Fasting, not on food, but on sleep

[Everything]

Perhaps even a combination of both!

 

Recent discussions with friends about the health benefits of fasting led to the idea of deliberately depriving yourself of sleep.

 

It is obvious that men is not evolved to continue eating troughout the day, but rather hours long hunting followed by big meals. The body is well capable of surviving without food, even though food is essential to our lifes. Fasting activates inner archetypes, simply because it is of the Tao. This is how nature made us, so it is the way of nature. Slowly science finds more and more health benefits for fasting. With healthy nutrisious foods as part of the diet ofcourse.

 

The same can be found for exposing yourself to heat and cold. And recently I found a society deliberately depriving oneself of sleep. Was it native american indians? I forgot, but the idea certainly sounds promising. I can imagine how stressful times during the life of ancients would release the archetype of natural spiritual growth and insights, partially triggered by a lack of sleep.

 

As I searched on this subject I noticed how depriving sleep is similar to fasting in that you do not always hunger for sleep just as fasting is not a constant sensation of hunger alone. Though it might not be an easy task, there are certainly some unique experiences involved in depriving oneself of sleep. On the other hand, the ancients served nature and nature did not always provide with food and rest.

 

I found that with fasting, your body becomes more efficient and healthy. You require less and less food to function normally. I wonder how our body and mind goes about resting when deprived of sleep for a day or two? Not to promote insomnia, but simply out of curiosity.

 

I have found that after three days of not sleeping due to extreme temperature change the sleep that followed had a duration of more then 14 hours. It was certainly an extreme spiritual experience for me. Alot of the dreams at the end of this long sleep were very vivid, deep, insightful, long and lucid. Isn't that the goal of a dream yoghi? And isn't alot of meditation based on experiencing such an enlightening experience that expands yours consciousness? Thats what I thought atleast.

 

I found that thinking deep is the way to go in life. Consider how deep ones thoughts are when they are occuring within a dream. Perhaps longer vivid dreams mean that the thoughts go deeper aswell in that already deep place. So that we may fully acces that storehouse of wisdom within all of us. The truth of our own nature.

[relaxer]

Interesting post.

 

I have done my share of fasting (food, not sleep), and have found it an amazing practice. I have always felt more alive and peaceful as a result. I've been looking into the paleo-diet lately. I haven't done a lot of research yet, but it seems to honor fasting as an integral part of health, even on a small scale. It's odd that we live in a time in which we feast nearly every day. Up until only very recently, our bodies lived on the model of calorie restriction as the norm with intermitent intervals of feasting, like after a successful hunt. No sure why, but something about that makes sense. The paleo-diet seems to honor these bits of knowledge.

 

About the sleep:

 

That's intriguing. I know that lack of sleep has been pretty stressful on my body in the past. It seems that when I do miss a day or more of sleep, that is the time that I get sick. But getting sick isn't all bad right? Maybe it's my bodies way of purging something deeper. I'd like more info on this, but right now, I'm going to keep sleeping as much as I can...hehe

 

ben

[thelerner]

I'm reminded of the Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei (sp)(John Stevens wrote a book on them) go on so called death fast at the end of there years long training. I think its 6 or 7 days without food, water & sleep. Ofcourse they've already performed the extraordinary feat of running two marathons a day on a sub caloric diet for years.

 

Deadly unless you've put in some hyper serious training.

[de_paradise]

now that you've posted, you can't wuss out.

[suninmyeyes]

When I was about 20 years old I have tried 2 days without sleep and food.At that time my spiritual interset was pretty much non existant or at least not defined .This proved to be very disorententing ,but interesting expirience.Quite trippy.

I have also done food fasts which I didnt like until I did really long one without food or water for 7 days and some time afterwds just water(I am not going to mention how long or what I did or how I prepared myself in case some try to copy and kill themselves or something,I worry a little).

At some point time came when I knew I was dying ,but stayed alive.This was incredible beutiful and most peaceful expirience I have ever had.Accompanied with a lot of emotional shedding and better acceptance of life despite of what it brings ,as well as serious uprooting of my own psychic blockages.

At that time I felt so safe like a baby and self sufficient like a flower.

 

As far as sleep fasting goes I am much better if I dont sleep too much which I have proven to myself so many times.But I guess it is all personal.

 

Everything,you have mentioned that thinking deep is a way to go in life.For me it is definetley listening to my heart .

[joeblast]

Best done with copious amounts of meditation - a very good friend suggested to me last year that I should meditate more and do with less sleep - ostensibly just keep meditating at night...all night - which if done properly isnt really that detrimental of a thing, since the "recharge" aspect is still happening. If anything, doing that would force your body to try and make meditations more restful and recharging, since it will "make do with what it is given." To do this, you'd better already have a decent meditative foundation, otherwise you're just going to deplete yourself and make yourself overtired.

 

I'd probably have more data if I gave it anything close to what I might consider "effort."

