A Spiritual Experiment: Fasting for Enlightenment

I have to begin by stating up front, I manage my life with just enough prayers, morals, and self-control to get by. Lately, I've been curious as to what I've been missing and at the risk of sounding quasi-spiritual, I feel as if the universe is nudging my heart just a little. This morning, April 21, 2009, I happened onto a few lenses by Squid Angel, spiritual, one of which sent me googling for over an hour.

If you're curious, check out her lens:

Alternative Christianity Books-- "spiritual" provides the basic information on Esoteric Christianity.

fast-- 1. To abstain from food. 2. To eat very little or abstain from certain foods, esp. as a religious discipline.

In my old Webster's II New College Dictionary, I found that abstaining from meat, animal by products, wine, and cigarettes, is a valid form of fasting. Vegetables, grains, and fruits are on the "to do" list. I'm allowed to eat these as well as drinking water, juices, coffee, teas, and soda. Still, I've decided to limit the soda and caffeine because although this fast may seem easy, it's a vast departure from my normal lifestyle.

For an old-fashioned Texan, this will be interesting to go three days without steak, wine, and cigarrettes all at the same time. I'm beginning at 11:00 a.m. Central Standard Time, and the object is to determine whether vegetarianism is a lifestyle I want to continue. Are the benefits worth the personal sacrifice? Will I outgrow my true joy with indulgence? Will I enter into a new arena of self-awareness? I don't know yet. Time will tell.

My natural glib sense of humor is suffering. I don't feel like laughing. I should explain quickly as my second day was fine. Meditation, gardening, and relaxing in between nibbles from yesterday's vegan leftovers, all in all, a day of tranquil experiences-- until bedtime. I couldn't fall asleep for hours and once I did fall asleep, I had bloody nightmares for the four hours of "rest" until I awoke. I have no explanation for this as it caught me a little by surprise.

I have a working theory that I'll try to explain. I've read in the past that the spiritual "fast" itself is a time for spiritual death, temptation, and for lack of a better word, suffering. It's only after the fast is broken after successful completion of a goal and a pushing through the pains and temptations, that we see enlightenment, blessings, and even possibly miracles.

Although this is a theory based on past teaching, I'm trying to avoid any type of dogmatic explanations. However, thinking along this vein has helped to alleviate any fears and temptations to give up early. I'm sticking with this for one more day as planned, and maybe I'll have more insights tomorrow.

The third day of the vegan fast winds down in easy drawn out moments. With two hours left before breaking the fast, I feel tired, but satisfied. I've had no visions or great epiphanies, but I really didn't expect such. On the bright side, last night left no nightmares. As of this moment, I sense not a thunderbolt and lightning sense of divine change, but one rather of subtle shifting, a deeper sense of peace that has emerged from a sense of greater self-control.

At this point, I find the vegan fast to be the healthiest fast I've ever been on. It's comparable to the fast of Daniel in the Holy Bible. Simply abridged, Daniel lived his entire life with no meats, no sweets, and no wine.

This past three days has shown little fatigue, greater clarity of mind, and greater efficiency of physical systems. I highly recommend this fast for anyone that's just beginning, wants to try the vegan lifestyle, needs a physical tuneup, or desires to fast on a regular basis while continuing work or school.

I'm unconcerned as to the meager rewards this fast has yielded so far. Many times, spiritual awareness and benefits emerge days, weeks, and beyond. I anticipate answers to some of my cosmic and personal questions in the near future. One of the questions that caused me to proceed with this experiment was the question of a vegan lifestyle.

As of yet, I'm undecided. I found some worthy benefits, but I don't feel that three days is an adequate time slot to determine a life change that is this dramatic. As such, I'm going to continue the "no meats, no sweets" idea for awhile and see where that takes me.

Breaking the fast ends in prayers and meditations. Engorging oneself on substances elimated during the fast is an incorrect and sometimes dangerous way to break a fast. Greater self-control is achieved when a person is able to enjoy his indulgences in this life in moderation.


Now that my fast is over, I've already begun to notice several changes. The main change is a simple shift in attitude. I have such respect for those who choose a vegan lifestyle. This is a commitment in lifestyle and purpose that's a deliberate one. How many of us live so much of our lives on autopilot, hardly thinking about the moment by moment choices we make? I know that in the days and weeks to come, I want to live in a more deliberate way.

As for myself, my indulgent pleasures are sweeter now. I'm able to enjoy them without the guilt and physical consequences of overindulgence. I made it one extra day on vegan food, but by the next morning, my hunger for steak got the better of me. I could say that maybe I'm not so evolved yet, or maybe I'm just not ready, and maybe that's true. But I can't see things that way for myself at all. In spite of my newly developed respect for the vegan way of life, I feel no remorse for my meat craving ways. I'm at peace with who I am.

I enjoy my pure tobacco, a delicious cocktail, and a perfectly cooked steak. Now I enjoy the sweet indulgences in my life deliberately, thanking God and the earth and the cow. Please don't laugh. I really respect the planet that provides my pleasures. My peace with who I am has emerged with my ability to control indulgence, a sense of control I gained through this fast and through a study of concepts that were once foreign to me. I plan to fast again and again, maybe once or twice a month. I find that I want to continue to seek spiritual things.



As the fast is broken, I have come to embrace a beautiful thought that just came to my mind. We all are the subjects, controllers, and observers of a great spiritual experiment, and it is one that never ends. Blessings.

With caution and surprise, I now realize that this experiment that I began so capriciously has yielded changes in life circumstances and attitudes that promise to change my life forever. As stated earlier, this isn't uncommon. Many times the effects of a spiritual fast seem to be time-delayed. As the beginning benefits were enough six weeks ago, the changes now are a bit mind staggering. An update is certainly in order.

