20 Days in, the close of one cycle of fasting with the full moon and looking forward to another cycle of 21 days

Date:   1/23/2016 12:36:37 AM ( 8 y ago)

It's the 20th day now and I haven't written in awhile. I've been back to the city and returned again late last night - so it's been a busy few days of travel and work on.

Days 15-18 went well, continued the liquid fast and my Chulen practice up to the afternoon of the 17th day when we drove back down to Melbourne. Was starting to feel a little floaty waking in the mornings and getting a bit more of that increased sense of smell, though my mind seemed quite clear and quick compared to a little earlier in the fast.

Day 19 I had a mid fast break and slowly ate a small meal over the course of the afternoon - it was simple food, some broth to start with and a little later I had some rice and chicken. I took my time eating the dish in little bits over several hours - it was nice and satisfying. I didn't hear any stomach grumbling or kicking back into gear but I woke on the morning of the 20th day (today) feeling really great. I was energized and very happy. Guess the small meal gave me a big boost.

Today I am going to have a little bit more solids, in the form of the rest of the soup I started with yesterday - it was a ramen soup, I mainly ate the broth yesterday so there are some leftover noodles and a bit of pork - after this I'll go back to fasting on liquids for another 21 days - tomorrow is 21 and after that I'll start afresh another cycle of 21. It's a good number :)

I got hip to the new ultra pricey cold pressed juice thing while I was in the city, coming across a little very yuppie juice bar in a mall while I was doing some shopping - I never thought I'd pay $18 for 2 juices, but man they were the best juices I've ever had. This has led me to a morning of research on cold pressed juices and making my own (I've had a old school juice extractor for years and now I've tasted the difference I'll make a gift of it to one of my lovely tenants) - So with enthusiasm and conviction I'll be buying a new machine in the next few days and getting a bit more into some really amazing juice over the next 21 day section. I might add in some nut milks or smoothie type drinks some days, thinking about that - and whether or not I want to add drinking a morning glass of jamu (a very popular Indonesian tumeric tonic) to my next 21 days and whether or not I want to add the traditional egg yolk to the jamu or just have it without.

I've been reflecting on the aspect of including milk and kefir in my fasts, which I've done for many of them, and considering this really is a food, am wondering if it changes things much adding in the egg yolk to the jamu and the nut milk or smoothie type drinks. My thinking is hmmmm... I guess its really partly about caloric intake not going up too much and that if I'm not eating solids and the gates of digestion remain shut that the detox and benefits continue. I'm never going to be doing 8 juices a day, I just wouldn't feel like it and can't be bothered making that many juices - lol, I'll be more likely to have 2 or 3 a day max and maybe one that incorporates some fruit and nut milk or some creamier kind of drink because its so satisfying and nice - I guess moderation is really the thing, I wouldn't want to have a lot of those drinks - there's protein already in the milk and kefir drinks I do have so I suppose it's not really something that makes a big difference to what I have been doing. Just making the whole liquid fast more fun, more long term is the idea. It really is a lot of fun anyway and drinking things like that make it so enjoyable, a total walk in the park.

I'd like to keep fasting for quite some time to come this year - maybe 2 more cycles of 21 days and then say enough's enough perhaps :)

When I cease this fast, I want to go slowly back to eating, ending up back on an intermittent diet - consuming 500 calories every other day or 3 out of 4 days a week while the warm weather persists. What messes me up every year is when winter comes and I find it too hard to fast or follow such a restrictive diet in the cold weather - I'm thinking this year I want to really try working with ways to overcome what has always ended up as a yoyo kind of cycle for me, Australian houses are not heated efficiently most of the ones I've lived in anyway, and its a real challenge keeping calories down and fitness up during the half of the year in Victoria when you're shivering indoors. It messes up my yoga, all the good work I do, etc... I know I can't do 500 calories every other day in that weather but this year I'm thinking of trying to just up it to 800 or something like that and stick with it during those months. I love the house that I'm in and I'm in a position where putting a deposit on it is a possibility this year and paying it off - there are a few things that make me wonder if I should tho, one is the heating in the house, the other is its proximity to a very noisy busy road and I guess the 3rd is the uncertainty of whether I really want to stay in the area - on the other hand, there's a lot I really love about the place and it would be great to own something and have that stability and investment. I always figure its a good investment anyway but I'm not really decided as of yet. I should look into central heating, what it would cost to get that installed here and make it reasonably efficient. I'd like to check out putting solar panels in also - if I fixed it up so there was central heat, and the beautiful fireplace wasn't the only way to keep warm but instead became a lovely feature I'd be pretty keen. Must investigate!

Well I'm inspired, looking youthful, feeling good, excited about the prospect of the new juicer and how nice that will be - and about just continuing. I'm not going to take chulen today or do that practice because I'm taking some food - I'll start that again tomorrow or the next day when I take up the next 21 day cycle which is going to incorporate those lovely pressed juices. It feels great to be fasting again - even though I've had a little food I've still got the white tongue and all the detox going on - it didn't really slow that much and I'm enjoying the elated feeling that gave me as I look forward into the next leg of this fast. Also, now that my neck and shoulder have completely healed, its time to all my usual 90 mins of morning yoga, bushwalking, kayaking and cycling in to what I'm doing and start to work the body again :) So glad that 2 months of being mangled is over!!!

More soon,
It's a full moon tonight which makes a special practice day for those os us practicing the Dharma and a good day for breaking the fast a little as my late Teacher used to instruct.
We have a special ritual feast on full moons and new moons that goes with a practice to offer the feast to all beings and bring benefit.
It's nice to feel in tune with the natural rhythms as I deepen into the fast with my practice.

Om Swastiastu :)





 

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