Introduction
The idea of fasting is still tied to the spiritual and religious practices. When we first heard about fasting, we immediately relate the term to the Catholics who practice this during Lent or to Muslims during Ramadan. In ancient times when people fasted they believed that doing so would improve their clarity of thought, and bring spiritual enlightenment and inspiration. In fact many people who fast relay a feeling of being more removed from the physical and a more spiritually focussed consciousness. It should be reflected however, that having strong values is integral to this – as mental attitude is huge part of ones sense of the world.
Most would consider fasting as a spiritual enlightenment. But what is really behind fasting that those who practice it have an aura of well contentment and happiness. Those who practice them don’t seem to have the effect of the environment on their physical outlook.
A few of us have tried fasting but not everyone understands its concept and benefits therefore the more we need to know on the subject to fully grasp its benefits.
For those who already are in fasting, you’re further given the insights of fasting. The benefits to be fully enjoyed, one must accompany it with healthy lifestyle and healthy eating habits. Fasting is useless if we don’t have the two to accompany it with the two.
As you read on, you will find a lot of information on the topic. And you near the end of this, you can be assured that you will learn more than what you expect. Then perhaps see that change you always wanted.
Take note however that results will vary with each person as each and every one of us response differently. Two people can be subjected to the same conditions and their reactions can be quite different. So never compare your results with another, what is important is that you feel that positive change in your body, mind and soul.
“In my opinion, the greatest discovery by modern man is the power to rejuvenate himself physically, mentally, and spiritually with Rational Fasting.”
[Lose Weight Fasting by Paul Bragg, ND, PhD]
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What is Fasting?
Fasting is the abstaining from ALL FOOD. Fasting means taking in nothing but WATER. NO JUICE, NO FRUIT, NO TEAS, NOTHING BUT WATER.
Often people will make the comment, "I'm fasting, I just have my coffee in the morning and a sandwich in the afternoon." That is not fasting. Fasting in its strictest sense is the total abstinence from anything considered food, and that's anything but water. There are modified fasts such as a juice fast, i.e., consuming nothing but fruit and/or vegetable juices or a fruit fast, consuming nothing but raw fruits.
There are other such fasts that abstain from everything EXCEPT the item that precedes the word "fast". For example, a grapefruit fast, is abstaining from everything except grapefruits. Many health enthusiasts, for particular reasons, may place individuals on particular types of fasts restricting them to one or a group of foods (usually fruits or teas), for healing purposes.
Many ask, "If I'm on a fast can I have a little piece of fruit, or a little piece of bread?" Or a little piece of "you fill in the blank." If it isn't water, the answer is no! A true fast is NOTHING BUT WATER and more specifically, pure water.
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WHY FAST?
(The Spiritual)
In a spiritual setting the emphasis is often on the denial of the self and the carnal desires to allow us to become more sensitive to God. Food is man's greatest carnal impulse. Many believe that sex is the strongest fleshly drive, but it is not. We may think ego is the strongest of the fleshly impulses, but it is not. From the day we are born, the desire for food reigns dominant.
As newborn infants we first seek the love, comfort and warmth of our mothers, then we cry for food. The sex drive does not develop until the onset of puberty, our teenage years. Sex is the last drive to arrive and the first one to leave. The food drive is present from the beginning to the end, it never leaves, it never disappears. The latest U.S. government study shows that over 60% of all Americans are overweight.
We eat too much. Gluttony, the lack of discipline of the appetite, causes us to look old prematurely, to feel old before we get old and to suffer many different diseases.
All the major killer diseases of today, heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, kidney failure, prematurely kill the majority of Americans and their sources are traceable to our lifestyles and diets. Science has found that it's just as important that we don't overeat, as it is that we eat properly.
Let me repeat that - studies have found that it's as important that we not eat to excess, as it is that we eat properly.
Fasting allows us to gain control of the appetite. When you can develop the discipline to fast, you automatically develop the discipline not to overeat. When you can control your strongest carnal appetite (the desire for food), you can then gain control of the other carnal appetites.
There are many different spiritual reasons why people or groups fast. Sometimes it is to show unity for a cause such as a fast against war, or injustice, or a host of other social ills. Fasting in a group allows you to achieve something that you would never achieve on your own. You can draw on the strength, the determination, the support, and the prayers of the group. Some fast at preset intervals, once per week, once per month, one month per year, etc. Some fast when the social or spiritual need arises. Some fast because the minister said so.
