The focus of my reading for November was on juice fasting. The authors, Bragg, Cott, Cousins, Ehret, and Wolfe generally agree on the methodology, scheduling logistics, and benefits of fasting. The benefits can be said to include youthing, concupiscence, weight regulation, internal cleansing, support of self-healing, and salubriousness or health promotion.
My special interest lies in the mystical properties of spiritually-motivated fasting. Following are some of my favourite passages:
From Arnold Ehret in Rational Fasting:
“Vitality (V) = Power (P) – Obstructions (O). Stated differently: “V” equals “P” and if you simply supply the “engine” with the necessary water which is used up, you ascend into a higher state of physical, mental and spiritual condition. ...
Your former life will take on the appearance of a dream, and for the first time in your existence your conscience awakens to a real self-consciousness.” (p. 60)
From Dr. Allan Cott in Fasting: The Ultimate Diet:
“My own experience is like that of so many others who observe that after even a few days of going without food they feel better physically, mentally and spiritually.” (p. 15)
Dr. Cott quotes Ghandi”
“The fast was an uninterrupted 21-days’ prayer whose effect I can feel now. I now know... there is no prayer without fasting... and that fasting relates not merely to the palate but to all sense organs... Thus, all fasting, if it is a spiritual act, is an intense prayer or a preparation for it. It is a yearning of the soul to merge in the divine essence. My last fast was intended to be such a preparation... How far I am in tune with the Infinite, I do not know. But I do know that the fast has made the passion for such a state more intense than ever.” (p. 52)
More from Allan Cott in Fasting: The Ultimate Diet:
“He who wishes to have intercourse with God must thus be abstemious in order to become a pure vessel of the Spirit.” (p. 121)
Paul Bragg in The Miracle of Fasting agrees that fasting can be spiritual. He dedicates an entire chapter entitled “Spiritual Aspects of Fasting” to the theme:
“As the body cleanses and heals itself through fasting, keener mental concentration and clearer spiritual perception develop. ... You attain new levels of great tranquillity, serenity and peace of mind. You become spiritually perceptive and receptive and at one with the Infinite.” (p. 210)
David Wolfe makes some interesting assertions in Eating for Beauty:
“All knowledge and learning amount to little when compared to the need to purify and rejuvenate the body at all levels, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, because a renewed body is capable of accessing the deepest wisdom. Everyone who chooses to purify themselves receives rewards beyond their imagination, If they are willing to progress intelligently and pass the tests. It is through this process of self-purification that we become beings of pure essential beauty.” (p. 35)
And in The Sunfood Diet Success System David Wolfe quotes from Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writngs of Bah’u’llah,
“ That a sick person showeth signs of weakness is due to the hindrances that interpose themselves between the soul and the body, for the soul remaineth unaffected by any bodily ailments. ... In like manner, every malady afflicting the human body is an impediment that preventeth the soul from manifesting its inherent might and power” (p. 157)
Fasting may be the key to spiritual awakening according to David Wolfe’s contact, a Yaqui Indian medicine man. (p. 434)
Gabriel Cousins describes fasting as a process in which “Instead of eating material food, one switches over to the nectar of the Divine Energy (Conscious Eating, p. 227). He says fasting raises pranic energy high enough for Grace to awaken Kundalini. Fasting is not intended to make the body suffer, but is intended as an act of love, as sacrifice of body, mind and ego. Ultimately, it is intended at the highest level to achieve spiritual communion. “At the Tree of Life, we teach Spiritual Fasting as a process of mystical death and rebirth. This is the secret of Spiritual Fasting.” (Spiritual Nutrition, p. 341)
I am intrigued by the spiritual possibilities of fasting and am experimenting with fasting a minimum of one day a week on water, herbal tea or green juice. So far, I am experiencing physical improvements, clarity of mind and will, and heightened peace. The experiment continues.
My special interest lies in the mystical properties of spiritually-motivated fasting. Following are some of my favourite passages:
From Arnold Ehret in Rational Fasting:
“Vitality (V) = Power (P) – Obstructions (O). Stated differently: “V” equals “P” and if you simply supply the “engine” with the necessary water which is used up, you ascend into a higher state of physical, mental and spiritual condition. ...
Your former life will take on the appearance of a dream, and for the first time in your existence your conscience awakens to a real self-consciousness.” (p. 60)
From Dr. Allan Cott in Fasting: The Ultimate Diet:
“My own experience is like that of so many others who observe that after even a few days of going without food they feel better physically, mentally and spiritually.” (p. 15)
Dr. Cott quotes Ghandi”
“The fast was an uninterrupted 21-days’ prayer whose effect I can feel now. I now know... there is no prayer without fasting... and that fasting relates not merely to the palate but to all sense organs... Thus, all fasting, if it is a spiritual act, is an intense prayer or a preparation for it. It is a yearning of the soul to merge in the divine essence. My last fast was intended to be such a preparation... How far I am in tune with the Infinite, I do not know. But I do know that the fast has made the passion for such a state more intense than ever.” (p. 52)
More from Allan Cott in Fasting: The Ultimate Diet:
“He who wishes to have intercourse with God must thus be abstemious in order to become a pure vessel of the Spirit.” (p. 121)
Paul Bragg in The Miracle of Fasting agrees that fasting can be spiritual. He dedicates an entire chapter entitled “Spiritual Aspects of Fasting” to the theme:
“As the body cleanses and heals itself through fasting, keener mental concentration and clearer spiritual perception develop. ... You attain new levels of great tranquillity, serenity and peace of mind. You become spiritually perceptive and receptive and at one with the Infinite.” (p. 210)
David Wolfe makes some interesting assertions in Eating for Beauty:
“All knowledge and learning amount to little when compared to the need to purify and rejuvenate the body at all levels, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, because a renewed body is capable of accessing the deepest wisdom. Everyone who chooses to purify themselves receives rewards beyond their imagination, If they are willing to progress intelligently and pass the tests. It is through this process of self-purification that we become beings of pure essential beauty.” (p. 35)
And in The Sunfood Diet Success System David Wolfe quotes from Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writngs of Bah’u’llah,
“ That a sick person showeth signs of weakness is due to the hindrances that interpose themselves between the soul and the body, for the soul remaineth unaffected by any bodily ailments. ... In like manner, every malady afflicting the human body is an impediment that preventeth the soul from manifesting its inherent might and power” (p. 157)
Fasting may be the key to spiritual awakening according to David Wolfe’s contact, a Yaqui Indian medicine man. (p. 434)
Gabriel Cousins describes fasting as a process in which “Instead of eating material food, one switches over to the nectar of the Divine Energy (Conscious Eating, p. 227). He says fasting raises pranic energy high enough for Grace to awaken Kundalini. Fasting is not intended to make the body suffer, but is intended as an act of love, as sacrifice of body, mind and ego. Ultimately, it is intended at the highest level to achieve spiritual communion. “At the Tree of Life, we teach Spiritual Fasting as a process of mystical death and rebirth. This is the secret of Spiritual Fasting.” (Spiritual Nutrition, p. 341)
I am intrigued by the spiritual possibilities of fasting and am experimenting with fasting a minimum of one day a week on water, herbal tea or green juice. So far, I am experiencing physical improvements, clarity of mind and will, and heightened peace. The experiment continues.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment