I think I'll be calling this and the next two posts my Fasting Diary. To those of you who don't know, Bahá'ís around the world fast for 19 days each year (it always used to be from March 2-20, but since last year it's now March 1- 19). Fasting is obligatory for Baha'is between 15 - 70 years old. It means no eating, drinking, smoking... from sunrise to sunset. People who are traveling (for more than 9 hours), women who are pregnant or are nursing or are on their menstrual cycle, people who are engaged in heavy labor and those who are ill are exempted from fasting. The harmony of science and religion is one of the principles of the Bahá'i Faith, so in terms of physical health, fasting cleans and detoxifies our digestive system. Eating excess food sort of burdens our digestive system (so much stress to digest, metabolize, etc) so giving our body this break will divert its attention to healing and recuperation or basically a chance for the body to "catch up".
Then spiritually, fasting does wonders - it gives us a chance to reflect on our habits and to detach ourselves from the physical world and from the self... no, not just with food...but to practice self-control and moderation with everything else, even our thoughts!
Then spiritually, fasting does wonders - it gives us a chance to reflect on our habits and to detach ourselves from the physical world and from the self... no, not just with food...but to practice self-control and moderation with everything else, even our thoughts!
So I'll be sharing with you my journey through this blog. Each day I will share a quotation from the Bahá'i writings, then I'll also share with you what I had in the morning for breakfast or what I had in the evening to break the fast. I'm only doing the second part because in case you don't already know from my previous posts, I'm a food blogger (or is that just a fancy word for foodie).
"Praise be Thou, O God, my God! These are the days whereon Thou hast enjoined Thy chosen ones, Thy loved ones and Thy servants to observe the Fast, which Thou hast made a light unto the people of Thy kingdom, even as Thou didst make obligatory prayer a ladder of ascent unto those who acknowledge Thy unity. I beg of Thee, O my God, by these two mighty pillars, which Thou hast ordained as a glory and honour for all mankind, to keep Thy religion safe from the mischief of the ungoldy and the plotting of every wicked doer. O Lord, conceal not the light which Thou hast revealed through Thy strength and Thine omnipotence. Assist, then, those who truly believe in Thee with the hosts of the seen and the unseen by Thy command and Thy sovereignty. No God is there but Thee, the Almighty, the Most Powerful."
-Prayer for the Fast, by Bahá'u'lláh
Food for the body:-Prayer for the Fast, by Bahá'u'lláh
This evening I broke the fast with mango cheeeesseeecake from Becky's Kitchen because.....
it's my birthday today!!
This prayer was a reminder to me of how important obligatory prayer is, and how it should go hand in hand with the fast. It's been difficult for me to say the noon obligatory prayer since I started working this year because there is no room in the office for privacy (to pray)...well there are two empty conference/board rooms which I could go into, but I don't feel comfortable having to go into those rooms alone, and have everyone wonder why? Today however, between 12-1 pm I found myself alone in my office room because everyone was out for lunch, so I had the opportunity to stand and face the Qiblih. It was a wonderful feeling!
it's my birthday today!!
This prayer was a reminder to me of how important obligatory prayer is, and how it should go hand in hand with the fast. It's been difficult for me to say the noon obligatory prayer since I started working this year because there is no room in the office for privacy (to pray)...well there are two empty conference/board rooms which I could go into, but I don't feel comfortable having to go into those rooms alone, and have everyone wonder why? Today however, between 12-1 pm I found myself alone in my office room because everyone was out for lunch, so I had the opportunity to stand and face the Qiblih. It was a wonderful feeling!
March 02, 2017
Food for the soul:
"...It is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires."
-Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian
-Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian
Food for the body:
Yesterday was the start of the Lenten Season for Christians/Catholics - some colleagues also told me they're fasting - but their fasting is different because everything remains the same except that they have to give up one or two foods they are very attached to. Some thought I was doing the same thing, but I had to explain that this is different because it's sunrise to sunset, hey - not even water. Their questions really opened the door for conversations on spiritual themes. Like one question I was asked was "do members of your family also fast?" My response was "I don't know - I should only look at myself and make sure I follow it, and not look at what others are doing. There is no clergy in the Faith to tell us off for not fasting; it's all between the individual and God." I gave this answer because if I say yes, it might look like we are just following things blindly because our parents or grandparents do it, right? But that's not the case, we follow the laws of God because we love Him. I really started thinking about this - it's not just Baha'is, but even Muslims, Hindus and Jews have to fast at some point during the year. All these religions came from God, so there must be a really important reason behind why we have to do this. I don't think it's just for physical health benefits (or else fasting would be more frequent) but it's definitely because of the spiritual benefits - like this quotation says, fasting is symbolic - all religions guide us to develop virtues in order that we may become more spiritual... thus, fasting is a reminder for us to to refocus, on our path to understanding our purpose in life.
Food for the soul:
"Verily, I say, Fasting is the supreme remedy and the most great healing for the
disease of self and passion."
-Bahá'u'lláh
Food for the body:disease of self and passion."
-Bahá'u'lláh
During some free time yesterday I browsed the internet for breakfast ideas for the fast! I just wanted to see what was out there, and boy did I learn a lot about nutrition! I also learnt that having lots of protein in your breakfast keeps you full longer and it gives you lots of energy too. So we decided to try that this morning, with baked beans, egg and sausage. I felt more awake today than yesterday, I don't know if it's because I had better sleep last night or because the protein really works. Doesn't matter, but I definitely felt more productive at work today. Or wait, maybe it's because it's Thank God It's Friday!! 😂😂
March 04, 2017
Food for the soul:
"All praise be to the one true God Who hath assisted His loved ones to observe the Fast and hath aided them to fulfill that which hath been decreed in the Book. In truth, ceaseless praise and gratitude are due unto Him for having graciously confirmed His loved ones to perform that which is the cause of the exaltation of His Word.... There are various stages and stations for the Fast and innumerable effects and benefits are concealed therein. Well is it with those who have attained unto them..."
-Bahá'u'lláh
Food for the body:-Bahá'u'lláh
Yesterday, after work, my Mom and I met up at a mall and decided to eat out to break the fast. Picking pizza from S & R was a no-brainer. Let me just say, this felt really good journeying into the tummy...warm and soft, but the soda was a bad idea. We ate slowly because we talked a lot. This is my first time (I think ever) to be fasting with someone in my family...because I spent the last 6 fasts of my life away from home. *If you're my facebook friend, you'd see my Mom's post of where I spent my last 6 years; up until last year I lived on my own. The last few days have felt really really nice, waking up at 5:00am, preparing breakfast with my Mom, eating together and looking at the window once in a while observing the color of the skies to determine when we take our last gulp of water. During the first two days, upon getting home, my Mom and I would ask each other how our fast went. I can't find the words to describe how encouraging, empowering it feels, fasting with someone. I've been chatting with some of my Bahá'i friends and we always ask each other about the fast, and it's really nice knowing that there are millions of Bahá'is around the world going through the same thing. I find it very strengthening, spiritually. I also remember two years ago when I spent the fasting month in Lucknow, India - the Bahá'is would very often host devotional meetings during the week, starting before sunset so that we could all break the fast together and it was always fun! Going through this with someone really helps us stop thinking solely of ourselves, and instead look at the bigger picture.
