Wanna Piece of Hunger?

How long have you gone the most without food? How did it feel, what were you thinking, what comes into your mind? For those who have done fasting, the answers might come in various ways, forms and intentions.

Earthly intentions: those who constantly think about food, or those who just feel like sleeping all day. Or, some want to just lose those unsightly weight we all love to hate, fat. Remind me of those blissful days of collecting all kinds of food right before breaking my fast, only to indulge myself in a food binge (and overeating, hehe).

Religious reasons: Many religious institutions practice some form of fasting in order to train the follower's mind and body to accept certain conditions that might alter his/her perceptions. In a case of extreme situation, there have been stories where people went on without food for up to 40 days! No corroboration to the above claims, but you can go ahead and find these stories, mostly appear in yogic or sufism traditions.I suppose for me fasting is still an amalgam of all the above reasons :) However, often times, moment of clarity in thinking occur during the time of fasting. Additionally, there is a feeling of relief of not having to think constantly about what to eat . This daily ritual of eating is quite tiresome and spend a majority of our time :) It feels good to be able to relieve myself from its routine, even for a short time.

Another aspect of fasting which comes to my mind is how light my body feels and how it affects my daily behaviour. I am realizing that I find it very refreshing to be able to get away from the grind of life and step into something as radical as fasting for a month (believe me, I have been called crazy by some people for doing this :) ). There is a sense of accomplishment each and everytime I finish the day, having the ability to somehow control my thoughts and emotions (as much as possible, though it is especially difficult in a non accommodating countries such as Japan), it is quite a rigorous training which could be draining to myself had I not really prepared for it.

The mental part is always the toughest one for me.I am not trying to preach here, but if you are ever interested in doing this, you might want to share what you experience during fasting. I am certain you will have a very refreshing story/stories to tell!