Re: *fasting mind* for a future fast

Dear M, I'm glad you took that in the spirit it was intended--that is, no judgement. It's taken me eons :-)to learn these things--and bit by bit, the big mysteries turn out to be very simple. And the obstacles, not much more than dandelion fluff.

I was thinking today of something that's really helped me in my water fasts, and maybe one day I'll write it into a short book, with some pictures. It's this: put a little fence around your fasting mind. You can have a lot of fun with revisiting this, daily, when you're relaxing with a cup of hot water. (my favorite drink)

The image that might come to mind is of a young tree, pick your favorite 'inner tree' (maybe some lovely fruit). For me, it would be apricot or almond. (then I would play Djivan Gasparyan "moon shines at night"--which is played on an instrument made from the root of an apricot tree. Magic! wonderful, calming music.)Then imagine yourself as this little sapling, growing somewhere peaceful, with a small white collar around the base, and some supportive strings, and some sort of fence around it--maybe an invisible one. This is to keep away all the grazers who'd love to snack on the tender bark and so forth.

Picturing this little fence around your 'fasting mind' means that you can go about your life with a sense of wholenes, knowing that there is a means in place whereby you are safe from all harmful or invasive 'input'.

Try this--and I think you will find it very helpful. Also, it has a way of naturally increasing your loving care of yourself--After all, you are a young tree, who will one day feed many creatures, and be the cause of their well-being.

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