Chemical plants and refineries operate continuously for many months and even years, but eventually they must be shut down for maintenance. When they are, they are very different places.
Instead of the loud roar of compressors and high pitched whine of pumps, there is relative silence. The clanging of tools, crackling of welding arcs, and humming of diesel generators fill the air, but it is nothing like the sound of the operating plant. Lots of things have to happen in a short amount of time, because "time is money." The system must be emptied out, cleaned out, inspected, repaired, and modified where necessary. Safety equipment must be checked and refurbished, and known weak points must be replaced with new parts. Then everything must be buttoned back up and safely refilled with hazardous materials so it can all be restarted. This typically all takes a number of weeks to accomplish, and requires a lot of planning and preparation.
You can always tell where there is a shutdown happening. Cranes.
Our bodies apparently need occasional "shutdowns," too. They are designed for it, but we rarely, if ever, carry them out. They are called "fasts," and they are a foreign concept to our modern, western culture.
Fasting is not something I ever really considered doing for any lengthy period, but I did write about it as part of a previous post in 2016. I concluded...
I believe fasting is appropriate when we are specifically called to do so by the Holy Spirit, or we have lost contact with Him, but most of the behaviors promoted by this particular book are not relevant under the New Covenant.
I still agree with that assessment, and the analysis I did in that post.
As I previously discussed, I lost my wife in January, and since then it has basically been just the Holy Spirit and me. My wife and I had been doing some intermittent fasting, eating about twice a day. In recent weeks I had decreased that to eating one big meal a day. I had also started growing out my beard, simply to see what it did. Eventually things got to the point where the refrigerator was pretty empty, I had used up anything that needed to be used, and I really had no motivation to go to the grocery store. This was not out of laziness, however. It was like I was being blocked.
So, I decided to start fasting, to see what it was like. It was easy because I just did not eat that meal the next day. Or the next. Or the next. The "detox" headaches came first, but I've had those before. Then I had a couple of days where I had a sore throat. Then one ear started popping, and a few days later some wax came out. Lots of interesting things happened, but it all made sense.
I'm not going to go into details, and I am definitely not giving anybody any advice. I will leave that to those who think it is their job to do. I am also not going to get into the length of the fast because this is not about boasting. I just want to convey some of the things that I learned.
...when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:17-18 NIV)
This fast did not start out being "spiritual," but once I was into it I realized it actually was. My beard was long enough that it masked any gaunt appearance of my face. Some of my clothing was already baggy, especially my work clothes, and it was really not obvious to anybody what I was doing. The Holy Spirit had arranged this, but I was still doing it for "health reasons."
Autophagy is the body's mechanism for removing damaged and old cells. It roughly means "self-devouring." Being the engineer that I am, I wanted to see how it worked.
The bottom line was, my body found peace. It was almost like it was saying to me, "Thank you. Thank you for giving me a break!" I continued to take my daily walks, mowed the grass, worked in the garden, talked with the neighbors, and walked downtown to see a couple of concerts. And nobody was the wiser. At least for a while.
I started keeping track of my weight after I was well into it, because I'm an engineer and I wanted to make sure I understood what was going on. Staying hydrated was important, and I continued with my use of sea salt to maintain electrolytes. I got very tired of drinking water.
Later on, I did slow down a lot, and I got weaker. I started thinking a lot about food, and my stomach would periodically try to remind me that it was boss, but it was not. This is where the "spiritual" learning started to kick in. I found myself ignoring my flesh and easily found myself passing much time in spiritual thoughts. These are things I did not anticipate.
More than midway through the fast I needed to fix my mother breakfast in order to get her to an early appointment where she had to be alert, and I made her fried eggs and toast. It was not a problem at all. The next day, I took her grocery shopping, and that wasn't a problem either. It was amazing.
Not knowing how it would end, I decided if someone wanted to arrange a meal, or some event, I would call it quits. Soon after, my mother asked me a number of times to take her out to get something to eat, and she also started to quiz me about what I was doing. I explained it to her and told her it was time to be done. I had started making unforced errors and my primary responsibility was taking care of her.1
God desires mercy, not sacrifice. As I discussed in that other related post, spending time fasting does not show anyone any mercy. Asceticism doesn't do anyone any good; it's showboating. It was time to go eat with my mother, although I told her I needed to take things slowly.
Recommissioning
I picked the time to end my fast, and I recommenced by starting with chicken broth. Then I moved to a couple of eggs. Then, I had a small spoon of raw honey. I had been craving a peanut butter and Miracle Whip sandwich, which is something I ate as a child, but I had to settle for Mayonaise. Then I wanted some of the Gatorade I had bought for my mother because she had been dehydrated, and she gladly gave it to me because she doesn't like the stuff. I asked her for a peanut butter and dill pickle sandwich, which is something our family always ate, and she gladly gave me one. (I wanted her to remember that I had ended my fast.) Then I went home and had part of a pastie. You get the idea.
I took it slowly, but it was amazing how quickly my body realized the "famine" was over. I've been craving a lot of bread, which is something I typically do not eat, but apparently that's what my body wants. It doesn't surprise me that Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread. I can sense that these foods are necessary to recharge my glucose stores in my muscles.2 I'm resting a lot.
This is my second day out of my fast, and I went to the grocery store today. I was at such peace. There are some recipes I intend to do, but my primary focus was on getting bread for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and yogurt to repopulate my... you know. My body is amazing, and it is guiding me about what to do.
God's design is so incredible. All glory to him!
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UPDATES, April 3, 2022...
1Relocated and clarified this sentence.
2The book Body By Science by Doug McGuff has been very useful to me. It promotes a very sensible method for building muscle mass and includes the scientific background behind it. You can view a free Internet archive of the book here.
UPDATE, November 6, 2022...
According to these articles in The Epoch Times, fasting and autophagy are natural methods for detoxing from COVID infection and vaccination. So is exposure to sunlight.
UPDATE, August 11, 2023...
Now that I have reclaimed my birthright political status as a Michiganian, I can actually speak freely. My unalienable rights are intact and protected by the Bill of Rights of the Constitutions.
U.S. Citizens and citizens of the United States are welcome to listen to my opinions and take my advice at their own risk. We all must learn to self-govern and take responsibility for ourselves.
It has been over two years since my fast, and I feel great. I go to sleep when it gets dark (although not always to bed right away 😂), and wake up when it starts to get light. I am naturally eating less and eating when I get hungry. I have also relaxed some of my dietary practices and moved away from supplements. I get my nutrition through eating food, as God intends.
Out of curiosity, I weighed myself this morning, the first time since ending my fast. I have regained 29 pounds and believe I am at my ideal weight. My "love handles" are gone. My Sweetie would be proud of me, and maybe even a bit amorous. Wouldn't that be nice? 💞
In the year or so after my fast, I did strength training five times. I would like to get back to the gym at some point, but it has not really been important in the big scheme of things.
I am convinced that fasting is an essential part of life and its effects are long-lasting. Eating the way God intends and getting appropriate amounts of sunlight are also key. When we do things God's way, we will be rewarded.