The first unusual coincidence was the appearance of my twenty-year-old daughter with her announcement that she was now a vegetarian. She arrived for her visit a couple of days after my fast was ended, and since I hadn't mentioned anything to her on the subject, I was surprised. I offered her this link plus a couple by Spiritual to help her with nutrition. I also took her to our local health market where I gifted her with her first bottles of Spirulina and expeller pressed extra virgin olive oil. As the weeks passed, I continued to enjoy meat, but many visits and lunches with my daughter brought about an interesting transformation.

I shared her vegetarian menu to encourage her choice and found the food filling and delicious. She felt comfortable enough to share her reasons and philosophy on the idea, and soon I was eating less meat and more vegis. It was a perfectly natural and stress-free conversion, and I haven't eaten any meat in a week. It's still a puzzle to my mind that I have no cravings for meat at all.

Besides this major shift in my menu, I'm beginning to reap many areas of spiritual growth as well. With every breakthrough, I continue to look back to that initial three-day fast that started it all. I'm convinced that the changes I'm going through now could not have been coincidental. As silly and flippant as I was going into this journey, I managed to sneak through a spiritual door of some kind (or at least a window).

Maybe, the greatest encouragement I can offer is this. Seek and you will find. I did that in spite of flippancy, self-ridicule, and cynicism. But something inside me found a way past all of that. I did seek, and even though I wasn't particularly good at it, I did find a few things of value along the way. Good luck to you in your journey.

Fasting is a practice that is thousands of years old. Many people choose to fast today for a variety of reasons. This list contains a few:

*Medical Fasting-- Before many medical operations and procedures, patients are required to measure a segment of time without food and water. This is so important to the safety of the patient that the procedure will be cancelled if the patient fails to observe the fast properly.

*Diet Fasting-- Not only is this type of fasting dangerous, it never works. A proper fast very often will yield slight weight loss as a pleasant side effect, but fasting to lose weight just doesn't work. The tendency always exists when breaking any fast to binge completely on everything that has been denied. This is an unhealthy and incorrect way to break any fast, but the health risks are compounded when a person is already overweight. Find another answer to a weight problem. One clarification, fasting while overweight is okay if done for the right reasons. Depending on particular circumstances, it may be wise to consult with a dietician or medical professional.

*Spiritual Awareness-- This is gaining a resurgence in popularity, and many find this reason for fasting rewarding. Many who desire spiritual awareness or guidance read, study, and plan before fasting so they are aware of both possible rewards as well as risks and drawbacks.

*Social, Political, and Collective Spiritual Change-- Actually, Jesus, Moses, and Ghandi are the only ones I've ever heard of that accomplished anything in this way, but I'm sure there are other less famous cases. Many equate this type of fasting to the childhood equivalent of, "I'm not eating until I get my way." In fact, fasting for social change is more involved and is a type of fasting that should only be done if a person feels he is being "called" to serve in this way by a higher power. It is a dangerous form of fasting on many levels and shouldn't be toyed with.

Tips for a Successful Fast:

*Know Your Limits-- If ever during the course of a fast, unusual mental or physical symptoms are too aggravating, it's not a contest. It's okay to quit and fast at a later time when things get better.

*Drink lots of fluids-- No matter what type of fast, it's probably going to eliminate toxins more rapidly than a normal lifestyle diet, and flushing your organs with liquid, particularly water (at least 8 glasses per day), will insure stable or improved health at the end.

*No alcohol-- Alcohol is counterproductive to the ideology of fasting. It may also be dangerous.

*Do you smoke?-- Fasting is possible while smoking, but better for health, self-control, and spiritual awareness if abstinence is attained. Do the best you can with this as it's often a separate issue. Smoking a pure tobacco brand (usually found only at a "smoke shop") a week or two before or during the fast may help as these have absolutely no chemical additives. Some of the additives in American domestic brands cause heightened nicotine dependency and all additives are toxic in their own right. Note: pure tobacco contains more tar and nicotine, so cutting back or abstaining is best.

*Caffeine-- Less is more. When fasting, caffeine has exaggerated effectiveness. Allow at least half the normal caffeine intake.

*Soda-- Soda pop is loaded with sodium (salt). Also, the CO2 is less hydrating than water, juice, and tea. This can lead to edema (water retention). Also, it can cause false feelings of hydration. Don't allow dehydration during a fast.

*Herbs and Herbal Teas-- These can aid comfort in time of fasting, but be careful. Chamomile tea thins the blood much like Ibuprophen and aspirin. One cup is calming. Too much can be harmful. Almost all herbal teas and supplements have side effects. Know these contraindications and don't overcompensate on a fast by taking too many herbs. A substance isn't automatically safe just because it's natural. (Isn't hemlock natural?)

Misconceptions About Fasting:

*Fasting will tear the body down-- Proper fasting improves body function and overall health.

*You can lose a ton of weight fast!-- Fasting typically slows metabolism which actually makes losing weight much more difficult.

*Fasting isn't necessary anymore. It was something people did long ago-- Spiritual fasting has been steadily gaining popularity within the last twenty-five years. It's benefits are multiple including better health, spiritual awareness, and mental clarity.

*You'll starve to death-- This is related to misinformation as to the nature of the fast. Many types of fasts are followed, rarely to abstain completely from food. As exception, a one day fast without food or water is generally safe with doctor's consent.

*You'll die of thirst-- Again, one day is safe with doctor's consent. All other fasts require intense hydration.

This list is incomplete. Depending on the type of fast chosen, more research, study, and preparation may be required. The author and Squidoo absorbs no liability. Fasting like dieting is done at your own risk.