Alternatives to Food Fasting

When our ancestors fasted, they fasted from food. But fasting from food is only one spiritual method for achieving a state of awareness, humility, and solidarity. We envision a much wider range of options for standing in conscious witness, including fasting from consumer activities, from carbon consumption, from small talk, from entertainment, and from other activities that distract us away from what is right in front of us. On our declared Fast Days, consider one of the following, or develop a practice of your own.

When trying any of these practices, try to notice how your time is opened up and how your outlook is affected by doing without.

Carbon Fast

The privilege of driving from place to place taxes the earth’s resources in ways that we all know, but have not consistently called upon ourselves to address on a personal basis. Consider going sunup to sundown without driving a car. Take a bus. Ride a bike. Or take a day to work from home and let the earth breathe its relief.

Consumer Fast

Consumer culture is one of the ways that our society distracts us from noticing the suffering around us. We learn of something terrible that has happened, and within hours or minutes we are papering over our grief with our enthusiastic participation in the economy. Consider a fast from being a consumer – take the day off of shopping and spending, both in person and on line.

Other Fasting

Consider another kind of fast, letting go of something that typically draws your attention. Devices. Entertainment. Small talk. If one of these sounds challenging, maybe that’s the one that would be most meaningful to try. Be creative! And share your ideas and experiences on our Facebook discussion page (link to be posted soon).