I've recently done a fast and I must say that I feel great! I've done smaller fasts of one day before but this is the first time I've done it for a longer time, although it was only for three days. During the fast I also did a colon cleansing program, by drinking salt-water in the morning, this is like a full body enema and it did marvels for me.

The reason I felt compelled do do a fast was that I had a quite bad mushroom experience a couple of weeks ago. I felt extremely anxious and nauseous during the whole trip. The mushrooms were old and thats probably why. However, I felt like the nausea and anxiety was very connected and related to something in my physical in my stomach.

After the trip I've felt a anxious and very modest "anxiety attack"-like waves have crept on me from time to time. I was starting to feel like maybe I've messed up my brain for the worse, which gave me even more anxiety.

One night I drank a very mild caapi-tea (2g in 0.5l of water for 30min) and the following day I felt compelled to fast. After three days with colon cleansing and fasting my anxieties were gone. I feel more awake and stress tolerant now and I must recommend everyone to try a fast.

Some nutritionists advise people to fast for one day every month, drinking only water. This seems to do great things for many people who try it!

Agreed, fasting is wonderful. Personally I go through times of eating a lot (often around holidays when the ladies at church send me home with lots of leftovers) and times of de facto fasting, eating very little except grains. I think meats leave a lot of junk in our systems, and the cleansing very much helps with that. It also seems to assist with changing one's consciousness (with external chemicals or otherwise) for those who are interested in that...

i was drawn to this thread because of that reason actually...

since joining the Nexus i have read a little here and there about fasting and it doing wonders for smoother hyperspace travel.

swim is very interested in this practice and he has chosen to start fasting before his journeys from now on.



i like that.

I usually do a 24h fast before I journey, especially with mushrooms. This time I unfortunately skipped it though, only skipping dinner before. I can also recommend doing a thorough bath.

I'm very intrigued however by the fact that my mental health was improved by the fast. Anxiety often feels in the stomach and I'm convinced that in my case the anxiety was directly linked to something physical in my guts.

[quote=OwlMan][quote=DimethylSpice]

I could imagine, im sure hawaain tribes do colonic irrigation for three days to clean their systems out. Im sure they seen it as emotional build up would manifest physically in the liver,kidneys etc. and they had to physically get rid of emotional build ups.

I keep getting headaches when I fast and its a pain because I dont like to take ibrubofen, but ive been going through a lot lately. I never fast completely though.

SWIM has smoked DMT in the morning now, on a couple of occasions, before eating the light and the empty stomach seems to work great. SWIM might do it again
without eating.

I'm on my fourth day of just fruit.

It's a really awesome way to sensitize the body before journeying. I also have a ton of energy, too, since I'm not weighed down by heavier foods that take forever to digest.

I have a friend (very experienced faster) who went 26 days on water, and the amount of psychological garbage he cleared out was AMAZING.

sounds dangerous, ms_minxx, what your friend did.

I understand that people may have productive psychological experiences with some fasting, but 26 days on water is NOT healthy on the body and some (plenty) of people could potentially die trying that!

Some people might read that wrong and end up doing something silly.... So I would add a disclaimer to your comment that people should not attempt this if they arent perfectly sure what they are doing, have done it before and increased their fast duration gradually in different attempts, are being followed up by competent health experts, etc...

I know you said he was a very experienced faster, btw, I just want to emphasize safety here

I think that is smart of you, endlessness.

For any fast longer than 3-5 days, people should be under supervision. This is according to specialists at fasting clinics. People could pass out and hit their head or something else.

"Natural Hygeine" is an area of health which is very interested in fasting.

From what I have read, I imagine the likelihood of people dying after fasting that long is highly unlikely. I would imagine 98% of the people on the forum would be just fine. The body is adapted to periods of starvation, and would only use it's fat reserves. If someone were already at an anorexic weight before the fast, that would be a problem.

Popular fasting centers which specialize in long fasts (longer than 2 weeks) are:
http://www.tanglewoodwellnesscenter.com/
http://foodnsport.com/

I too do the fruit-based diet, btw.

EDIT: The point of fasting is that the metabolic functions of the body slows tremendously, and it slowly uses excess fat reserves instead of stored glycogen (sugar) in the muscles for energy. Then, all of the extra energy which the body previously used for digestion goes to removing toxins and repairing damaged cells.

The Islamic month of Ramadan starts soon (11th or 12th August); it is a most rewarding experience to go without food and water (and cigarettes!) from sunrise to sunset for 29 or 30 consecutive days.

The benefits include developing self-restraint, an appreciation of the plight of those who suffer hunger more often than not, a chance to contemplate your fuck-ups of the past year with an immediacy you dont get when introspecting with a full belly and no thirst,and when the fast is over one certainly feels cleansed and re-set for the next year till Ramadan comes round again.Being human, for the majority of people (I guess) we do slip back to our flawed ways but after each period of fasting the cleansed feeling does persist for longer.

I really enjoyed reading some Paul and Patricia Bragg books last time I fasted.

I find alot of these long term, water only fasts etc not that they are made out to be..been there, tried that..felt really really fucking sketchy. Talked to a proper naturalpathic physician about it and she was not into that kinda stuff..better to clean yourself slowly..ketosis is not a safe state to enter at home unexperienced.

Also a 1 day, 3 day or even 1 week fast is NOT going to clean all the shit out of you..unless you are like some amazing vegan that never eats processed foods. If you are feeling better after a 1 day or 3 day fast than typically your body hasnt even entered the detox stage yet. Detoxing you will feel like complete shit for a week or 2 once it begins if you stick it out.

I definitely prefer to eat clean and let my body do things slowly over the long term--even juice fasting/feasting feels way better than water fasting... to me. I have other CUPS OF TEA. I've never water fasted for more than 24 hours. I can't do it. Not for me.

However, I have seen water fasting work *MIRACLES* for some people--but, set, setting, and supervision are critical. I had a friend cure himself from pre-diabetic conditions, obesity, kidney problems. He water fasted one or two days biweekly over a long period of time (and then went for the big 26 while he had time off work, etc.). He did seek lots of counsel and prepared a lot... the positive results are undeniable. In his situation, it was what worked for him. (*It was also an insanely grueling process. Not for the faint of heart. Imagine a bad trip without the tryptamines on certain days.)

HOWEVER, in my case, the most extreme "fasts" I can handle are juice feasts, 2000-3000 calories of juice/day, for maybe 5-10 days. I used to try and do it twice a year. Now... mmm... I just eat the cleanest and purest food I can find. Yup. Love eating.

In the summer, nothing feels more delightful than a MELON CLEANSE!!!!!!!!!!!! Just chow down on melons until your heart's content for a day or three. Melons leave the stomach in 15 minuets, so they are the easiest to digest food on the planet, and as long as you meet your caloric requirements via melons, you will still get more than 30g protein and meet other nutritional requirements. They are amazing. You will feel cleansed.

Ultimately, though, it's a question of lifestyle... What's the point of fasting if, two weeks later, you want to drink a 24 with friends and smoke a carton of cigarettes? (Not saying that's what anyone here intends to do, just, to think about question of lifestyle.)