Tomorrow I begin my fourth 28-day-cleanse. It's hip to call these things "cleanses" or "detoxification" or whatever these days, but what it boils down to is that I am going to be taking part in a four week long fast. It's not a complete fast, like Moses or Jesus wandering through the desert for 40 days with nothing but water, sore feet, and temptation, but it's a fast nonetheless. And it got me thinking about how in the past, I don't feel as if I have taken as much advantage of these fasts as I could have...in fact, the last time I was downright lazy about it. Sure, I only ate--or didn't eat--what I was supposed to and all that, but fasting isn't just about what we (don't) eat.
I've been reading up on fasting the past few days, and it seems to me that every major spiritual group that fasts (which is pretty much all of them) does so with these primary reasons in mind:
1. To deprive the body of earthly things that clutter our minds and get in the way of spiritual growth;
2. To make a path for greater spiritual connection with God or the gods or the Self or the Universe whatever-it-is;
3. To regain control of ourselves--to practice self-disipline, self-control, patience, and endurance; dare I say "to resist temptation?";
4. To reflect on the fact that there are others out there who live in deprivation every day;
and, in addition to that, traditional Ayurvedic medicine adds that
5. By abstaining from eating--either by eating only simple foods or by abstaining from food completely--we give the digestive system time to rest and the body time to get rid of any impurities that are weighing us down or causing us illness. It is a time of rest and rejuvenation for the system. It is restorative.
So, why am I blogging about this? In particular, I have read that Orthodox Christians and Muslims specify that one should "suffer in silence." To announce to the world, "Hey! I'm fasting! And I am soooo awesome and spiritual and, oh yeah, soooo dying for a plate of french fries!" is tacky and defies much of the spiritual purpose of fasting. However, I have decided to blog about my experience because: (a) I am supposed to keep a journal anyway, and last fall I was totally terrible at keeping my journal. Perhaps blogging will motivate me. (b) I come across information that I find interesting and I like to share with others. (c) I like to take pictures of my food and post them for the world to see. Food is fun. And (d) I hope that maybe my journey will inspire others to try a fast sometime. I actually find it exciting.
The specifics of this fast are as follows. First and foremost, there are no processed foods allowed, no caffeine, no sugar, no alcohol. Only whole, vegan foods. Week 1 is vegan whole foods week. Week 2 is raw foods only--that's where it gets interesting. You may think this seems like a very boring way to eat, but you'd be amazed at what can be done with plant based foods, a Vitamix, and a good food dehydrator. Week 3 is juice only. The longest I have made it is 5 1/2 days. I debated just doing a fruit fast this time because I tend to binge after a juice fast and wreck everything I worked so hard to achieve, but I am still thinking that over. And week 4 is raw foods again, slowly introducing easily digestible foods to the system. I always feel awesome until week four when I break down and buy something fried or make a grilled veggie cheese sandwich. I need to work on that.
I am also adding something that I haven't done before. I am going to focus this month on the Niyama Tapas. More on that later, but it seems to fit pretty well with what I am trying to accomplish, which is to train myself to stick with the hard stuff when my feet are in the fire.
So there you have it. Day 1 tomorrow.
Namaste.
