Holy cow, is there a lot of biology involved in fasting! However, I would like to write something today while I'm working on that, so I believe I will write about my personal attitudes about fasting. They're complicated. On the one hand, fasting for spiritual reasons smacks of the idea that our physical existence is somehow not as exalted as our spiritual existence. That physical existence is something you deny if you really want to celebrate your physical existence. I don't much care for those assumptions. On the other hand, it can be incredibly liberating not to have to worry about what you're going to have for lunch for a day. It can give your body an incredibly light feeling to just empty it out.
On yet another hand (yes, this business has about as many hands as a Hindu deity), it can feel very unliberating if a raging food craving hits you at 15:00. So I guess fasting is kind of a mixed bag.
From my conversations with Noel, it sounds like my posts of cool biology are going to have to begin with some pretty basic nuts and bolts if I'm going to make any sense at all. I'm hoping to begin those Wednesday, November 14.
I hope everyone is thoroughly enjoying the fall (unless you're in the southern hemisphere, in which case I hope you're enjoying the spring)!
I see fasting as cleaning the temple. Our body, of course, being the temple that houses our divine spirit. It is our duty to keep this vessel in good health so that our spirit has a capable avatar for it's incarnation. As we are tempted with the treats and goodies present in life we should take a day each week to allow those impurities to be washed completely from the temple.
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