Remember being a kid and wondering why not eating is called a “fast”? Is it because we hope it gets over with as FAST as possible? As an adult, I have come to wonder why is a fast, or fasting, included in so many cultural traditions, including my own, and why would we embark on this type of challenge in the first place? What is the impetus to continue to include fasting into our “modern world”? And do we wish our life away while we are fasting hoping to get it over with, just to be able to have that tuna sandwich or whatever when it is time to break our fast???

The basics: What is a fast?

Main Entry: fast

Function: intransitive verb

Etymology:Middle English, from Old English fæstan

Date: before 12th century

1 : to abstain from food 2 : to eat sparingly or abstain from some foods

Who fasts? and how far do we have to go?

Importantly, a fast is an opt-in choice to lengthen the time between stimulus (need to eat) and response (eating.) Perhaps whenever we humans find ourselves at this moment, and it is usually a mere moment, between stimulus and response, we can actualize ourselves in a way unlike any other creature. Other rituals in diverse communities also serve to lengthen the time between stimulus and response- these rituals deal with basic human needs such as breathing (water/immersion rituals last a few seconds) to sexuality (abstinence vows lasting a lifetime.) My opinion -as a student of human development- is to place the most value on the types of traditions, and by this I include social traditions, religious/faith-based traditions, health traditions, all-of-the-above traditions, which have a definite beginning, middle, and end. I see much intrinsic value for the individual and her community, as a person practices the extension of the time between stimulus and response while not excluding any part of the equation. This can create an amazing, unified and beautiful connection between the physical and the non-physical. Fasting: we begin having eaten in the past, we refrain from eating despite the physical pangs of hunger, we resume eating by breaking the fast. Situate this procedure within a community or society, and the goal of flipping over Maslow’s pyramid can be achieved by an entire group in a single day.

The balance of concealment and revelation has a faith-based power which the practice of fasting can illuminate. Revelation cannot exist without its foil, concealment. Think of how our body reveals strong urges to satisfy hunger, and think of our emotions that have stronger urges to eat when we feel bad, happy, when we are not hungry but we’re at a party so we eat anyway. Think of the part of our humanity which some call the soul, or the spirit, or the psyche, or life-force, or other word. It is this aspect of the person which temporarily conceals the physical urges of hunger by avoiding their satisfaction during a fast. The need to eat is a basic need that cannot be set aside easily because life literally depends on it. But the power imbued within concealment should not be underestimated. Concealment is greater in power and scope than revelation. An amazing concept and true.

So if we are waiting around for a miracle or other law-of-physics defying act to be a magic refrigerator we open up to fulfill- moment by moment – every stimuli in life, consider that the power of concealment may evoke a stronger connection to our own humanity and perhaps even to a higher power.

Healthy fasts? Maybe, but is that the point?

I’m always listening to music. Whether it be calm, loud or anything in between, it always sends out a message. No matter how vague or in your face, there is most likely a deep(er) message. But, you’re never going to get the full message with listening to the song once. You may get a message, but its probably not the one the composer is attempting to send out. It’s interesting, once you look at the lyrics to a beloved song.

Sure the tune is catchy, but what is the writer really trying to get out in the open?

Now, whats this got to do with health? Everything, my dear reader. Music exercises the brain in a healthy, constructive way. It allows us to reach out with our creative side and actually do “relaxed thinking.”

I know there are countless others who would say, “There is no such thing as “relaxed thinking.” But, in truth, we would all be nothing without relaxed thinking. So the next time you pop in your Enya CD, sit down, shut out other sounds (for best results, do this when dinner is not in the oven), take a seat in your favorite chair, and let the sound fill you up. Listen to the lyrics, what do they mean to you?