Spiritual Fasting
Fasting is one of the most important health disciplines. I have devoted a whole chapter of my eBook to this subject. My eBook is titled The Health Evolution: Getting Started with Raw Foods
This is an introduction to fasting by Gabriel Cousens:
I am continually inspired by the awesome healing power of Spiritual fasting as a self-healing tool. Spiritual fasting 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. The end result is the enhancement on all levels of bodily energy, including the Spiritualizing Kundalini force.
Today in our society, when everyone is so attached to food as a way to palliate the ego, and to suppress our real feelings, the idea of fasting can create a little trepidation. Most people do not realize how easy it is to do a fast. On our standard one-week group juice fast almost everyone is amazed at how easy it is. The appetite fades after the first few days, allowing one’s emotional and physical attachment to food to diminish. The mind becomes freer to experience the higher states of communion with the Divine. As people drop their loads of cellular, emotional and spiritual toxicity, they begin to soar and in this soaring they often wonder what their concern could ever have been. Here at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center with the addition of our non-invasive cleanse and rejuvenation programs (http://www.treeoflife.nu/detox.htm) the cellular detox has accelerated between 200-400%. I am not seeing any major healing crisis like I used to see with just the juice fasting alone. The physical part of the fast has become even easier. Their success brings them to another level of freedom and self-confidence. To be free from the addiction of food is a tremendous freedom and joy. Fasting is not a deprivation at the Tree of Life; it is dining on all the forces of nature.
The key difference between Spiritual fasting and regular fasting is the clearly conscious “intent to heal on every level of one’s Being”. Such a focused healing process cleanses not only the physical body, but also the emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies, thus affecting our quality of life and how, after the fast, we choose to live in the world.
In the Spiritual fasting retreats, we reflect on the ancient Essene question: ‘‘Dost thou sacrifice the eternal for that which dies in an hour?’’
Spiritual fasting can be experienced as a mystical death. By the physical act of fasting, we let go of our attachment to the body – just as by the act of meditating, we let go in order to dissolve the mind. In the act of Spiritual fasting, we have the unique opportunity to become timeless as we let go of past conditioned programs and projected future anxieties, hopes and fears. The mind cannot exist without the concept of time. It is time and the mind that keep us stuck in the past or future. During a Spiritual fast, as we dissolve the mind, we can take advantage of this moment to move into the eternal Presence, beyond the limitation of time. By quieting the mind, using the fast and meditation, we pass through the experiential doorway of the present to the Eternal Presence, which then takes us beyond the mind to the timeless ecstatic peaceful Self and Truth of who we are. Facing one’s symbolic death creates the context for the potential of a spiritual rebirth. This rebirth into a new life is the foundation and secret of Spiritual fasting. This process of rebirth allows new meaning to enter our lives. Spiritual willpower can often be depleted because of how most people eat and live in the world. Spiritual fasting re-births and regenerates our spiritual willpower by filling our inner knowing with the direct experience of new physical, emotional and spiritual strength.
The willingness to allow ones rebirth, in joy, is a primary key to the total healing process. During fasting the accumulated physical and mental toxins are released from the body and mind in such a way that our body-mind’s armor melts away. As we allow our defenses to drop we begin to heal on every level and our natural healing forces begin to take over. In this process of Spiritual fasting, as the blockages are removed, we are naturally able to make a stronger connection with our light body, which is a powerful doorway to our cosmic body. In this way, we have much easier access to the living experience of our eternal Divine Presence. When the blockages are removed, the Divine more easily manifests through our light body and then through our physical body. In this way, Spiritual fasting is not a denial of the body, but a special doorway to enhance our experience of our own Divinity.