There are many different reasons to fast.
It is important to remember when you fast for spiritual reasons:
FASTING DOES NOT CHANGE GOD!
FASTING CHANGES YOU
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WHY FAST?
The Physical
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Anything that God ordains has benefits for us here on earth. Yes, fasting has great spiritual benefits but there are very real and tangible rewards in the flesh, or shall I say for our flesh. Fasting, when properly done, can provide great benefits for our physical bodies.
Americans are sick. Everything from Arthritis to Zits, you name it, we've got it. The church is no exception. Ever been to a church when a well-known healer comes to visit? Have you ever noticed how long the healing line is? Come back to that church a year later and look at the line. It will be just as long, with many of the same people in it.
God did not intend for us to be sick. He did not originally intend for us to be healed because we should not have been sick in the first place. You only need healing if you are sick. Man was cast out of the Garden of Eden, cast out of perfect harmony, cast out of a perfect life, and cast out of perfect health when he (or they) ate the wrong thing. We've been eating the wrong things ever since then.
When we eat the wrong things, we eventually get sick, or at least do not have the health and vitality that we should possess. Proper fasting allows God through nature to heal the body. Look at nature for a minute.
If you have a cat or a dog, think about their behavior. If you do not have a cat or dog, then ask someone who does and they will verify what I'm going to tell you. What happens when a cat or a dog gets sick? What do they eat?
Think about this VERY CAREFULLY!
What do they eat when they are sick? Is it PUPPY CHOW®? NINE LIVES®? GRAVY TRAIN®? PUSS 'N BOOTS®? Well, what do they eat? Anyone that has a cat or dog can tell you instantly what they eat when they are sick.
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
NO ANIMAL IN NATURE EATS FOOD WHEN IT IS SICK,
EXCEPT YOU-KNOW-WHO!
Animals instinctively, automatically know what is best for them and they FAST! Man is the only creation on the earth that will force himself to eat when he is sick, all of God's other creations know better. They fast.
Man possesses a higher intelligence and is in an entirely different category than the other animals but our bodies work remarkably similar. That is why scientific researchers can test pre-market products on animals. They know the animals' bodies react just as ours do. What hurts their bodies hurts ours and what heals their bodies also heals ours.
I am not advocating animal testing but the connection is undeniable. Their bodies respond similarly to ours.
The same principles of basic health apply. The same foods affect different species of animals with similar metabolic processes and digestive systems in the same way. What causes animals (with similar metabolic processes and digestive systems to ours) to get sick also causes us to get sick. What causes them to get well, causes us to get well. If their bodies work like ours, their bodies will react like ours. You don't need a medical research degree to figure that out.
Fasting is a natural instinct among the animal kingdom when something is wrong with their bodies. They know to stop eating. We may not feel hungry when we are sick but we have been conditioned to eat for strength and to get well.
The digestion of food, especially the typical American diet, takes a tremendous amount of energy. That is why after a big meal you feel sleepy. It can take several days for the typical meal to pass through your body. It takes all of your energy trying to digest that big meal. The body works overtime.
When the body stops digesting food, digestion energy is transferred to do other things. It is those "OTHER THINGS" that the body does with this energy that makes a fast so beneficial.
The minute the digestion energy is released from digestion, the body starts to use it. What does your body do with it? It starts to do primarily ONE THING. It is this one thing that makes fasting so powerful and yet so dangerous. This one thing allows for miraculous cures and instant recoveries of all types of diseases. Once it is understood, there is nothing magical about it. It is simple, but most things of great power are at the root, simple.
This one thing can make such a transformation in your life and health that you will become a permanent believer in the power of fasting for your health.
This one thing, if not understood, can also make you never want to try fasting again. It is nothing new but most people have never heard of it. Most ministers have never spoken on it. Most doctors are even unaware of its mechanism or that it exists. Any fasting book for health will talk about it, but most of us have never read a book on the PHYSICAL HEALTH aspects of fasting.
This is the ONE PRINCIPLE that you must thoroughly understand and know! If you do not understand this, ignorance can discourage, discomfort, or KILL YOU!
[ By Nathaniel Bronner Jr]
