Fasting
This most ancient spiritual discipline is rarely practiced, but can be a life-changing experience.
Fasting needs to be chosen, not compelled; sought for positive reasons, not grudgingly adopted for negative.
Fasting can have several meanings, but generally needs to go deeper than a child's Lenten promise to give up, say, chocolate.
- As Jesus showed in the wilderness, fasting can mean going without food to the point of uncomfortable hunger (stopping well short of damage to health).
- Giving up one meal a day for a period of time (such as the 40 days of Lent), being careful not to make the two eaten meals larger in order to avoid hunger. The point of fasting is the hunger.
- Going without food one entire day (being careful to drink plenty of liquids).
- A combination, such as one skipped meal a day and one day without any meal.
The consequences of such hunger will vary. They could include:
- A deepening of one's emotions, such as a "mellowing," a sharper temper, or sadness.
- Insights into oneself, one's companions, and one's world
- New compassion for those who experience hunger all the time.
- It can be an "alone" journey that gives one new appreciation for other people.
Fasting isn't for everyone. For health reasons, some people should refrain from fasting. Pregnant women, people with certain conditions and illnesses, diabetics, and others should seek a physician's advice and pay careful attention to health issues. Fasting isn't a weight-loss plan.
In the spirit of radical transparency, those who are fasting should make their family, co-workers and significant friends aware of the fast, so that they will know how to receive the emotional changes that fasting can bring. Be careful not to make a show of fasting or to describe it pridefully.
