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Fasting once a month is great for me (2-3 days). I tried a water fast a couple of times when I first started exploring my personal spiritualality but now I do juice fasts regularly for health reasons.
Of course water fasts are more hard-core and short term. I felt as if my mind was less clouded by garbage and I was more aware, less stressed. Water fasts made me sluggish and I slept and urinated a lot so this kind of fast is good maybe once a year, for 1-2 days, for spiritual development. I come out feeling very aware and open.
The juice fasts has helped me a lot. I suffered from chronic PMS-like symptoms and painful cramping that once put me in the hospital. The juice fasts diminish these symptoms, regulate & strenghthen my "system" and encourage me to eat healthier.
Preparation is key to fasting, for me. A couple of days before a fast I stop eating processed foods, including candy, chocolate, enriched bread and rice etc. I eat more organic fruit and veggies and the night before I eat a light meal containing the fruit & veggie I will drink during my fast.
During the fast I drink half spring water and half one type of juice (usually a mix carrots, beets, apples, grapes and watermelon). The juice is freshly squeezed or organic with no additives or preservatives. Drinking one type of juice keeps my digestive activity to a minimum. I break the fast with the same fruit and veggies I had during the fast.
I know lots of women who suffer various gynecological ailments and when they hear about my success with fasting they always express an interest but can't get with fasting. They see fasting as some sort of punishment or unhealthy/dangerous. I tried all the traditional methods and baffled all the doctors when the methods did little to relieve my symptoms. But fasting does much more for me. It's a process.
If I want to get full of a satisfying life I have to empty myself (mind, body, bowels and wallet) on a regular basis. Fasting has become part of my routine and I do it the same time every month.
"By emptying your mind of thoughts, you make space for new information, realizations, visions and dreams.
By emptying your heart of desires, you make space for peace and quiet compassion.
By emptying your belly of food, you make room for chi (energy).
By emptying your pockets of money you make room for riches."
What's empty will become full.
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"Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own" --Paulo Coelho, "The Alchemist"
"Know thyself"
"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you". So we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?" -- Hebrews 13:5,6
"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path" --Morpheus in "The Matrix" (and a Buddhist philosophy)
"It's our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"- Dumbledore to Harry Potter "Chamber of Secrets"
<--- Blame this lady for Nutty.
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