What is fasting? – Last Part
Many people of the past and present claim fasting is a panacea and that through fasting we can even heal diseases. Is that really true? Does fasting cure disease? The natural hygienists and Neo natural hygienists do not believe there are thousands of diseases produced by some kind of invisible enemy. We believe the source doesn’t lie outside of the human body, but can be easily backtracked to our modern day habits of living. Disease as the term is used today is actually a cure in itself. Hence, consider the following questions that Dr Shelton used in order to respond whenever asked about whether fasting can heal us.
If disease is a process of cure, does fasting cure disease? If there are no cures for disease, if disease does not need to be cured. Is fasting a cure? Does nature cure vomiting or does she use vomiting as a means of ejecting unwanted materials from the stomach? Does the body cure coughing or is a vital act by which irritants and obstructions are expelled from the Respiratory Tract. Does diarrhea need to be cured or is diarrhea a process by which obnoxious materials are rushed out of the digestive tract? Does nature cure inflammation, or is inflammation A reparative and defensive process by which broken bones are in it, lacerated flesh is healed and foreign bodies are removed from the flesh. Is there a need to cure fever, or is fever part of the body's own healing activities? Does not coughing automatically and spontaneously seize when there is no longer any need for it? Does no diarrhea seize when it has freed the digestive tract of all offensive materials? Does not inflammation subside when the bone has knit or the wound healed? What is there to cure about various processes of the body that are collectively labelled disease?
The fast is like a reset for us. We can start again. Re-load into the game with a blank slate avatar and it is up to us, whether we return to our old habits or change. If we are to retain the slightest respect for ourselves, we must first learn to respect our stomach. However, do not think just because we have the option to fast, we can continue our unnatural mode of living. We need to return back to nature, to a natural mode of life and fasting is an element we can see being employed everywhere in nature and so it is also with us.
Fasting is the bread of the prophets. The sweet morsel of the Saints. A teacher of mine would say fasting is meditation of the body and meditation is fastening of the mind. Fasting helps the body to purify itself of the toxins that accumulate through the impurities of food and incomplete digestion. Fasting, as long as it is not excessive, is based on a positive relationship to the body, for it eases the burdens the body must carry. Indulgence, whether in food, intoxicants or pleasures, is a form of cruelty towards the body because of the price. The body must pay for our so-called pleasures…Purification leaves the body, especially the nervous system, in a more responsive state. Hunger reduces the need for sleep and increases wakefulness. Eating our fill hardens the heart. While hunger opens the heart and increases detachment. In hunger, some of the veils between us and what is real are removed. Remembrance becomes a way of life. Fasting has been a catalyst for awakening in all sacred traditions. Coleman Banks in Open Secret translates a roomy saying this way. If the brain and belly are burning clean with fasting every moment a new song comes out of the fire. With gratitude for being embodied, we will listen to what the body has to tell us. As always, gratitude will restore the proper perspective and remind us that the body is a means for awakening the soul.
Therefore we can easily extrapolate that fasting is by no means any cure. Same can be said about all the natural agents like sun or water. They merely establish the conditions for healing to take place. If the body does not have to focus on the complex process of digestion, then it`s hands are free to focus on other aspects. True to its primary objective of preserving life, should there be any condition that needs to be rectified, the time not wasted on digestion will be invested in resolving any morbid condition. We can see all animals employ fasting in sickness and if we paid attention, we should do the same.
“Nature herself indicates this in the strongest possible manner, for not only is all the desire for food cut off, but the most tempting dishes are not relished by the sick person. There is a positive disinclination to take food, no matter how tasty. Bear also in mind that the food decomposes and poisons the patient because his digestive power has been greatly impaired and that to give more food under such conditions is only to add to the poisoning. The disease will last until the poisons have been eliminated and the decomposing food has been voided. Fever, vomiting and purging are nature’s methods of getting rid of the poison, and when these cases are fasted and not fed, such troubles soon end”
P. 290 Herbert Shelton The Science of Fasting
Nature shows exactly what she needs when she flattens the patient. She suspends all digestive activities to preserve energy by limiting its dissipation. The energy thus saved is available for use in the temporarily more important work of healing. If we are wise, we will take our cue from nature and also conserve our energies by curbing expenditures. Rest conserves the body’s energies and substances and hastens the process of healing. However, the first step is to regain faith in nature, for nature is not out there to kill us, all we need to do is start listening again to her voice and following her advice.
