The benefits of fasting are many. Spiritual connection, fighting disease, improved cognition, weight loss, fights diabetes, fights and prevents neuro-degenerative diseases, improves aging and to top it all off it is one of the only clinically proven ways to prolong lifespan across many mammal species including humans.

Once again we return to the past to remember what we have forgotten.

Now let me make it clear on my intentions for my curiosity and practice of Fasting. My intention is not to starve myself, or to punish and deprive myself in anyway.

My intention is of a geat self love. To push my beliefs and limits around food. To re-assosicate my perspective around, when I eat. How much I eat. And what I eat. In order to take care of my body I ask these quesitons.

I will observe how it affects my body, mind and spirit, and like an Alchemist use these data to better distill my own consciousness. I love my body and how it looks, this is not an exterior motive, rather an interior motive.

History of Fasting

“To eat when you are sick, is to feed your illness”. - Hippocrates (c 460 – c370 BC)

Hippocrates is widely considered the father of modern medicine. And greatly proselytized the practice of fasting as a basis for a healthy body and mind. To make a note Hippocrates lived to 97. Just Saying. From Platos writing in Phaedrus he describes Hippocrates as having a philosophical approach to Medicine. A long shot from how we view health now. A purely physical materialistic worldview. Rather than the unseen non physical repercussion of Dis-Ease. Hippocrates himself believed that undigested residues from an unsuitable diet passed into the body and caused disease.

“To eat when you are sick, is to feed your illness”. -Hippocrates

Another ancient Greek writer and historian Plutarch (cAD46 – c AD 120) Said something similar. “Instead of using medicine, better fast today”. Many of the great Ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle avidly followed fasting.

Religious Background

The great prophets of modern religion Jesus Christ, Buddha and the prophet Muhammed have something in common. Fasting.

Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism. All have in their origin stories and mythology Fasting. In the spiritual practices fasting is thought of as something to cleanse yourself, to purify not only your body, but your mind and spirit.

In Buddhism long periods of fasting for days to weeks is often done to this day. Many Buddhists will only eat in the morning and then fast until the next morning.

On Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. The prophet Mohamed also advised to not eat every Monday and Thursday.

All in all some of the most influential people throughout all of history have practiced fasting and or calorie restriction over a lifetime.

Why is it not practiced today? Due to rampant capitalism and a very materialistic view on evolution we have been program and taught that we need to eat all the time. All day long. 3 meals a day was advertised by food product companies. And here we are.

I could go on and on about modern day eating habits and how lowered caloric intake overtime affects your body.
But I am going to be short. I hope you watch the video above and learn something from my own experience.

I love you all thanks for reading and watching

Love,

Arqetype

Video music credits - Incompetech.com