A 24 hour Fast and Un-Plug

This Friday at sunset to last night’s sunset, I fasted. I fasted from food, from the computer, from my phone, from talking with anyone.

There is great value in unplugging both literally (computer, phone, etc), and metaphorically (not speaking with anyone, not eating, etc). I desired to provide a quiet, simple space for what needed to arise to arise. I didn’t have any particular issue I wanted to address, although that’s a wonderful reason to do something like this as well. We can all benefit from going into ourselves deeply and coming out with better clarity, direction, and perception.

What did I end up doing? Writing, meditating, a little reading, and spending time outside. Very simple. I moved slowly, mindfully. That seems to happen naturally when you’re water fasting  Everything just becomes quiet and simple and slow. My meditations were definitely deeper, primarily due to fasting, but I’m sure the other things contributed to a quicker letting go of mental activity as well.

I consider myself a fairly independent person with no problem being alone and quiet, but it was interesting to see that I had some urges to call or text someone, to check my email, and of course… to eat  I also noticed my mind pacing about saying all the things I ‘should’ be doing and lamenting about how unproductive I was being. What did I think I was doing, taking a whole day of doing nothing? Not producing or creating anything? Who I was I to think it was ok to just be?

I noticed a deeper awareness towards the subtleties of my thoughts and feelings throughout the day. It’s hard to explain aside, I just noticed more delicate nuances and fluctuations within my being that sometimes resulted in analytical conclusion but most often were just feelings, textures, colors and images that arose. I did a lot of writing and uncovered some great perspective and clarity about various aspects of my life.

It was a great experience in reminding myself that being is enough, and in examining the reasons I think so often that I am not enough just because I exist. I always think I have a lot to add to that fact. So often we say that who we are is enough, but to actually be in the space where all you have is who you are, you aren’t doing anything except that: being, we discover we often don’t truly believe we are enough just because we exist.

Additionally, it was great to take stock in what I’m up to in my life, how I’m spending time, and how I’m going about projects to re-prioritize, re-focus, and question things. What am I doing? Where am I in my life? Why am I doing these things? What are they for? Is there a way I can do such and such better? How can I upgrade this aspect of my life? And so on.

I definitely recommend doing something like this. You can go longer, or you could go shorter. You could do a whole weekend, or perhaps just an evening. If you can’t fast from all the things I did, fast from some. See what comes up.

In addition to all the great things I’ve already written about, the other wonderful result for me has been one of empowerment. It’s empowering to know that I’ve taken that time for myself. That I’ve prioritized my inner soul life, my spiritual life, and my harmony and balance enough to take the time to go inward, create the space for perception and transformation, and to connect deeper spiritually. That kind of self love really does carry over into other activities and flush everything we do with a special kind of glow.