Spiritual Fasting
Guidelines for Beginners

Spiritual fasting may sound a little off track if you are reading through my website aiming at fasting to lose weight. In fact, it is not. Fasting is a period when we allow our bodies to rest physically. What about mentally? That’s right. The pressures of everyday life are getting harder to manage and a lot of people are turning back to natural ways of healing the mind and body. One of the best and most popular methods of holistic healing is fasting, which has been propounded by almost all religions as being extremely beneficial both for the body and the soul.

As I mentioned before, weight loss occurs with any kind of fasting. So if you are fasting for spiritual reason, you are practically hitting two birds with one stone.

Spiritual fasting has some importance in almost any religion. While my website has no religious background, I have sourced some useful information so that readers with or without religious background may get a better understanding of what it is and how to practice it.

The Purpose of Spiritual Fasting

(from About.com)
Fasting provides unique spiritual benefits in the life of the believer.

Fasting requires self-control and discipline as one denies the natural desires of the flesh. During spiritual fast, the believer's focus is removed from the physical things of this world and intensely concentrated on God. Put differently, fasting directs our hunger toward God. It clears the mind and body of earthly attentions and draws us close to God. So, as we gain spiritual clarity of thought while fasting, it allows us to hear God more clearly. Fasting also demonstrates a profound need for God's help and guidance through complete dependence upon him. Read more...

Benefits and Some Guidance of Spiritual Fasting

(from Spiritualfasting.net)
…Intentional spiritual fasting is devoting oneself to knowing and remembering who. Many people have reported no longer needing to use any kind of deodorants, after taking part in regular spiritual fasts. I have found fasting is a great way for me to become inspired. But spiritual fast is necessary to strengthen mans spiritual constitution, so that he may think and function as he should, always with Gods will as his guide, but also with the best interests of his fellow man, his neighbour, as Christ says.

Fasting Accomplishes Two Purposes

(from Freedomyou.com)
First, it will reveal how much the flesh has taken control of your emotions. And secondly, it will serve in breaking the flesh’s hold upon the will.

Fasting forces us to face the chaos of addictions, compulsive behaviors, depression and internal pain. It’s like pressing the pause button of life, and quietly observing how crazy and detached we have become to who we are.

Want to get off the conveyer belt of life? Smash those meaningless patterns—the ones you hated in your youth when you had passion, a sparkle for living, when you really believed in something—promising never to get trapped in the horrible mundane in which mom and dad lived as you grew up. Read more...

Spiritual Emptiness

(from Fasting.ws)
Spiritual emptiness causes depression, feeling oppressed or out of control and confusion. Thoughts become contaminated with toxic resentment, unforgiveness, self-hate and feelings of failure. Many people need a TV or radio blaring constantly because silence is uncomfortable. Silence can be terrifying to an empty soul. During fasting, the inner silence is profound. Noisy, clamoring emotions become quiet and, for the first time, you hear the voice of your soul.

Why fasting makes such a difference before God is because spiritual fast is the emptying of self, not just of food, but the mutterings of the inner self that drowns out the quiet voice of God. He will not shout. We must listen. Read more...

Spiritual Fasting For Beginners – Juice Fasting

(from Spiritualfasting.net)
If you are new to spiritual fasting, you can start with a 3 day juice fast. Bodily fasting is inseparably bound with spiritual fasting...

...Spiritual Juice Fasting unblocks the Divine source of youth, vitality, and transformation. A spiritual fast cleans the body-mind and feeds the spirit, allowing our physical bodies to better extract the Divine cosmic energy from our normal biochemical energy sources. Fasting has many benefits for your body and can be a very empowering experience. The spiritual fast has rejuvenated, inspired, and empowered my spirit, mind, and body. Brought out and eliminated many emotional/physical blocks, and spiritual too. Facing one’s symbolic death (no food combined with guided meditation) creates the context for the potential of a spiritual rebirth.

Spiritual Juice Fasting Tips

• Try to drink only freshly squeezed juice from fresh fruits and vegetables. Having a juicer is a definite advantage while you are on this type of fast, but if you cannot manage either a juicer or fresh fruits, then consuming juices from juice bars and health food stores is advised. Try to avoid packed juices that are processed and chemically preserved.

• Use organic fruits and vegetables. In case you cannot find fresh organic fruits, then try to get rid of the chemicals by peeling the fruit or vegetable and washing it thoroughly.

• You should consume at least six to eight glasses of normal room temperature water and at least two to four liters of fresh juice when on a juice fasting diet.

• You can avoid citrus fruits since they cause acidity on an empty stomach. Drinking the juice of green fruits and vegetables is advised so that you can get the benefits of chlorophyll. Some of the most commonly advised fruits and vegetables are apple, cranberry, pineapple, carrot, celery, cabbage, kale, beetroot, spinach and other green vegetables. Try to drink both fruit and vegetable juices. You can find a number of juicing recipes on the internet that will make your fast more interesting and healthy.

Related articles:

List of Resorts Ideal for Spiritual Fasting
Benefits and Some Guidance of Spiritual Fasting

Personally, I quite like the excerption from eHow.com below.
It is originally written as part of a 24-hour water fasting guide.
Though religious oriented, it provides good suggestions
that are doable by anybody.

More Spiritual Fasting Tips

(from eHow.com)
During the fasting period, it is best to limit yourself to light physical tasks and to concentrate as much as possible on introspection and spirituality. Use this fasting period constructively.

Meditate on scriptures, pray or read inspirational books - spend some time taking stock of where you are in life, and what are some of the areas that you would like to improve.

These can be spiritual, mental, physical, social and even financial. It is often helpful to write a list of issues you would like to resolve and then use the time of fasting praying and meditating to receive inspiration and guidance.

If you are unable to take this "time out" because of an active work or family schedule, then go about your business but maintain an "internal" attitude of prayer, meditation and contemplation.

The way I accomplish this is by not allowing time to consume my thoughts but, rather, I make it a point to go from moment to moment - focusing only on what I am doing one second, one minute at a time. You will be surprise just how often we go about our day-to-day activities thinking only of the future or obsessing over the past. This negates the present moment and can keep us in a state of confusion, stress and restlessness. Read more...

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