From: adams@mari.acc-admin.stolaf.edu (Brynach ap Adda)
Newsgroups: alt.pagan
Subject: Re: food for fasting
Date: 18 Dec 92 21:10:51 GMT
Organization: St. Olaf College; Northfield, MN

In article <Bz9z3r.F4F@news.iastate.edu> txdv1@isuvax.iastate.edu writes:
>I have a segestion->dont!!!
...
>Their are beter ways to meditate/cleans the soul then dening your self some
>of the basic necesities.
>
>Elf-Kin


Oh, bosh!

It's true that there is some risk of bodily harm involved in fasting,
though this is normally true only for extended fasts, and certainly 
there is a bit of discomfort to be expected as part of the experience.
But in all the pagan theologies in which fasting plays a major role, the
pain and even, I would argue, the risk of harm, are essential elements
of the act. Fasting is not just another way to meditate or cleanse
oneself; you can burn vervain or sweetgrass, or take a dip in a holy
well to do that. Fasting is what you do when you really need to talk
to Them, when you are willing to make the trip to Annwfn personally.
The object is precisely to reduce yourself, to make yourself pitiable,
to become like a dead person or a person waiting to be born. It's not
something to do lightly, but some peoples feel everyone has to do it
at least once. 

For a truly extended fast - up to a month - most people
I've consulted recommend water only, perhaps with
a bit of salt to avoid electrolyte imbalance, which is the major
danger to an otherwise healthy person. You can take juice for about
the same reason, with the added benefit of vitamin C, but
the problem with juice or anything flavored is its tendency to
stimulate the appetite, which otherwise will virtually disappear
after a few days without any food. I would recommend using one
of the salt substitute mixtures with 50% potassium chloride, so both
sodium and potassium levels are maintained. About a teaspoonful
daily should do it, and drink as much water as you can to flush
out your body. During an extended fast, it will take three to five
days for the body to get used to the idea that there's no food to
digest. This is the painful period. After that, your body will
start breaking down its fat reserves, releasing all the fat-soluble
toxins it's accumulated along the way. You will start to smell funny,
and your mouth may develop a coating. Don't worry; just bathe and
wash your mouth out if you want. You will develop the classic symptoms
of lightheadedness and fatigue, interspersed with sudden bursts of
energy and euphoria. Your senses will seem much sharper, along with
your intellectual and creative capacities. And you will see things.

The hardest part is adjusting to a normal diet after a fast. This
will take at least a week. You will need to start out on liquids:
soup, juice, maybe a little yogurt. Gradually add semi-solid foods
as your appetite returns, and by all means, don't rush it and eat
too much - you can block your intestinal tract and get very sick
if you take solids too fast. Just baby yourself - you have more or
less been born again as a living being, after all - and get friends
to help you recover.
 
That's for an extended fast of five days to a month. For shorter
fasts, you can even do without the salt, and if you're going for
three days at the most, it's traditional for some Native peoples
to do it without any water, unless, of course, it rains and your
mouth is hanging open. I would not recommend going without water
unless a number of people know where you are and will check on
you after two or three days, and unless the weather is suitable;
you can dehydrate very rapidly in hot and/or dry weather.

A three-day fast ending on Samhain is an old Celtic means of
contacting your ancestors. I did this myself to meet my three
patron figures, and I do it once in a while to strengthen the
bond. You can also fast against persons or institutions as a 
means of cursing them or blocking some action of theirs, and 
traditionally the only way to counter this action is for them
to fast as well. A few years back I fasted for 18 days as part
of a movement to end military assistance to the government of
El Salvador - this was a water/salt fast, and I obtained 
permission from my college pastor to sleep in the chapel. I 
was also taking a course in Anglo-Saxon Literature from the 
renowned Kevin Crossley-Holland, eminent translator and reteller
of _Beowulf_, the _Mabinogion_, the Norse myths and more; that
was during the January interim. I made one Hel of a class
presentation and aced the course, as well as radicalizing the
campus a wee bit. And it appears the curse has worked to some
extent - we'll just have to see if the peace accord in Salvador
holds.
 
hwyl fawr,
Brynach Brawdfran ap Adda       (Sam Adams)   adams@mari.acc-admin.stolaf.edu

"I am the Wheel, I am the Turning..."    - Brian Eno and John Cale