During our fasts, I spend a considerable amount of time working with people to facilitate the successful release of these emotional and mental toxins. It is amazing to witness how quickly and easily people are able to adapt and let go of a lifetime of blockages as a result of a Spiritual fast. This awakening process is expanded when people take the Zero Point course on day after the fast. The Zero Point course gives the spiritual and mind knowledge of how to more permanently transcend the tyranny of the mind and reside in the joy, peace, and love of the Eternal Divine Presence. The Spiritual fast and Zero Point course make a powerful awakening combination. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly how and why the transforming power of fasting works. But it appears to be connected, on some level, to the freeing and releasing of the vital life force from dealing with the accumulated effects of the physical, emotional, and spiritual toxins and allowing it to rebuild, revitalize, and recharge the body, mind, and spirit. When emotional and mental toxins are removed, a Divine silence is created that brings us into the ecstatic joy of Being. One explanation is that physical toxins act as “anchors” for the emotional and mental toxins stored in the bodily tissues and organs – especially the muscles and nervous systems. With the release of these physical toxins, the corresponding mental and emotional toxins begin to lose some of their grip. I often observe in fasting participants that concentration improves, creative thinking expands, depression lifts, insomnia ceases, anxieties fade, minds become more tranquil, and the natural joy of living begins to reappear. It is my hypothesis that when the physical toxins are cleared from the brain cells the mind-brain functions automatically and significantly improves naturally enhancing our spiritual realization capacity to expand. In essence we become a superconductor for the Divine cosmic energy, which purpose is to naturally move through us developing our awareness and direct experience of the Divine Presence.
Taking people on Spiritual fasts four times per year for many years, I am continually amazed by the power of this healing process. Paul Bragg, one of the fathers of the holistic health movement, expressed this phenomenon simply: ‘‘The greatest discovery by modern man (woman) is the power to rejuvenate physically, mentally, and Spiritually with rational fasting.’’
The more frequently we are in touch with the Divine, the easier it is for us to be motivated to live a way of life which will continue to enhance further spiritual development. Mahatma Gandhi once said, ‘‘Fasting will bring Spiritual rebirth...the light of the world will illuminate you when you fast and purify yourself.’’ He spoke the truth. Spiritual fasting is the elixir of life; regenerating a rebirth into felt joy and health. Spiritual fasting establishes us in that quiet still place of the Divine Presence allowing us to understand and remember who we are - this is our Divine birthright.
Because of our in-depth spiritual approach to fasting and our powerful non-invasive cleanse and rejuvenation program, we consider the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center to be the premier Spiritual fasting retreat in the world and is why we are truly an oasis for awakening on every level.
This article is written by
Dr. Gabriel Cousens, M.D., M.D.(H), Dip. Ayurveda
This is an introduction to fasting by Gabriel Cousens:
I am continually inspired by the awesome healing power of Spiritual fasting as a self-healing tool. Spiritual fasting 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. The end result is the enhancement on all levels of bodily energy, including the Spiritualizing Kundalini force.
Today in our society, when everyone is so attached to food as a way to palliate the ego, and to suppress our real feelings, the idea of fasting can create a little trepidation. Most people do not realize how easy it is to do a fast. On our standard one-week group juice fast almost everyone is amazed at how easy it is. The appetite fades after the first few days, allowing one’s emotional and physical attachment to food to diminish. The mind becomes freer to experience the higher states of communion with the Divine. As people drop their loads of cellular, emotional and spiritual toxicity, they begin to soar and in this soaring they often wonder what their concern could ever have been. Here at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center with the addition of our non-invasive cleanse and rejuvenation programs (http://www.treeoflife.nu/detox.htm) the cellular detox has accelerated between 200-400%. I am not seeing any major healing crisis like I used to see with just the juice fasting alone. The physical part of the fast has become even easier. Their success brings them to another level of freedom and self-confidence. To be free from the addiction of food is a tremendous freedom and joy. Fasting is not a deprivation at the Tree of Life; it is dining on all the forces of nature.
The key difference between Spiritual fasting and regular fasting is the clearly conscious “intent to heal on every level of one’s Being”. Such a focused healing process cleanses not only the physical body, but also the emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies, thus affecting our quality of life and how, after the fast, we choose to live in the world.
In the Spiritual fasting retreats, we reflect on the ancient Essene question: ‘‘Dost thou sacrifice the eternal for that which dies in an hour?’’
