Starting a Short Fast Again...

Date:   3/10/2016 7:20:06 PM ( 8 y ago)

Mid March is nearly here and I thought it was time for an update and another short fast while I have the time and condition to do it! Its been a busy time for me, I fasted for about 37 days than took a little food for a few days bringing the whole experience up to about 40-41 days. After that I went back on the fast for a further 5 days having a little food some days and only liquids on others, around the 18th of Feb I started eating more solids and transiting back into eating normally.

That's gone on for 23 days now, they passed very quickly, during that time I've been to the city and back twice for a huge weekend and some work initially with the houses and attending the incredible White Nights Festival Melbourne first trip, and a series of teachings and bit of work on the second which lasted nearly a week - I returned back home last night and have got just enough time to spend the next 3 days weaning off solids again to fit in a short 11 day liquid fast before departing again for a week long retreat in the Blue Mountains with a really incredible Dzogchen master.

I got really really low energy after the first trip and the big weekend - think it was a good thing I started eating a few days before the big festival as it was a huge output of energy attending that (we danced and walked non-stop from 11 pm to about 9:30 the next morning all over the city, then attended a massive art exhibit!) - it was awesome but took a lot out of me & I'm not sure if going back onto foods was part of that or if the weird very back and forth extremes of weather played a part - all or any combo of the above, my energy's returned now anyway and I feel back to normal and ready to push forward again - really looking forward to a short 11 day fast - then the retreat which will be profound - and that will start me into the month of April, perhaps the last month of truly warm weather - So I'd like to finish my 2016 fasting journey with a longer fast again in April on y return home - another 21 days would be great or something of that nature - then transit slowly back to foods and onto the intermittent fast diet again with the aim of staying on it this year through the difficult winter period by increasing the caloric intake on the fast days from 500-800 during the coldest parts of the year.

It's good to be home, its wonderful to have received the teachings I attended last week and everything is pretty clockwork at the moment, business is good, social life is good, I've been having fun - living with my ex at the moment is not so easy as he's going through a difficult time - its got plus's and minus's though and we are putting the friendship first during a time for transition. I'm continuing on in using the difficulty as a practice to develop my patience, kindness, skill and so on - he has a serious anxiety disorder probably bordering on disability and is a very troubled lad, I've been taking to heart of late the Buddhist teachings on using these conditions in my life as a practice to develop my qualities - Its easy to read a lot of philosophy, go to a lot of teachings and listen but application of the methods and practices that will bring about the transformation in oneself that is the goal of all that study is so important. I started keeping a journal of my thoughts and progress with that - life is the great teacher and our approach to that is route to self mastery. I've received so many precious teachings from great masters and have so much respect for the self control and stability they live with. I really want to continue to develop that kind of maturity, consideration and dignity within myself. Buddhist teachings are incredible, they know how to take every situation in life as fuel for the path :) Trying to apply this with mindfulness quietly... So this situation at home can be very useful.

Enough rambling for today - I'll blog again soon as I go into the next short leg of my 2016 summer fasting!

Good Luck to all you readers!


 

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