People mostly fast as a form of religious act, but have you ever heard about spiritual fasting?
This concept is slowly gaining popularity because of the multiple benefits it brings to your life and your spiritual path.
From gaining clarity to cleansing your soul, it brings you lots of blessings. So, if you’re ready to practice, let’s know more about it…
What Is Spiritual Fasting?
Spiritual fasting implies different things to different people. For some, all kinds of fasting are spiritual fasting. For others, it’s to abstain from a particular food, meal, or activity for a while.
Ultimately, the aim of spiritual fasting is to achieve spiritual growth, a deeper connection with your beliefs, and mindfulness. It also helps your general health.
But that’s not all about spiritual fasts. So, let’s understand the concept better here…
4 Things To Remember During Spiritual Fasting
You can choose whichever technique you resonate the most with to practice spiritual fasting. But other than that, you must be aware of the following facts:
1. Spiritual fasting is linked to physical fasting
During a spiritual fast, you must deny yourself food. This is the basic step that makes it actually a type of “fasting.” Otherwise, it’ll be the same as meditation and contemplation.
When you deny your body’s basic physical needs, you can refocus on your faith and spirituality from your body.
This is an act of faith in yourself and the higher powers. It helps you practice discipline and self-control. You learn to manage the desires of your flesh.
It’s all about how you overcome earthly desires and make space for the higher power. Moreover, physical fasting also helps your body lose weight and boost overall health.
2. Spiritual fasting helps you focus on your faith
Physical fasting helps you gain clarity, which in turn lets you find and restore spiritual clarity. Since you don’t have to worry about feeding your body, you’ll have time to focus on prayers, meditation, and any other spiritual contemplation.
It’s all about managing your needs so that you can push yourself toward something greater – spiritual health and faith.
3. The process of spiritual fasting is extremely personal
Some advertise their spiritual fasting rituals. They announce their practices and intent to gain validation and attention. However, the practice is deeply personal.
When you overshare these activities in person or on social media, you break the rule of being humble. Without humility, you can’t reap the benefits of the practice.
At most, you can practice this with close friends and family. But ensure you don’t talk about your hopes, expectations, and other details with others. Let that stay between you and the higher power.
Once you perform the entire practice, share only the bits and pieces that seem appropriate. You can also support and guide others to perform the fast. But when you’re fasting, focus on your own journey.
4. Spiritual fasting does not harm your health
Many assume that spiritual and physical fasting is all about suffering oneself. After all, physical discomfort is expected when you deny your body food.
However, your focus must not be this discomfort because it’s only a momentary feeling and nothing extreme.
Once you recognize that, you will understand that hunger is only one of the few minor needs of the flesh.
Unless you have medical conditions like diabetes, it instead improves overall health.
But if you’re curious to know more reasons behind practicing this, let’s keep reading…
What Are The Motivations Of Spiritual Fasting?
Spirituality is a deep and personal belief, so there’s no one-size-fits-all benefit from this. So, the motivations are also not fixed. It depends on your faith, experience, goals, and comfort.
But here are the most common motivations behind it:
- To renew faith
- To seek redemption
- To mourn
- To deal with struggles of major life choice
- To seek your purpose in life or direction
- To overcome addiction
- To deal with setbacks and crises in life
- To connect with nature
- As a way to improve health and wellness
Now, if you want to know more about the advantages of practicing this, let’s check the next part…
6 Benefits Of Spiritual Fasting
Spiritual fasting has several benefits for your mind, body, and soul, even if its main focus is on your faith. It resets your entire being and brings balance to your life. So, let’s explore the universal benefits of spiritual fasting:
1. Spiritual clarity
After a spiritual fast, you gain a sense of self-knowledge regarding your position within your spirituality and faith.
Once you know the truth about your position, you must not judge yourself, even if the reality is bitter. Rather, work toward your goal. This clarity will further empower you to make better decisions.
2. Soul cleanse
Just like any other dietary fast, spiritual fast helps you cleanse your body. You abstain from food and let your body relax from the constant digestion process.
This break also cleanses your soul while reminding you of the link between your soul and body. You get to eliminate your unhealthy habits, negative thoughts, and everything that weighs you down.
3. Faith renewal
Another benefit is that the practice rekindles your zeal to live and walk on the path of your faith. You realign your beliefs and make space for your bond with the higher power. Ultimately, this makes you stronger, and you learn new ways to live according to your faith.
4. Surge in energy
During the fast, your body isn’t focused on digestion, you have extra energy to work on other things. This energy helps you explore your spirituality.
The energy stays even after you complete the fast. Thus, your overall energy is more, and you feel energized.
5. Tuning with the world
A spiritual fast helps you build awareness and concentration. It further helps you foster a strong sense of connection with the universe. You become less selfish and become free from the confines of your needs.
Your newfound awareness helps you focus inwardly and on something greater. You also become more aware of your surroundings. You genuinely start to serve the higher power, the purpose of your life, and others’ needs.
6. Transcendent empowerment
Another major benefit is that you transcend or rise above the desires and expectations of the flesh. You remember that the body is temporary, and the only eternal thing is your soul.
As a result, you feel empowered by the things that are beyond the physical body. You let go of physical and materialistic expectations and feel satisfied with the deeper, invaluable, and non-physical things.
Thus, you build a strong bond with your spiritual self and overcome every fleeting physical want.
But there are more reasons behind embracing this practice. So, let’s know more here…
Importance Of Spiritual Fasting In Modern Life
In this age, people fill their stomachs with toxic food and apply tons of products with chemicals on themselves – like grooming, makeup, and personal care products.
People breathe in toxins with the air. They also consume digital data, which leaves their own thinking abilities crippled. It also stresses them and causes information overload.
So, a temporary abstain – spiritual fast – can help them get rid of the bad effects of these things. It lets you contemplate in peace and sleep.
You can only see the physical effects of different forms of toxins on your physical body. But it also affects your emotional and spiritual self. A spiritual fast is a one-stop solution to restore balance in your life.
Now, if you’re ready to embrace this practice, let’s know it all…
How To Perform Spiritual Fasting?
If you have any cultural or religious rules on fasting, you can always follow them. However, if you know no such rule, let’s get a basic understanding here:
1. Fast from food and drinks
Physical fasting includes fasting of food and/or drinks. However, if you have any medical condition, this step can be changed accordingly. So, ensure you speak with your healthcare provider first.
If it’s impossible for you to abstain from food and drinks completely, here’s what you can do:
- Abstain from meat – anything non-vegetarian.
- Abstain from food containing sugar.
- Abstain from alcoholic beverages or addictive substances.
- Make sure you eat other foods and have plenty of water.
2. Avoid technology and entertainment
Spend time away from smartphones, tablets, computers, video games, television, radio, and other electronic gadgets.
If you avoid these, you can also avoid the entertainment aspects – like social media, streaming networks, and movies or series.
3. Spend time with yourself and higher powers
During spiritual fasting, abstaining from so much can easily make you bored. So learn to keep yourself occupied with the following activities:
- Pray
- Listen to religious or spiritual music
- Play religious or spiritual music using musical instruments
- Journal your emotions
- Go for a walk
- Pour out your creativity
A word from TheMindFool
Spiritual fasting helps you progress more in your spiritual journey. However, make sure you practice it in moderation. Your body might not be eternal, but you must cherish it because it’s one of the blessings from the higher powers.
Moreover, don’t forget to consult your physician about fasting from food. Ensure you don’t push yourself and that’s the best way to progress on this path.
So, act mindfully toward your body and spirit, and reap all the benefits!