Spiritual fasting can be experienced as a mystical death. By the physical act of fasting, we let go of our attachment to the body – just as by the act of meditating, we let go in order to dissolve the mind. In the act of Spiritual fasting, we have the unique opportunity to become timeless as we let go of past conditioned programs and projected future anxieties, hopes and fears. The mind cannot exist without the concept of time. It is time and the mind that keep us stuck in the past or future. During a Spiritual fast, as we dissolve the mind, we can take advantage of this moment to move into the eternal Presence, beyond the limitation of time. By quieting the mind, using the fast and meditation, we pass through the experiential doorway of the present to the Eternal Presence, which then takes us beyond the mind to the timeless ecstatic peaceful Self and Truth of who we are. Facing one’s symbolic death creates the context for the potential of a spiritual rebirth. This rebirth into a new life is the foundation and secret of Spiritual fasting. This process of rebirth allows new meaning to enter our lives. Spiritual willpower can often be depleted because of how most people eat and live in the world. Spiritual fasting re-births and regenerates our spiritual willpower by filling our inner knowing with the direct experience of new physical, emotional and spiritual strength.
The willingness to allow ones rebirth, in joy, is a primary key to the total healing process. During fasting the accumulated physical and mental toxins are released from the body and mind in such a way that our body-mind’s armor melts away. As we allow our defenses to drop we begin to heal on every level and our natural healing forces begin to take over. In this process of Spiritual fasting, as the blockages are removed, we are naturally able to make a stronger connection with our light body, which is a powerful doorway to our cosmic body. In this way, we have much easier access to the living experience of our eternal Divine Presence. When the blockages are removed, the Divine more easily manifests through our light body and then through our physical body. In this way, Spiritual fasting is not a denial of the body, but a special doorway to enhance our experience of our own Divinity.
During our fasts, I spend a considerable amount of time working with people to facilitate the successful release of these emotional and mental toxins. It is amazing to witness how quickly and easily people are able to adapt and let go of a lifetime of blockages as a result of a Spiritual fast. This awakening process is expanded when people take the Zero Point course on day after the fast. The Zero Point course gives the spiritual and mind knowledge of how to more permanently transcend the tyranny of the mind and reside in the joy, peace, and love of the Eternal Divine Presence. The Spiritual fast and Zero Point course make a powerful awakening combination. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly how and why the transforming power of fasting works. But it appears to be connected, on some level, to the freeing and releasing of the vital life force from dealing with the accumulated effects of the physical, emotional, and spiritual toxins and allowing it to rebuild, revitalize, and recharge the body, mind, and spirit. When emotional and mental toxins are removed, a Divine silence is created that brings us into the ecstatic joy of Being. One explanation is that physical toxins act as “anchors” for the emotional and mental toxins stored in the bodily tissues and organs – especially the muscles and nervous systems. With the release of these physical toxins, the corresponding mental and emotional toxins begin to lose some of their grip. I often observe in fasting participants that concentration improves, creative thinking expands, depression lifts, insomnia ceases, anxieties fade, minds become more tranquil, and the natural joy of living begins to reappear. It is my hypothesis that when the physical toxins are cleared from the brain cells the mind-brain functions automatically and significantly improves naturally enhancing our spiritual realization capacity to expand. In essence we become a superconductor for the Divine cosmic energy, which purpose is to naturally move through us developing our awareness and direct experience of the Divine Presence.
Taking people on Spiritual fasts four times per year for many years, I am continually amazed by the power of this healing process. Paul Bragg, one of the fathers of the holistic health movement, expressed this phenomenon simply: ‘‘The greatest discovery by modern man (woman) is the power to rejuvenate physically, mentally, and Spiritually with rational fasting.’’
The more frequently we are in touch with the Divine, the easier it is for us to be motivated to live a way of life which will continue to enhance further spiritual development. Mahatma Gandhi once said, ‘‘Fasting will bring Spiritual rebirth...the light of the world will illuminate you when you fast and purify yourself.’’ He spoke the truth. Spiritual fasting is the elixir of life; regenerating a rebirth into felt joy and health. Spiritual fasting establishes us in that quiet still place of the Divine Presence allowing us to understand and remember who we are - this is our Divine birthright.
Because of our in-depth spiritual approach to fasting and our powerful non-invasive cleanse and rejuvenation program, we consider the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center to be the premier Spiritual fasting retreat in the world and is why we are truly an oasis for awakening on every level.
This article is written by
Dr. Gabriel Cousens, M.D., M.D.(H), Dip. Ayurveda
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