The Power of Fasting

Thanks blossomtea.

This kind of reminds me of another thread I was planning but I'll just put it here.

When I'm sick, especially if it's the flu, it's always during or after a time of high stress (fears). According to Louise Hay, flu is caused by believing in fear or the statistics of others, but not listening to yourself or believing in yourself. While not all her affirmations worked for me, her words on the flu fit me.

Usually, when I get sick I can't eat anything, can't spend much time online, can't watch TV or listen to music. Thankfully, I don't get sick often but the only things I can do really are read a book, sleep, or be alone. And when I'm alone, feeling all that pain, it's like my will-power is so focused and razor sharp to make it through this. All I have really are my thoughts, so when I'm sick I try extra harder to make my thoughts more centered on my resilience. My mind is completely focused on getting better and I'm more in tune to God's help. When I'm not sick, I barely ask God for help, and maybe God's got a black sense of humor like me. He makes me sick so I can finally talk to him .

But after the sickness, I always feel relieved, more powerful, especially in my mind. It's like I'm more connected to a powerful force and maybe it's Source energy. I always feel sharper in my mind, like my will-power can't be beat, thanks to the single-minded focus on the thought of being healthy and strong again. And the same fears and stress that maybe caused the cold/flu no longer frighten me.

So maybe we have ways to balance ourselves so that we can get connected to Source again? Maybe that's why bad things happen but it can be a blessing in disguise? Because it's a way to help you get back in touch with your Source energy? Maybe fasting can get us in touch with Source because we direct our Mind closer to being connected to Source instead of enjoying physical things for ourselves alone. But, if we eat food in the name of God, or imagine ourselves eating it as if we're having lunch with God, than surely gluttony can connect us to Source?

I'd like to get back today to this topic, finally! I think it's a very important topic, for various reasons. Just my two cents anyway.


1. In short, the body and the mind are indeed one unit not two, and BOTH are the product of the primal Force, of life, often referred to especially in the East as "Prana."  Although we receive Prana from various sources, a major supply of Prana comes from the food we eat. Food gives our body the gross energy it needs to function. However, food also gives a "finer" kind of energy to build and run the mind as well. That's why the kind of food we eat influences our mind and character. Vegetarians for example don't "think" or even "feel" like those who eat meat. They generally don't have the same tendencies, inclinations, or attitude. This is mainly because of the difference between the finer energies the different kinds of food provide the mind with.

2. Either way, the mind is like a "lake" whose surface is always vibrating, rippling and waving. It's these ripples and waves that we call "thoughts" and "feelings"—and it's these ripples and waves that stir the mud of the lake and as such we never really see the reflection of the Moon on its surface, nor can we see the bottom of the lake. In this analogy, the Moon is the real Self, or "God Within," and the bottom of the lake is the "template" of this particular human; the grooves, hills and holes that define the character and shapes its fates—or in a more modern language, the "imprints" on the unconscious mind in its deepest levels.

3. Fasting, therefore, decreases the supply of energy provided to the mind. As a result, the surface of the lake becomes quieter and calmer, with less ripples and waves, and the water of the mind-lake generally becomes cleaner and purer. Fasting thus results in a different "state of mind" during which we may feel more "spiritual or "elevated," because now, albeit unconsciously, we have a better vision of God Within, reflected on the quiet surface of the lake, and thus more "presence" of the real Self we actually are.

4. To keep indefinitely fasting, however, won't lead to more elevation, or to spiritual enlightenment. At some point, the basic functions of the mind, including memory, will come to a halt, and the body itself will soon collapse. It's a very misleading notion that the more we fast, or generally turn ascetic, the better for our spiritual experience. I'm afraid this is totally incorrect. On the contrary, spiritual healers and Prana workers in general need more supply of Prana than anyone else. It's this Prana that heals, literally, and it might be helpful here to recall the Biblical story about "the woman who touched Jesus":

5. "She said, if I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." After a 30-mile journey, and 12 years of bleeding, came up this faithful and determining woman quietly "behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak." Immediately her bleeding stopped. But Jesus turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" That was very surprising indeed. The place was very crowded and his disciples must have rather asked, "Who didn't touch your cloths?" But "Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it." The rest of the story is well known, but what is the verse or the "keyword" missing here? What is the verse that explains why Jesus, of all "touches," felt and asked about particularly this touch from the bleeding woman? (A key less celebrated or even dropped altogether in the modern narrations of this story [here for example], mainly to emphasize only the "power of faith," also to avoid what has never been clear to the Christian mind, or even consistent with the Christian dogma). It's this verse, Mark 5:30:

And straightway Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power proceeding from him had gone forth, turned him about in the crowd, and said, "Who touched my garments?"

And in older translations:

And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him, turned about in the press of the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”

It is simply this "power" or "virtue" in the Bible that we are talking about here today--the primal Force of Life and of every healing; only one of whose many names is the Sanskrit Prana although the "power" itself was known to all ancient peoples the world over. So Jesus was a true healer who, like all healers, knew how to accumulate and store this Prana in his body and even feel it when it's low or gone for whatever reason.


