Draining the Swamp Within
Why fasting is good for you and how cannabis can help
Art Courtesy of Casey Renteria
Miracles of the Body
Walking on water is an impressive feat by any standard.
It was one of many miracles allegedly performed by Christ, but for many, it’s the one that stands out. When I was younger, I loved the joke about the priest, the rabbi, and the layperson out fishing on a boat. The two holy men forget some of their gear on shore, so they climb over the side, miraculously walk across the water, retrieve their stuff, and saunter back. Seeing this, the layperson feels inspired by the light of God and tries the same thing, only to sink to the bottom. The rabbi then turns to the priest and says, “Maybe we should have told him where the rocks were?”
Walking on water is cool, but fasting for forty days and nights in the desert is, in my estimation, even harder. I’ve managed only five, and that was in the comfort of my home. I can’t imagine doing it in the company of scorpions and vultures, far away from running water. As far as miracles go, it’s up there with Moses parting the Red Sea and Shiva bringing his beheaded son back to life with an elephant’s head.
Fasting: An Ancient Practice for Clarity
It wasn’t just Jesus who fasted. Moses, Buddha, Muhammed, and a host of other religious luminaries also engaged in the practice. The ancient mystics understood fasting to be beneficial for one’s health – physically, mentally, and spiritually.
On the physical level of the body, fasting promotes sustained energy, mental clarity, endurance, and recovery. Psychologically, the practice challenges the practitioner to break through mental barriers and overcome deeply ingrained habits. For those inclined to the spiritual life, fasting is said to cleanse the soul and bring one closer to divinity.
All in all, it sounds like a pretty good deal, whichever way it’s sliced. Except, of course, that not eating food for extended periods can be really difficult.
Fasting in Modern Life
Modern living can be self-destructive. People chase money, power, and success. Work and personal commitments leave little space for healthy living. The pace of life can be exhausting.
Few people have time to figure out which foods are good for them and which ones are not. Fewer still have the discipline to make good choices, let alone prepare their own meals. Food companies manufacture processed foods with precise amounts of sugar and salt to promote addiction. Eating a healthy diet is a lot more difficult than it should be.
The Gut Microbiome
The inner workings of the human gut can be a lot to digest. The gut microbiome consists of all the microorganisms – bacteria, fungi, and viruses – that live in our digestive tracts. They help break down food and turn it into nutrients.
When we eat healthy foods, gut bacteria are healthy. When we stuff ourselves with processed junk, bad bacteria proliferates. Digestion is a chemical process involving enzymes breaking down food. Like any chemical reaction, it involves heat and gas. Bad bacteria result in the kind of stinky gas that makes kids giggle. Unhealthy eating habits create a swamp of sorts in the gut.
Fasting: Gut Spring Cleaning
Just like every house needs a good spring cleaning, so too every gut needs a regular cleanse. Depending on what we put into our bodies, it can get nasty down there. Fasting provides an opportunity to “drain the swamp” - at least temporarily. Starving bad bacteria of their fuel source kills them off over time and affords the digestive system an opportunity to return to equilibrium.
Unfortunately, ingrained eating habits can be difficult to overcome. Bingeing on comfort food wreaks havoc on the brain’s reward system and dopamine. Eating less increases dopamine receptors and restores balance – assuming we can muster up the psychological strength. If only nature provided a tool to help us break out of our malaise.
Cannabis and Fasting
It turns out there is such a tool. Cannabis and fasting fit together like a hand in a glove. This goes against the commonly-held belief that weed gives people the munchies. There is certainly truth in that, based on anecdotal reports of many users. But intention and context count for a lot when it comes to marijuana. What we get out of a cannabis journey largely depends on what we put into it. Going into a journey with the intention to use the herb for personal development can be incredibly empowering.
Like many others, I began with intermittent fasting. I set an eating window of 9am to 5pm and made sure to eat a reasonably healthy diet. That meant sixteen hours in which I did nothing but drink water, tea, and some coffee. Within a couple of weeks, the stubborn belly fat I had attempted to get rid of for many years finally began to give way. Not only that, but I felt more energized. The first couple of weeks were challenging, but over time my body adjusted and fasting became easier. Eventually, I would graduate to whole-day fasts and even fasts of five days.
5 Days of Extended Fasting
An extended fast is not to be taken lightly. It is both physically and psychologically demanding.
Some mornings, the urge to eat something – anything – was so strong I didn’t think I could do it. After a day or two without food, the body’s metabolic system shifts into survival mode. It can be an incredibly unpleasant feeling. The first time I tried, my entire being felt like jello, but not in a good way. I felt weak, a prisoner to my insatiable desire to consume. Somehow, I powered through.
When I tried another five-day fast sometime later, I experimented with smoking pot to see if it made any difference. Remarkably, it made all the difference. The jello feeling still returned most mornings, but within a few minutes of lighting up and practicing some deep breathing on my yoga mat, I felt much better.
The cannabis gave me enough strength to engage in a simple, relaxed yoga practice. Getting through five days was still challenging, but much less so. Cannabis was a godsend.
Fasting is More Than A Trend
Modern society often prefers quick fixes over hard work and discipline. Ironically, it’s the hardest things in life that are the things most worth doing.
Fasting is an ancient practice that has come back into vogue. It hasn’t been studied as extensively as some other areas of human wellness, but that should come as no surprise. There’s little money to be made in advising people to consume less rather than more.
Be that as it may, the practice offers tremendous benefits to those with the courage and strength to endure. It won’t help you walk on water, but it just might change your life for the better. As a philosopher once wrote, ‘Out of difficulties grow miracles.’