The Fast

It occurred to me, that when I have gotten the flu or a cold.  I loose my appetite, and my recovery has been the fastest when I retreat and don't eat anything, even if its for a couple days.  When I force food down my throat as suggested by those hoping to help, I don't get better as fast.   When animals get sick they stop eating for a few days.

It became clear that fasting is our built-in doctor.  Two months ago I started to fast for 24 hours a day, one day a week.  Only water.  And then a few days ago, I completed a week long fast.  Only water.

Day 1 - easy, since I have been practicing.

Day 2 - Hunger pang central - I would have eaten my willpower.

Day 3 - Weak, no energy.  I hunkered down and watched movies all day.

Day 4 - Brilliant - strong yoga, a nice walk, and very productive all around.

Day 5 - Weak again.  Laid low

Day 6 - I felt fine.  Started with a strong yoga, and ran my errands.  Not hungry at all.  

Day 7 - I felt different.  Enough energy to have a normal day.  Started to eat very liquidy light food.

What a week.  Clearly food is not as essential as I would have thought, so its safe to ignore cravings.  Cravings don't mean we need food, cravings mean that I need to satisfy a habit.  Its really amazing how conditioned we are to eat, and what we eat.  At the risk of projecting, I would say that what we do between eating is simply to kill time.  Thats probably a bit of an overstatement, but going a few days without food it certainly seems possible.  It also seems that the line between emotion and food is not dotted but quite bold.  Even in the case of routine meals.  Our bodies and mind know a meal is coming and it changes accordingly, in anticipation.

All things considered, including those not considered...fasting provides tremendous mental clarity.  Going forward if I know that if I am embarking on a project or have to make an important decision...I will first fast for a couple of days.  

Fasting is a portal into a higher level of consciousness.