The April new moon has initiated the holy month of Ramadan in Islam. Over 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide will move through the month with spiritual focus and acts of purification that include fasting from sunrise to sunset, prayer, spiritual reflection, acts of charity and community. Many, if not most, will be adapting practices to lockdowns and social distancing this year. In honor of this Holy Month, I offer this poem on the joys of fasting, by the 13th century Persian poet and Islamic scholar, Rumi.
"Fasting" by Jelaluddin Rumi
"There’s hidden sweetness in the stomach’s emptiness.
We are lutes, no more, no less. If the soundbox
is stuffed full of anything, no music.
If the brain and belly are burning clean
with fasting, every moment a new song comes out of the fire.
The fog clears, and new energy makes you
run up the steps in front of you.
When you fast, good habits gather like friends who want to help.
Fasting is Solomon’s ring. Don’t give it
to some illusion and lose your power,
but even if you have, if you’ve lost all will and control,
they come back when you fast, like soldiers appearing
out of the ground, pennants flying above them.
A table descends to your tents, spread with other food,
better than the broth of cabbages."
Gentle fasting is yet another way to move past blocks in meditation. However, unless you are in a culture that brings support and wisdom to your fast, this is not the best time to experiment with fasting. Many of us are already feeling emotionally deprived. Grocery shopping is difficult and maintaining nutrition is essential to maintaining health. Along with this ancient spiritual practice though, there is also the idea of choosing to fast or refrain from certain behaviors, or specific kinds of thoughts, words, or patterns of relationship. It can also be healing to periodically fast from the news. Fasts are more useful when you give yourself a specific time-frame as a way of condensing the experience, in order to gain insight and not get caught in an unrealistic demand to force yourself to change forever. As Rumi puts it, first we give up, then we discover the "other food", the mystery of spiritual nourishment. (Susan Nettleton)
For thoughts on Fasting from Worry by Larry Morris, follow the link: