Whether for spiritual or other reasons, fasting is excellent training. Of course the assumption is usually ‘fasting from food’ when people hear the word ‘fasting.’
It’s so much more than that. Fasting from anything you normally do is good training. This week my church Morning Star Community Christian Center is doing a corporate fast. We’re fasting from solid food, recreational computer use, TV, radio and negativity between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
What are we training when we fast? We’re training our self-discipline muscle to be resilient and under the control of our own better judgment. From day to day, as creatures of habit, we tend to do what we did the day before. We have our favorite morning brews, food, entertainment and thought patterns. These are not all good for us…they don’t all enhance our life – mind, body and/or spirit.
Fasting gives us an opportunity to exert control over our impulses and habits. We get to consciously direct the path of our own development.
Left alone, habits and routines can get less and less fresh, creative and productive over time. Getting stuck in the proverbial rut is inevitable if there is no conscious thought given to our actions.
So from time to time, to keep your habits that help fresh, focused and all they can be do a fast from whatever it is you have grown attached to consuming, thinking, doing or feeling.
Fasting from negative thoughts, complaining, griping, bickering, gossiping, etc is such a healing experience. Try it for just one day and reap the incredible benefits: like peace, joy and increased creativity.
Of course fasting from TV and other entertainment has its rich benefits as well. We are constantly bombarded with images, information and sounds: When you stop for a while you get a full appreciation for how much! I’ve found that this goes hand in hand with fasting from negativity…it makes perfect sense to couple these two as it would be quite a challenge to indulge in zero negativity with the TV or other media playing, spitting out whatever the story, lyrics or programmers deem appropriate or marketable.
There’re many benefits from giving up specific indulgences but generally speaking, fasting is great training!
So pick a thing and decide how long your fast will be…and get some other folks on board with you too: The support is very helpful.
Remember, the deeper your commitment, the more powerful the benefits.
And of course, have fun with your fast!
Wishing you an abundnace of self-discipline,
♥~