[Everything]

Interesting post.

 

I have done my share of fasting (food, not sleep), and have found it an amazing practice. I have always felt more alive and peaceful as a result. I've been looking into the paleo-diet lately. I haven't done a lot of research yet, but it seems to honor fasting as an integral part of health, even on a small scale. It's odd that we live in a time in which we feast nearly every day. Up until only very recently, our bodies lived on the model of calorie restriction as the norm with intermitent intervals of feasting, like after a successful hunt. No sure why, but something about that makes sense. The paleo-diet seems to honor these bits of knowledge.

 

About the sleep:

 

That's intriguing. I know that lack of sleep has been pretty stressful on my body in the past. It seems that when I do miss a day or more of sleep, that is the time that I get sick. But getting sick isn't all bad right? Maybe it's my bodies way of purging something deeper. I'd like more info on this, but right now, I'm going to keep sleeping as much as I can...hehe

 

ben

What I am speaking of, just like fasting, is LONGER SLEEPS, not less sleep or more sleep.

 

Fasting, you eat nothing, feasting you have one big meal.

Not fasting you keep eating continuesly and develop all kinds of malfunctions in your body.

 

Same with sleep. I advice alot of sleep. But what I'm saying is wether it might be great for spiritual developement to lets say not sleep 48 hours and then feast by sleeping 20 hours at once.

[Everything]

When I was about 20 years old I have tried 2 days without sleep and food.At that time my spiritual interset was pretty much non existant or at least not defined .This proved to be very disorententing ,but interesting expirience.Quite trippy.

I have also done food fasts which I didnt like until I did really long one without food or water for 7 days and some time afterwds just water(I am not going to mention how long or what I did or how I prepared myself in case some try to copy and kill themselves or something,I worry a little).

At some point time came when I knew I was dying ,but stayed alive.This was incredible beutiful and most peaceful expirience I have ever had.Accompanied with a lot of emotional shedding and better acceptance of life despite of what it brings ,as well as serious uprooting of my own psychic blockages.

At that time I felt so safe like a baby and self sufficient like a flower.

 

As far as sleep fasting goes I am much better if I dont sleep too much which I have proven to myself so many times.But I guess it is all personal.

 

Everything,you have mentioned that thinking deep is a way to go in life.For me it is definetley listening to my heart .

Your heart goes deep, lets say milions of years back to the core of our beings. It is our deepest nature speaking when our hearts speak.

Edited August 8, 2011 by Everything

[Everything]

Best done with copious amounts of meditation - a very good friend suggested to me last year that I should meditate more and do with less sleep - ostensibly just keep meditating at night...all night - which if done properly isnt really that detrimental of a thing, since the "recharge" aspect is still happening. If anything, doing that would force your body to try and make meditations more restful and recharging, since it will "make do with what it is given." To do this, you'd better already have a decent meditative foundation, otherwise you're just going to deplete yourself and make yourself overtired.

 

I'd probably have more data if I gave it anything close to what I might consider "effort."

Yeah, the meditation part is going to be a strugle. Hehe...

 

I suck at meditation. No idea how to go about, and after years still not sure what it means.

[Everything]

now that you've posted, you can't wuss out.

If I can find the time, I'll definitely do it sometime soon.

 

Alot of people, including suninmyeyes, said that it feels like dieing. A near death experience.

 

I don't know how dangerous it is, but people often feel like dieing when they stop eating... Do they die? No... They are merely dieing in ego and accesing their deep ancient nature from within. One that knows how to survive without food and sleep for days. The transition will be the hardest and scariest experience when its a first time thing.

 

I also wonder on the quality and duration of sleep after such depriving of sleep. To me, meditation has always seem like "sleep extensions".

[joeblast]

Yeah, the meditation part is going to be a strugle. Hehe...

 

I suck at meditation. No idea how to go about, and after years still not sure what it means.

Meditating is marinating, in a way. Marinating oneself in a wholesome state What has your approach been? There can be quite a few reasons if its not quite bearing the fruit you'd like it to. The way I recommend is basically a quasi-passive brute force method, for lack of a better descriptor. Investigate the components of the breath, then harmonize them a la ymaa embryonic breathing, and basically focus your awareness on that. Repeat, repeat, repeat, until well harmonized, when well harmonized, more energetically efficient...also when well harmonized, the action requires less mental capital. So the amount of conscious awareness required for the physical mechanisms is reduced - whenever you recognize your thoughts are elsewhere, simply return to breath and reestablish, reinforce that habit-energy-path, and eventually the path by which thoughts pop up begin to like buoyant energetic awareness a little better as a path of least resistance

 

You can go from no-mind to calm breath, if that's how you roll...but if no-mind doesnt want to reveal itself, then you must start attenuating other signals and investigating the other signals beneath....and then attenuate those, too Peeling layers of the onion! Check out my personal section, a bunch of discussion of particulars of these methods there