It’s Monday afternoon… I am almost at the end of my 4 day fast… a fast that included my beloved family members… just a few of them for now… This particular fast will end this evening with a warm bowl of mom’s vegetable soup… We actually got to taste test (smile) mom’s vegetable soup last evening… It was quite yummy… so much so I wanted to have a second bowl, but I decided to go with a slice of fresh, sweet and juicy pineapple instead… The slice of pineapple was our dessert option… Did the choice to go with just the pineapple slice rather than have another bowl of soup or rather than have both another bowl of soup and the pineapple slice make me feel better, not necessarily, nevertheless, decrease and discipline, are generally two main staples of fasting…

Fasting isn’t a new way of living for me… It is, however, a practice, made more formal, I’ve been incorporating into my life for at least 10 years, counting this year, 2019… Whether we knew it or not… for many of us… fasting has been a practice recommended by physicians and our parents for much of our lives, usually when experiencing common cold-like symptoms… Fasting, as doctors and our parents have learned, gives the body an opportunity to use its primal abilities to clear and clean all excess energy it doesn’t require, in order to restore and sustain optimal health… Fasting also gives the body a period of internal rest, which allows it to exert itself less and function more as it naturally would and should when it’s not being exercised… Some believe the fast that happens during the hours of sleep is more than enough… If this is so, why fast anymore than this… I agree, the fast that happens during our sleeping ours is enough… yet, when I’ve consumed more foods than normal, including foods that are not generally part of my diet… and when my sleeping hours have changed due to my work schedule, travel and other activities… fasting becomes a supplement my body utilizes to keep it holistically and completely healthy and well…

Fasting truly is not a modern or new concept… It’s a practice that existed even before the physicians we know and before our parents, grand parents and great grand parents… Fasting has probably existed since humanity has been in existence… Long before you and I were alive, indigenous people and cultures fasted or went without eating for extended periods, entailing days, because they felt it was only necessary to eat, and eat in small amounts, when their bodies required additional energy—hydration… The instinctive bodily stimulation, the body’s intrinsic ability to sense its need for hydration, might’ve happened only when a work day was a bit more strenuous… If breaking a fast, or eating, wasn’t to replenish the body with organic liquids, such as water, teas and tonics, with natural herbs and spices and with hand made foods, eating then was simply for festive occasions… to gather with family and friends, old and new, in order to foster a greater since of commonality, unity, community and pleasure…

Since becoming vegan, a lifestyle I chose around 2007/2008, I believe my own practices are closer to those of indigenous people, those who eat only when their bodies naturally feel the sensation to, primarily for replenishment, and plainly to enjoy a common and pleasurable practice with others… Eating only for these purposes have indeed benefitted me… I feel much more energized throughout each day… I feel lighter, yet completely grounded in very healthy ways… I feel and experience a greater sense of clarity and well-being… My body’s vitality is optimally sustained… I have a healthier relationship with food… I don’t crave food, I just enjoy it… and I’ve a healthier relationship with the earth… Since 99% of my food comes directly from the earth, I’ve learned to more deeply appreciate the earth—this amazing and natural resource… I share the aforementioned, 99%, because I’ve occasionally indulged in dairy derived from our animal family… What’s also quite important is… I have a healthier and more sincere relationship with myself and with others, because I am truly and holistically (spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically and otherwise), sound inside and out… What I feed my body, what I give to it, when consuming natural foods and beverages, is energy that not only keeps me feeling well balanced internally and externally, but is energy that more naturally supports the primitive intelligence and innate processes of my body…

It is now the evening of my last day of formally fasting… I’ve just had my last meal… Yes, mom’s absolutely delicious and hearty vegetable soup… I would’ve indeed loved a second bowl tonight too, instead my family and I enjoyed dessert and an after dinner drink… For our dessert we had a handful of organic, seedless, red grapes, roasted, yet unsalted mixed nuts… we usually eat only raw nuts and seeds, but we had roasted nuts on hand… and we had a warm cup of fresh lemon and lime water with cayenne and raw honey as our sweetener… Our palates and appetites were pleased… and I was pleased that my family completed this fast with me… There was a little cheating, just a little (smile)…  It wasn’t me… but I won’t tell on anyone else… Overall, everyone did a great job and I believe everyone felt a sense of accomplishment and indeed felt healthier and happier, outside of having light hunger sensations… These sensations were due to the brain and body still getting used to the decrease and discipline that goes along with fasting rather than the body experiencing dehydration… We had plenty of liquids throughout the day, including organic, whole, nutrient dense foods in liquified form… Having a kind and thoughtful conversation with one’s own brain was all the “good” food required to quiet the hunger sensations (smile)…

Speaking just about me again… I’ve been incorporating longer periods of fasting within each of my days… I do this by having only two meals a day, brunch and dinner, and rarely eat snacks in between… Fasting is now, simply part of my daily regimen… therefore, when I create a more modified diet for myself during a more extended fast, the decrease and greater discipline is not really felt… It’s as though I am eating what I normally would eat within a given day… mostly fruits and veggies, but in primarily liquified form and without nuts, seeds, beans and grains… and without products made from each, such as vegan milks, sauces, dressings and cheeses… I also go without all natural sweeteners, like raw honey, agave and coconut sugar, and just enjoy the natural sweetness from organic fruits and veggies… While fasting, eating less and eating in modified forms does not cause me to feel as though I am denying myself of food, nourishment or pleasure… Fasting simply encourages me to be less dependent on external things for my health, well-being, longevity, fulfillment, happiness and prosperity… and to rely more on my own inner life and the Source of all organic, natural creation(s) for these very things… and for what healthily sustains and flourishes the higher quality of life I am here to live… I am so thankful for this clarity… So thankful for this life… and of course, so thankful for “good” food and cyclical (rhythmical) fasting… BIG SMILE… 🙂

We have the capacity and potential to always be a blessing in our own lives, in the lives of others and in this magical and magnificent world of ours…

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biashedo™ ~ My Universe Is Friendly… Inside and Out… And So Is Yours… The Macro… and The Micro… Grace… Love… Prosperity… Always sending forth light and love… :o)

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