Fasting - Day 1

On Monday, June 15, I started a fast from all foods and most beverages. Fasting is a part of every major spiritual tradition and is seen as a way to get closer to Source, God, Creator, I AM. It is also a way to purify and detoxify the physical body. The only things that I will consume for ten days are plain water or a yummy concoction of lemon juice, water, agave syrup, and cayenne pepper. This beverage is a variation of that recommended in a booklet called "The Master Cleanser," which some refer to as "the lemonade diet." Last week I spoke with my friend, Joe P. who was doing the Cleanser at the time. That got me thinking that this is actually a pretty good time for me as well. Thanks for the inspiration, Joe!

I purchased a citrus fruit juicer a couple years ago, along with the agave syrup recommended by Jack G. At the time he also recommended non-irradiated cayenne. I bought plain old Wal-Mart cayenne that has likely been irradiated, and Jack said not to use it! So I went to Whole Foods in Tulsa the other day and bought the organic lemons and the NON-IRRADIATED cayenne. In the past couple years, I've planned to carry out this fast on at least two different occasions. I even purchased the lemons. Then I didn't start, and the lemons all spoiled. But this time is different. I've been doing quite a lot of work lately on building good habits and self discipline, and now I'm actually ready : )

Day 1 was the 15th of June. I got up, started my daily meditation exercises, and proceeded with the first step of the "Master Cleanser" process. This involves drinking one quart of room temp water (purified, spring, or such) with two TSP of non-iodized sea salt. Also on the recommendation of Jack, I used the Himalayan Sea Salt, which tastes quite nice and has a bit of a pink hue to it, due to the mineral content. I drank it all down without a problem, although I was quite glad to be finished after that last gulp! The purpose of the salt water step is to cleanse the colon, and all I have to say about that is, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Next, I set to work preparing the lemon juice drink, which will be hereafter referred to as "the stuff." I got all of my supplies out and organized them across my kitchen cabinets in my usual anal retentive fashion. Then I rearranged them to improve efficiency. Then I arranged them all again, just for good measure! Once I had all of the supplies and tools ready, I started making the stuff. First I cut two lemons in half and juiced them. The recipe calls for two TBSP per 10 oz glass of stuff, so I decided to start with two lemons. I juiced them and measured out 10 TBSP of the lemon juice into my measuring cup along with 10 TBSP of the agave, which stirred together quite nicely into an amber colored liquid. I poured this from the measuring cup into an empty one-gallon spring water jug, which I figured would work well for shaking and storing the stuff. Next, I poured in the proper amount of water, 50 ounces, and added 1/2 TSP of cayenne. As the recipe calls for 1/10 TSP of cayenne per 10 oz glass of stuff, I decided to multiply the whole thing by 5 to make a larger batch, because who the fuck has a 1/10th TSP measuring device?!?!?!?!? Finally I shook it all up in the jug, poured my first 10 oz into the measuring cup, and poured it from there into my favorite crystal wine glass that I got from Hun (my grandmother, Lois) years ago. Voila! Tasty stuff!!! Jack was afraid that I would hate it, since he knows that I really don't care too much for sour things. But the stuff doesn't really taste sour to me at all! The agave sweetens it nicely and the cayenne gives it a nice, spicy kick! Even when I'm not fasting, I'll probably make this sometimes for beverage variety and to serve to guests.

Here's the recipe I used:

10 oz purified or spring water
2 TBSP agave syrup
2 TBSP lemon juice (FRESH SQUEEZED, ORGANIC lemons)
1/10 TSP cayenne pepper (NON-IRRADIATED)

Once again, I multiplied the whole thing by 5 for ease of preparation and storage. Had I multiplied it by 10, it would have not all fit into a one gallon jug easily. After making the first batch and measuring out all of the TBSPs of lemon juice and agave, I realized that two whole lemons juiced was basically the perfect amount for a batch, and that when I added the requisite agave syrup, it totaled a PERFECT 10 oz in the measuring cup! This will save a bunch of tedious measuring with the measuring spoon in the future. I also marked the outside of the jug with a black sharpie once I had all of the ingredients in so that next time, all I'll have to do is pour in the lemon/agave juice and then fill the rest of the way up to the line with water. This will save measuring out five cups of 10 oz each and pouring them individually into the jug.

The benefits that I expect to receive as a result of fasting are the following: First - it will purify my mind. Both the Buddha and Christ went out alone and fasted for some time and look how good they turned out!!! ; ) Second - it will purify my body, as the lemon juice and the salt water flush are purported to remove toxins from the system. Third - as my mind clears, my spirit will be more open to receive wisdom in meditation which I now practice daily. Fourth - I will more than likely lose some weight. Fifth - my stomach will shrink significantly, and when I do start eating again, smaller portions will suffice. Sixth - having purified my mind, body, and spirit, I will be ready to receive the teachings of the writing workshop that I'm attending in July.

So far so good! I'm on day 2 as I write this (Tuesday the 16th). I woke up with a slight headache, which might be a result of caffeine withdrawal or low blood sugar. Not sure which. Either way, it's not too bad. Yesterday I was somewhat hungry most of the day, but it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. Today, I really don't feel hungry much at all... just a little bit tired and headachy. Everyone that I've talked to has said that after the third day, you really start to feel great, and that if you can just make it past that crappy first three days, you'll be fine. We shall see! Stay tuned for the next thrilling installment of "The Lemonade Fasting Chronicles!" ; )