put perspective on my snacking, alcohol, and chocolate. It doesn’t stop my cravings, but it allows me time to reflect on them.  

Seeing the beauty in natural objects is almost a religious experience during fasting. It's like the heightened senses that come with fasting allow me to appreciate the intricate details of nature. I learn patience and the value of slowing down. If fasting, slowing down, or controlling your food intake sounds intriguing, give me a holler. I’ll break my silence tomorrow.

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