Fasting is as old as time itself – perhaps during our many thousands of years adapting to life here on this planet – we spent many days and weeks without much of anything to eat.

In between times of finding sources of food, there were lots of times when food was equally scarce. Then throughout the ages, our pattern of eating evolved to encompass fasting for spiritual reasons.

Of course these days we have come so far away from fasting for any reason and that is part of the contributing problem and why we are over our heads where our health, healing and connection with the earth is concerned.

What most of us have forgotten is we are intimately tied to the energy of this planet – she supports us, nourishes us, and is a part of who we have always been. Our spiritual existence, along with our water, food and healing herbs is aligned with the earth’s energy field.

So, this brings up two questions – what is fasting and why should we bother to do it?

Well, contrary to so many reports, articles and books on the subject – fasting is quite simply going without any food whatsoever for a period of time. During this time you do take in water and in my own recommendations, herbal teas for balance and healing of tissues and organs.

Fasting does not entail taking in any solid food of any kind – this is called eating. You can have a day however, where you take in a small or less then usual amount of food – this is referred to as restricting calories - but this is not fasting.

We can choose to fast for many reasons – most of which would (these days anyway) be related to health, weight loss and healing. The spin off from this is an improvement in health – often as a direct result of a reduction in inflammation in the body.

Our diets, lack of exercise, stress levels, use of medication and general disconnect from the energy of the world around us is what has contributed to the current state we find ourselves in. 

Now more then ever there is a need (and a desire) to get back to ourselves (regain the health we have lost), who we are, really – the only way to do this is to reconnect on a spiritual level with our inner worlds. 

And that is what fasting can help you achieve. 

April

Originally published on The Pagan Diet blog.