6. Conclusion: Fasting gives the human system a different, calmer "state of mind," and is preferable so long as within certain limits. As important, however, is the choice of our diet and what kind of food we frequently eat. Because the body and mind is indeed one not two separate parts, the more we eat meat, for example, the more our minds become influenced or "colored" by the "character" of the animal from which the meat came. If that animal were dull or lustful, for example, we'd "tend" to have more such inclinations and thoughts; if violent and ferocious, we'd more easily get angry and again tend to be more aggressive, and so on. Finally, a good deal of Prana should always be available in the body, not necessarily to heal anyone but for self-healing. More Prana (from the air, food and other sources) generally means faster self-healing, livelier body, and sharper mind.

Interesting topic. I think living a healthy lifestyle/ eat clean is more important than fasting every now and then. It's all about balance. If you go fasting for 2 weeks and consume too many fast sugars the other 50 weeks of the year, you lose the effect of fasting. For me there are also other ways to get a calm state of mind, but honestly I cannot compare. I have had days with little or no food and I literally go brain dead I get hangry (hungry and angry) and am no where near being a peaceful human being. I am curious if it works for others though. Sports is my meditation, to empty my mind, so I cannot go a day without carbs. But sometimes taking a break from daily life, going in a retreat, be silent for two weeks and detox do comes to mind

This thread is making me hungry.





(And to Lotus, yes, that is definitely vegetarian pizza.    )

A couple of personal thoughts - like Sunshine I get hangry. At the same time, I must admit that I also get lighteheaded in a way that I can understand as leading to the spiritual. Also, hangriness can only last for so long. If you go on being hungry for a long time eventually it leaves you and you no longer feel the need to eat.

My experience has been that at the times when I was simply eating less (not fasting) and getting physically thinner, I've felt more connected to my soul, whereas at my bulkiest times I feel happy, relaxed, down to earth. And materialistic.

But then - at times of greatest stress I rend to swing to one extreme or the other: either I continually stuff myself like some kinda emotional eater in the hope of getting the sheer groundedness of being bulky or I lose all interest in food. The latter I'll admit is more a depression thing. I just get apathetic when I'm depressed. In an interview Emma Thompson said she's never been suicidal but wanted to just "turn off", to shut down the world. When I'm like that I lose even my love of food.

Even this wouldn't make me feel better.



So in summary, maybe a balance is needed. It's possible to be energetic with little food, and I can see how it connects you (potentially at least) to your higher consciousness. But you can't overdo the fasting either, and if you're in a bad mood no matter how little you eat it isn't going to get you experiencing enlightenment.

On a related note, why is it that I can totally imagine myself eating that pizza right now, taste the flavours in my  mouth, salivate, swallow, drool, recreate with genius accuracy the experience of eating pizza, but not be able to assuage my pangs of hunger in even the smallest way?

This topic is a bit large guys. No, fasting doesn't necessarily lead to any spiritual experience or even enhance your mood. It only "sedates" the mind and therefore, like several other practices and materials, allows for altered states of consciousness. Generally speaking, however, the mind is always subject to three different forces or energies. The combination of these forces, and which is predominating over the others, is what finally determines not only our mood and state of mind but also our overall "personality" or "character." It's because of these three forces, and the countless combinations thereof, that we are different from one another. Even as individuals, our characters change over time as we go through different combinations of these forces.

Let's call these forces A, B and C: A represents all that is pure, ideal and tranquil, while B expresses itself in action, motion and restlessness, and C is the expression of solidity, immobility and resistance. A is the principle of "poise," conducive to purity, knowledge and joy. B is the principle of motion, leading to activity, desire, and violence. C is the principle of inertia resulting in inaction, dullness and delusion. C causes the mind to move on a low level; B scatters the mind and makes it restless, and A gives it a higher direction. According to their effects, as an ancient sage once put it, "non-attachment, forgiveness, generosity, etc. are products of A. Desire, anger, avarice, etc. are products of B. Lethargy, confusion, drowsiness, etc. are products of C. When A functions in the mind, merit is acquired; when B functions, demerit is produced. When C functions, neither merit nor demerit is produced, but life is wasted for nothing."

Thus, when a friend like Adi here, just for example, always writes about the necessity of action and of moving ahead toward one's goals in life, it's probably a very good advice, but it's also likely the expression of force B predominating over his mind and personality. When another frequently expresses his/her laziness or tendency to relax and do nothing—or just has the typical thought/attitude of "why give a damn?" toward situations and events—chances are that force C is taking over.


Now in light of this, for fasting to lead to a spiritual experience, force A has to be predominant, first of all, or at least desired and sought after. (This "A" energy by the way is luminous, surrounding the very "Soul" and therefore often viewed as the last "veil" between man and his true Self or God Within. Those on a spiritual path, therefore, first strive to have this A force overcoming B and C and ruling their mind and life in general, then strive again to get rid of this A itself, thus finally reach their goal and become their true Being—"unite" with the Source and become "One with God.") But if force A is rather overcome, covered by force B or C, or both, fasting will only sedate the mind temporarily; and if particularly force B was predominant, anger (or "hanger" ) would probably surface.


(Not to mention in this context the religiously-driven terrorists who do fast more than any of their fellow Muslims or Christians or Jews. Does fasting make them any calmer, purer, more spiritual or even moral—or the world any safer? On the contrary, it makes them more irritable, violent and lunatic; gives most of them an overdose of anger that they typically turn into more hatred towards the "infidels" we are—the enemies of Allah or Yahweh or Lord Jesus or whatever name they give to the bloody devil they worship).