Fasting: A tool to connect to your spiritual side.

Many people think that detox is something new.  Often it is viewed as a fad which has risen to replace the fat free diets of the nineties.  In reality, detoxification and fasting have been practised for centuries to cleanse the body physically and spiritually. Fasts have been used by Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Taoists and Buddhists as a tool for connecting spiritually to something higher and to reach deeper within themselves. 

When someone fasts they are abstaining from indulgence and greed, allowing a closer connection to their more intuitive and spiritual side.  This does not mean you need to be religious to fast, or to follow a religion or spiritual belief to experience this peaceful state of knowing.

In most normal lives, people usually eat three meals a day.    This takes time to prepare, energy to assimilate and enzymes to digest.  When taking part in a fasting programme this part of the day is removed, leaving space to reflect on the journey of the day in a different way.  By removing such deeply ingrained rituals we leave space for new thoughts and feelings.  The energy that is usually expended on eating and digestion is placed in replenishing the body’s tissues and allowing the mind further energy to process and reflect.

During a fast all your senses are heightened, your energy bodies are closer to the surface and suddenly a sense of clarity and awareness allow you to connect to life in a different way.  Spiritual leaders used this tool as a way of clarifying their body and mind to allow messages from their ‘higher selves’, ‘God’ or simply to nature. 

Detoxification and fasting is not simply about clearing your body of unwanted wastes, it is about freeing your mind of the routine of eating and the physical drain of constant digestion.  The clarity and certainty that arises from fasting make it a fantastic way to start a new chapter in your life or to heal your emotions. 

Often when we pass through the process of our lives we move from one stressful situation to another without really taking time to rest with ourselves, to reflect and replenish.  This often results in stored bitterness, resent or uncertainty.  This insecurity and confusion is hard to shift when your body is still trying to recover physically and often it is stored within our tissues and rears it heads at times when we feel tired or weak. 

Spiritual leaders used fasting as a tool to reflect and recharge, to release stored anger and review situations objectively to create a peaceful and balanced way of seeing.  Sometimes all it takes is spending some time alone in nature to feel a renewed connection to our inner state of knowing.

Fasting and detoxing is a fantastic tool in the modern world to do the same as our ancestors did and connect to ourselves on a deeper level.  Often when people detox they report a clarity and freedom of thought which quickly releases stored anger and pain.  This allows the faster to see the world through a new, more positive perspective.  Our tissues are a reflection of our thoughts, if we feel low and miserable and keep old hurt and anger stored up, it is really hard to feel well.  Equally, if we experience physical illness, feeling positive becomes a challenge. 

By cleansing both our emotional and physical body during a fast we can often release this ‘mind/body depletion cycle’ and re-balance the ‘whole self’ holistically. 

Because fasting can bring up old stored emotional upset it is important to do it with guidance and be sure you have support throughout the process.

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