March 05, 2017
Food for the soul:
"Fasting is the cause of awakening man. The heart becomes tender and the spirituality of man increases. This is produced by the fact that man's thoughts will be confined to the commemoration of God, and through this awakening and stimulation surely ideal advancements follow... Fasting is of two kinds, material and spiritual. The material fasting is abstaining from food or drink, that is, from the appetites of the body. But spiritual, ideal fasting is this, that man abstain from selfish passions, from negligence and from satanic animal traits. Therefore, material fasting is a token of the spiritual fasting... "
-Abdu'l-Bahá, Star of the West
Food for the body:-Abdu'l-Bahá, Star of the West
Of the five days of the fast so far, I think today was the hardest because I spent all morning outdoors - we had our unit convention in a picnic hut at a park. It was cool and windy at first, but later in the morning it got sunny and hot. The heat made me feel really tired, so I slept when I got home all the way until sunset. Last year when I spent the fasting month in Iran, I'd always sleep right after eating breakfast - one because sunrise was really early over there, second because it was winter and the cold just made me feel lazy. This went on for about ten days until my Dad told me "that's not the point of fasting!" And I realized that's true... #wakeupcall #spiritualrevelation #lol
All I had for breakfast today was two slices of bread with peanut butter and one apple and I didn't feel hungry all day - just a little thirsty because of the heat in the morning. I've learnt that it's really important to listen to your body, because you might *think* you need to eat something really big and heavy for breakfast to survive the day, not knowing that that heavy meal could make you hungrier faster. Whereas a simple but healthy breakfast could sustain you much longer. Almost every night I break my fast with a cup of tea, because I try to imagine my intestines...I like to think that they've been sleeping all day and it would be really rude to wake them up with a bomb! So it's better to start with some liquids...wakey wakey intestines! In previous years, I used to eat big, heavy meals to break the fast because I thought it was good, considering I had nothing to eat all day but when I tried having something light and simple (like soup - for example tonight we had mushroom & broccoli soup) I realized I felt so much better, physically! I like to believe that even though total abstinence is between sunrise to sunset, it does not mean we should over-indulge outside the fasting period. The most critical part/the bigger test comes after sunset.
March 06, 2017
Food for the soul:
"...O God! As I am fasting from the appetites of the body and not occupied with eating and drinking, even so purify and make holy my heart and my life from aught else save Thy Love, and protect and preserve my soul from self-passions...Thus may the spirit associate with the Fragrances of Holiness and fast from everything else save Thy mention."
-Abdu'l-Bahá, Star of the West
Noodles and boiled egg in the morning.
March 07, 2017
Food for the soul:
"...Fortunate are ye to have obeyed the commandment of God, and kept this fast during the holy season. For this material fast is an outer token of the spiritual fast; it is a symbol of self-restraint, the witholding of oneself from all appetites for the self, taking on the characteristics of the spirit, being carried away by the breathings of heaven and catching fire from the love of God."
-Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Bahá
Food for the body:
This morning I made banana milkshake (banana, low-fat milk, peanut butter & chia seeds) in addition to pancakes. I didn't put ice because I didn't want it too cold (poor intestines); the milk was just cold enough for the drink to also feel refreshing. This drink is rich in fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals - the complete energy booster (without sugar at all, too!)
Just to wrap up this first week's diary, I think I've spent 80% of this week reflecting on my health; I realized fasting has definitely made me more conscious about my eating habits, for example I've given up coffee completely (coffee is something I've always felt isn't healthy for me...it always dehydrated me, but I couldn't control myself, it felt more like an addiction, not because I really needed it). I used to drink coffee twice a day - cold coffee in the morning, hot in the late afternoon...but I can't drink coffee on an empty stomach (not at 5am, not at 6pm after 12 hours of fasting ), so I've replaced it with green tea. This was hard...but I did it!
I strongly believe that your physical health affects your emotional/mental health too. Obviously ,feeling tired or weak affects our attitude, mood towards everything around us. Taking care of your physical body is so important, in fact Shoghi Effendi said "You should not neglect your health, but consider it the means which enables you to serve. It - the body- is like a horse which carries the personality and spirit, and as such should be well cared for so it can do its work! You should certainly safeguard your nerves, and force yourself to take time, and not only for prayer meditation, but for real rest and relaxation."
So, look after your physical health! Fasting is NOT starving; it's about not overstepping the bounds of moderation. That's what I've gained during this first week.
How about you?! I'd love to hear your insights from your first week of fasting - write to me though the message box on the right side of the page 😊
How about you?! I'd love to hear your insights from your first week of fasting - write to me though the message box on the right side of the page 😊