My 5-Day Spiritual Fasting Experience

I’ve recently gone through a 5-day spiritual fasting, however not quite successfully.

Many things in life are easier to know than to do.  Even I’m an experienced faster, I would give myself a marginal fail.

Although spiritual fasting has a religious origin, I don’t do it out of religious reason.  I’m recently facing health problem and many things in life seem to be out of control, hence the fast.

I started the fast after Sunday lunch.  Monday and Tuesday I had a cup of white coffee in the morning, a glass of fresh orange juice for lunch and milk for dinner, and of course water throughout the day.  Wednesday I had water only.  I failed on Thursday morning as I felt so weak and that I still had to work, so I grab a little cereal bun.  I then do water fasting through Friday evening.  I broke my fast with a pear, a banana and a few slices of salmon sashimi.  Raw food is a good idea to break fast as it’s easy for the relaxed body to pick up the digestive work again.

Although many people do salt water flush** in the morning, I did it twice on Wednesday night and Thursday night.  I was successful even I did it at night because I had been in a fasted state for a few days, it didn’t matter I did it in the morning or at night.  As I had to go to work in the morning, I found it convenient to do it in the evening.

After the flush, my body had a wonderful feeling of relief and comfort.  Although I do intermittent fasting all the time, bloating is still occasionally bothering me.  The relief feeling was really good.  Mentally I tried to stay calm with everything and try not to get angry with things that I normally will. 

For anyone fasting, the purpose should be to become a better person, to recharge one's spirit. Try to avoid conflict with other people; try to improve your character; try to find your own connection to a higher power. In that sense, I would give myself a pass as well.

However I grade myself an overall marginal fail not because I ate a tiny breakfast on Thursday, I also didn’t manage to maintain that refreshed spirit for long.

Fasting in Ramadan is an amazing spiritual exercise. When we're fasting, we're in a spiritual zone. But once our fast ends, it's all too easy to lose what we have gained. And that was my case.  So I’m planning to re-do this exercise again.

If you have had a successful spiritual fast, congratulations, I’d like to hear from you and share your experience.  For others who want to do this exercise, do try to keep the spirit of your fast alive throughout the year. If you got rid of bad habits, don't go back to them. If you've just ended a lengthy fast, try to keep fasting a few days every month. Keep up whatever spiritual practices you did (as much as you can) during your fast. Let us not be angels during our fasting days and devils the day after our fast is finished.

You don’t have to worry if you fail.  There are few things in life that you succeed in the first time.  Keep up the spirit and try a few shorter fasts to start with and you’ll be there.

**Note:  Salt Water Flash  cleans up our entire digestive system and is generally part of a Lemonade Diet, aka Master Cleanse, usually done in the morning with an empty stomach. Do not do it until you have a good understanding of it.  Click here to find out more about Master Cleanse Lemonade Diet