I discovered the immense power of fasting for healing in the summer of 2019, where I did several long fasts, the longest being ten days, along with loads of shorter fasts, interspersed with incredibly simple meals.
At the start of that summer, I was a physical and mental wreck. I was dealing with various autoimmune issues that were constantly getting worse, along with deep depression and anxiety, and I was just generally in a state of absolute despair.
As summer ended and the leaves started to get brown and the air became brisk, I was, quite literally, a new man. All of my supposedly incurable autoimmune issues had been, for lack of a better term, cured. I had lost fifteen kilograms, leaving me looking a bit like those statues of the ascetic Gautama Buddha, but I felt healthier than I had ever been. I gained the weight back in a matter of a few weeks, and I was already planning for the future that I thought I had lost forever.
These days, I’ve expanded my understanding of fasting to include all aspects of my life. I’ve come to understand that the concept of fasting doesn’t just mean “not eating”. Rather, it points to an immutable and universal law of human health, a law which, to put it somewhat laconically, states that what isn’t is just as important as what is.
I’ve broadened this concept in my own life, where I’m constantly developing and trying out new types of fasting, such as abstaining from all forms of electronic media, from sex, from caffeine. Sugar, podcasts, even water. This is not in any way a masochistic pursuit, though I fully realize that many may see it that way.
Instead, it is an effort to optimize health and allow me to thrive in all areas of life. In fact, I would even take it so far as to say that it’s an attempt at understanding the self.
Allow me to propose a pithy analogy: to understand the nature of a pool of water, a good strategy would be to start throwing rocks at it, watching the ripples and splashes, seeing the mud swirl up from the depths. However, it would be equally important to observe the pool without any interference, to allow it to settle and be still. Only then could one see the immense beauty of a mirror-like body of water.
The same is to be said of the mind and body. There is a certain stillness that is completely lacking in modern society (I would even venture to say that it has been lacking in most societies from the beginning of human existence, though perhaps never as critically as today), an absence of contemplative silence. This can only be remedied on an individual level.
There is a reason why fasting and prayer has been a staple of most major and minor religions throughout history. There is a reason why health and prosperity so commonly go hand in hand. The discipline of fasting, of abstinence in any and all forms, may be the most crucial ingredient for living a healthy, happy, conscious life.
That’s why I’ve committed myself to living a fasting-focused life. I am constantly aware, analysing what is coming in, be it food, speech, drink, information, images, and in doing so, I’ve become more and more conscious of what is coming out. As within, so without, as the axiom goes.
Apart from reaching an absolute pinnacle of health that I never dared to imagine, this approach has allowed me to glimpse the divine within myself, and to start to nurture and tend to that spark. To direct my energies toward that light that I believe to be inherent in all of us.
May you find that light as well.
If you want to delve further into these matters, might I suggest that you check out my book (cha-ching!) Health, Simplified, available through Amazon here. It’s a nice and concise tome on my own healing journey, the insights I’ve gained, and the incredible transformation that’s possible through taking full responsibility of your own health.
You can also check out the other videos on my YouTube channel, where I go deep into various aspects of health.