The current state of the world and our feelings of powerlessness in fixing it has helped the majority of us turn inward for resolve. Perhaps, the solution to the chaos in the world is within ourselves. If you choose to wear the optimistic lenses over the pessimistic you will certainly see the average person striving to better themselves in almost every degree from healing their bodies with back to basics diets to their willingness to learn about others around the globe and find common ground. Books and conversations on conscientiousness, being mindful, becoming introspective, manifesting and being the best version of ourselves are common topics these days. However, these are not new ideas and rather some of the oldest human thoughts ever.
One thought that has been resurrected from old is of fasting. It is a perplexing idea that anyone would deny themselves food and or water for a fixed time by choice when nourishment is available. Activists carry out the act of fasting as a protest for peace. Buddhist monastics practice fasting to purify the body. Catholics fast during lent; the Jews on Yom Kippur and the Muslims during the month of Ramadan. These are all fasts for the purpose of finding resolve or as a ritual with a deep religious purpose. The modern health enthusiast’s version of a fast derived from the ancient dieting method is intermittent fasting such as the one practiced on the Keto diet and other diets that aim to detoxify the body and give the digestive system a rest or reset.
Whether one fasts for weight loss, religion or other personal reasons, the fasting person strives to improve themselves. Throughout human history when people found themselves unable to control their environment, they readily relied on quiet introspection in the form of fasting, prayer and meditation. Today, 1.8 billion people on this planet have started a 30 day fast. The traditon that has been practiced for over 1,400 years.This phenomenon is known as the Muslim fast of Ramadan. Adherents of Islam commemorate the revelation of the Quran (Muslim holy book) during the month of Ramadan by fasting from food, water, ill speech, anger, sexual relations during the fast from sun up to sun down for 30 consecutive days, cocooning in spirituality to emerge at the end as better residents of the world. The month is spent in giving generously to the needy, praying for forgiveness of short comings, reading and applying the holy scriptures to one’s life, performing acts of kindess, practicing patience and sitting in quiet contemplation in hopes of rejuvenating the soul and connecting to God.
To apply extreme heat to metal until it is moldable and its impurities gone is the definition of the word Ramadan. So does the fasting person who denies themselves the most basic of needs- food and water with extreme difficulty yet great resolve, aiming to make pliable the most primitive part of the self to reach a state of pure enlightenment. When one is not eating or drinking by choice for 17 hours a day and their focus is on the creator of their universe, their thoughts morph from pleasure to humble patience. This practice can be seen as a complete surrender to one’s current state. Often as the fasting continues and the body adjusts to thriving on less food, water and even fewer words, the fasting person starts to feel the benefits of the act. People report sharper senses, compassion and tolerance for others, appreciation for what one has, greater body awareness and an ephemeral feeling of peace in the mind, body and soul. Read more about the science behind fasting in Dr. Shaheen’s article here.
According to Food Aid Foundation 795 million people in the world don’t have enough to eat, that’s 1 in 7 people and 30% of the world suffers from drought but it suffers more from the scarcity of empathy. A most beautiful reason for the Ramadan fast is to help its practitioners gain solidarity with the poor. Hunger and thirst have been experienced by everyone even if momentarily but the prolonged fast immerses the fasting person into the reality of famine faced by so many.
Those new to fasting can start in small ways with a simple fasts such as, not speaking for a day or refraining from gossiping and negativity, even in the slightest way. Perhaps, a fast from social media or a fast from just food and not water granted one is healthy enough to do so. Slowly, a progression to a total fast like that practiced in Ramadan can be sustained with patient practice.
The refusal of the cornucopia of food within a few steps to the refrigeration or at the reach of a fast food window is not a deprivation but a disobedience of baser instincts for the purpose of evolving one’s self to its highest self; an improved version of a human being. Whether a person observes a religious fast, fasts to protest an injustice or wishes to refine their body, there is a common theme amongst all: Turn inward to transform oneself for lasting physical and soulful growth.
