I've been preparing for a water fast this past week by having smoothies and fruit. Tonight I had a cup of herb tea with senna in it, and around 11:30 I'll have my 'last supper' of mango/clementine/kiwi smoothie. I will miss the frozen banana pieces I've been eating lately (with a little too much abandon!), but this is good-- it's time and I'm as ready and committed as I ever will be.

I plan for this to be a long fasat, but I am sensible enough not to put the number of days in writing, because my body is the final arbiter and it deserves an equal say in determining the length of anything as grueling as a fast. But I really hope I can coax it into going the full distance with me.

The purpose of my fast is equal parts spiritual and physical. My 14 day fast last summer was such an intensely satisfying experience on all levels that I'm really looking forward to this experience.

More tomorrow. . .

Sharrhan:


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wow! 14 days.amazing. i applaud u dear kwan.me and sachelle tried to do the water fast.i made it into part of the 3rd day. it was torture for me.sachelle is a hardier soul and she made it for quite a while longer.i wish u the best.your man is doing this water fast with you?? that is major support. i did the water fast-cooking cakes and pancakes and meat for all my family members.agh!how long have u been raw?your skin if very good. i have been raw since jan. of this yr. it is hard for me to learn all the raw stuffs and also trying to diet.i know to go easy on nuts and avocado's but then i found out via david-that greens let u loose and fruits tend to make u maintain your weight.so this is all good info.well-i wish u the best.hugs taylor.

[img10.mytextgraphics.com]

Hi Taylor,
Thanks for the encouragement. Yes, it's really hard at first to do water fasts-- heck, it's hard even after years of raw, lol! It's much easier to do a juice fast, but it's so messy and expensive, and takes longer to get results, so I just try to tough it out. ;-p
I've been raw since the early 1980s, except for a brief period in the '90s when I got all confused and wasn't thriving, so I diverted to a Paleo diet for awhile. I came back to a 99% raw food diet in April of 2003. So in total I guess I've been raw for about 20 years!
My partner is wonderful when I'm fasting-- supportive and helpful. He's not into 100% raw, but he supports me in what I'm into, and he's into a very healthy lifestyle too. Sometimes when I'm fasting he doesn't understand fully why I'm so weak at certain points (I have to remind him about detoxing symptoms), and if I have a healing crisis he may freak a little till it's over, but he's very accepting of my raw lifestyle.

Love, joy and peace,

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

Day One
11:47 a.m.
Well, the senna herb tea certainly did its job. I had several eliminations this morning and I'm not hungry at all. Usually the first couple of days are pretty uneventful. I'm really hoping that day three is easier this time, as well-- that's where I've gotten snagged in the past. Day three WILL be easier this time. I'm sure of it.
I've been thinking quite a bit lately about whether to rest or engage in some specific forms of exercise every day on this fast. I am still torn: some experts recommend complete bed rest, while others recommend deliberately pushing it when you feel weak in order to get the blood and lymph moving and thus get toxins moving out of the body. In the past I've been pretty inert on a water fast; I may try to do a daily long walk and maybe some qigong. I'm not sure about the walking, but the qigong is something I will try to do every day.

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

I look forward to hearing about this, I did my first juice fast recently and suddenly heard from multiple people in my life about water fasting.

Many blessings, I hope your fast is easy and fruitful (figuratively).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2007 09:22PM by oregonisaac.

Thanks, Oregonisaac,
The support is much appreciated!

Sharrhan:


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Day 1
5:23pm
As I settled into sleep last night at the beginning of my fast (which began at 12 midnight) I had a little insight that I think will be a major touchstone for me on this fasting journey:

When we're flowing with the Current (the Tao, the Spirit...), surrendering to Its wisdom, everything clicks. We still have challenges, but harmony prevails and we know what to do and we prevail. When we're not that connected to the flow, it's as if we're bobbing around in a sea of chaos or confusion and we can easily be led this way and that on the lesser currents and waves of random human circumstance.

Sharrhan:


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I look forward , too Kwan.What health issues propted the fast?(sorry if thats too personal?)i have been thinking about a fast. 1st I would like to do 100% raw for at least a week.

Wow 20 years that is amazing. I hope i can say that some day. I want to do a water fast and then go into the master cleanse but i need to wait until school is out beucase i have 36 hour weeks and there is no way my body could handle that and fasting .Keep osoting and ltting us know how it's going. you inspire me a lot.

xoxo,
Starfruit

Hi Alice,
I don't have any really big health issues-- just minor ones. . .but that's why I love to fast, so that the 'minors' don't become the 'majors.' ;-D I'm 57 and lately I've noticed a slight qualitative change in my hip joints-- they're still flexible and everything, but something feels slightly less springy and vital, so that's one thing I know fasting will help enormously. (My muscles and joints are always better after a fast.) I want to get toxins out, lose some weight-- I'm not one of those super-skinny raw people, and I have to work to stay slim. It's a blessing in disguise because it keeps me on the straight and narrow. Finally, I want to have my eyes sparkle and get brilliant white again and lose a few lines and wrinkles.

Warm regards-- and good luck with the 100% goal!

Sharrhan:


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Hi Starfruit,
I love your name! Thank you-- I'll keep blogging, and I sincerely hope whatever I experience and learn will help others.

Love, joy and peace,

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2007 03:44AM by kwan.

Day One
10:45 p.m.

Wow, this is really nice: Usually it takes me 3-6 days to get into the 'feeling' of fasting-- that unmistakably mellow, soft, loving, flowing kind of energy that envelops you as you move deeper into a fast. But it's been less than 24 hours and I'm definitely feeling it already, and it's a wonderful thing, a distinct energy that I only feel when I fast. I'm usually a little too restless, a little too busy in my mind, with too much background anxiety about what's happening in our world right now.

Fasting is like a soothing, calming lotion that pours itself-- almost unnoticed at first, and never in an unbalancing or overly powerful way-- first into and around the edges of your thoughts, and as the fast progresses it deepens sometimes to a point where you're thinking less thoughts or even no thoughts, and that's when it's really blissful.

Oh-- and the great thing I notice about fasting, too, is that it doesn't numb me out or make me uncaring or apathetic about 'what is' in the world around me. Fasting has depened my spiritual activism and given me a focus on one or two priorities (for me it's been about promoting peace and protecting the food supply) rather than allowing me to let my head spin unproductively over a litany of things that need fixing in the world.

Sharrhan:


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wow you are amazing...keep up the good work and keep us updated.....i am inspired by this....i would love to do a fast again but right now is not a good time....maybe at the beginning of summer!!
keep us posted
love sachelle
xoxoxoxoxoxox

Today's Day 2. It's going well and I can hardly tell I'm fasting so far. I'm surprised and delighted.

For the sake of ease, I've decided to move my fasting journal to my blog:

[sharrhan.blogspot.com]

Hope to see you there!

Sharrhan:


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Hi Sachelle,
Thanks! But nah, I'm just a nitwit who doesn't know any better than to start a fast when it's 10 degrees outside. ;-p Good luck with your summer fast.

Love, joy and peace--
Sharrhan

P.S. Feel free to visit my blog (see link above)-- I'll keep journaling about my fast until I'm done.

Sharrhan:


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Hi there Sharrhan...just wanted to say hello and wish you well on your continueing success on the water fast...keep it up hope all is well....sending good vibes your way
love sachelle
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

kwan

i like your artwork a lot
specially all the angels
and the colors
they are beautiful

thanks for sharing in your blog
very nice
made me feel peaceful just reading it

hugs