peace

fasting is a beautiful practice. i believe it to be one of the purest forms of spiritual development. it is also a more direct way to commune with the Divine. as Saint Augustine put it: "Do you wish your prayer to fly toward God? Give it two wings: fasting and almsgiving." fasting accompanied with sincere prayer, pondering and giving the money one would have used for meals is indeed a powerful spiritual practice. were it not so it would probably not be so ubiquitous, for some form of fasting is found in virtually all modern religions, and it is even found in older 'pagan' traditions as well. a powerful example of fasting is Jesus Christ. the new testament attests that Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness before beginning his ministry in the holy land. there must be some connection between Jesus' fasting and his final preparation before he began to preach. fasting on certain holy days is still practiced in modern judaism; a typical fast lasts twenty-five hours.

in my faith the common practice is to fast on the first sunday of every month. typically the fast begins after lunch on saturday and ends at lunchtime on sunday, making the fast roughly twenty-four hours. i think i did it once or twice last year. it's easy to forget, especially since the idea of going without food for a full day is not exactly appealing to the average person. i want to fast more frequently this year. i have had some incredible experiences through fasting in the past and i want more of that. it's interesting how easy it is to not do it again even though i have had such wonderful experiences doing it. i can be a slow learner when it comes to things like this. i guess it's the whole idea of sacrificing something good in order to get something better--the dificulty comes in the fact that that better something is most often intangible, while food and time can be measured and enjoyed. in a world of instant gratification fasting isn't exactly popular.

another aspect of fasting that i forgot to mention is faith; faith that it will work, that it will bring me closer to God, that it will bring clarity of mind and peace to my soul. add faith to the equation and fasting becomes much more than voluntary starvation. miracles can happen through sincere fasting and prayer.

through fasting this time around i have been blessed with a beautiful burning sensation in my chest; i identify it as peace. this feeling is not new for me, for i have felt it many times before and on many different occasions, and it is unmistakably peace. i believe this peace is gifted to me as confirmation of the existence of the Divine and that i am on the right track (which could be any number of tracks or paths, for there are many 'right' tracks, still it's nice to have the assurance that i'm on at least one of them). noteworthy also at this time for me is the conflict between my head and my heart, for my head still has many unanswered questions and many doubts, yet my heart is at peace and it tells me that that peace is the only answer i need in this moment. my heart wins; i cannot deny it's wisdom. fasting reminds my that my thoughts are not always my ally and gives me a chance to forego my regular cycle of consumption in order to listen to my spirit. the amazing thing is that my spirit somehow speaks through my body, thus the warmth in my solar plexis and the peace in my body.

my intention is to fast twelve times this year. to help remind me to fast i also have the intention of having a sabbath "break-the-fast" meal with good friends on the afternoon of every first sunday. i began today. what better way to end a day of fasting, study and prayer than to break bread with good friends? these are the important things in life: my relationship with God, my relationship with myself and my relationships with others. that's what it's all about.