“…prayer and fasting is the cause of awakening and mindfulness and conducive to protection and preservation from tests.” Abdu’l-Baha
“Fasting is the cause of awakening man. The heart becomes tender and the spirituality of man increases.”
I have been fasting for 17 days (18 including today) now between sunrise and sunset, and with 19 days as the target, I have 1 day to go. As a Baha’i’, since 2004, this is my 9th fasting cycle. “As has been the case with other revealed religions, the Bahá’í Faith sees great value in the practice of fasting as a discipline for the soul. Bahá’u’lláh , the founder of the Baha’i’ faith designated a nineteen-day period each year when adult Bahá’ís fast from sunrise to sunset each day. This period coincides with the Bahá’í month of Ala (meaning Loftiness), from March 2 to 20, inclusive. This is the month immediately preceding the Bahá’í new year, which occurs the day of the vernal equinox; and the period of fasting is therefore viewed as a time of spiritual preparation and regeneration for a new year’s activities.”
“The fasting period involves complete abstention from food and drink from sunrise till sunset. It is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character. “
In my own experience, I would have to agree that the fast becomes a period of meditation and prayer, and that it allows me to make inner adjustments and attune my spiritual perceptions. I simultaneously am tremendously grateful for it and it is not easy at all.
On a physical level, what the fast means is that for these 19 days I set my alarm for 30-45 minutes or so before sunrise and get up, light a candle, take my supplements and make my breakfast to candlelight. I say prayers, eat my breakfast, drink as much as I can, and in general go back to sleep in between trips to the bathroom.
The rest of the day I do not eat or drink until sunset, which creeps later and later each day as the fast progresses. My general pace during the fast is much slower and each day it slows progressively throughout the day as the life force energy from my morning meal dissipates. I find that I can still function through daily work/life tasks at a mindful pace until about 3:00/4:00 pm, when it takes a spiritual discipline to either do what I need to do until sunset, or close my eyes and nap or meditate until the designated time. The experience of hunger, thirst, “fuzzy thoughts” as I call them, less physical energy and a slower response time is very real.
At the same time, what I find in my spiritual life is bounteous. Having “fuzzy thoughts” ends up being expansive because as my censoring mind slows as its ability to connect thoughts, my spiritual perceptions open. My intuition deepens and my creativity flows more freely. (although I must admit my energy to actually create requires an extra boost to perform). I also find that my faith tends to grow during this time because, as I am moving slower through the tasks of the day, it is uncanningly common during the fast that as a self-employed person more and more tends to be blossoming, requiring even more of my attention. How this connects to deepening my faith is that I do what I can and surrender the rest as best I can, trusting that all is in right order, right time.
The fast seems also innately wired to provide opportunities to “bring myself to account,” which to me means that somehow slowing down to the pace of life, and dulling the physical senses tends to shine a light on “me”, so I get to see who I am, how I am, what’s working and where I choose to improve.
And it goes without saying that my gratitude for eating, drinking and sleeping when I am eating, drinking and sleeping is magnified as is my awareness of the experience of hunger for many of the world’s people, including my commitment to do my part to better our world.
Whether you fast as a part of your spiritual tradition, holistic living or you practice other forms of personal / spiritual transformation, I bet you would agree that there is more than meets the eye in our physical and spiritual lives, and with our attention, intention and action we can continue to expand into greater and greater versions of ourselves, with greater and greater assistance from unseen forces that seem to want the best for all of us.
