FASTING HELPS RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC DETOXIFY ABUSE, EASE DEPRESSION, AND BEGIN PUTTING LIFE BACK TOGETHER!

[NOTE: 500 years before Christ appeared on this Earth, the Buddha taught four things: 1) We all suffer. 2) The reason is attachment. 3) If you can give up the attachment, you give up the suffering. 4) The Eight-Fold Path for doing so. For those who've never placed the Ten Precepts of Buddhismalongside the Ten Commandments of Christianity,you have no idea just how much these two great religious beliefs hold in common; interestingly, the phraseology is nearly identical in a number of instances.

     FCI, in supervising our world's largest, nonresidential fasting clientele over the past 35 years, has been daily blessed to watch this marvelous, self-improvement technique today known as prolonged, scientific fasting--used by both Buddha and Christ to achieve Oneness with Omniscient Mind (also known as Enlightenment) and Oneness with God, respectively--help resolve the suffering of a never-ending stream of fellow human beings.

     Such deeply-motivated beings represent nearly every type of physical, psychological and spiritual suffering, often in a variety of combinations. Of these, a significant number arrive after having long endured the devastation of alcoholism, to one degree or another. What follows is the story of one such fellow being, who has here made the metagesture of sharing his suffering and depression, as well as his attempt at FCI to resolve it, with every kindred soul who may be similarly suffering. . .in hopes that his own story might help lead others, worldwide, to their own healing (a candid sharing which is precisely the aspect of all 12-step programs that accounts for their impressive success with perhaps 50% of those who enter AA, OA, NA,et al).

     Anyone who's ever lost a job, a home, a marriage, been downsized, had to beat the pavement for work, or lie awake at nights sweating her/his financial future, can resonate here with Joe S. (AApractice maintains anonymity), 54, of Huntington Beach, California, who introduced himself to FCI with the following words, prior to his recently-completed 40-day Program(not the Total Detoxification Programhe wanted to do, but the one he could presently afford):]

     "In answer to your larger question on what I expect to get out of the fast, that will take some time. First of the all, there is the matter of weight. I had three colon surgeries in the space of nine months, during the past year or so. As an aside, I go to the Veterans Administration Hospitalfor all my medical care. After my last surgery, I intentionally started gaining weight. I reached my target of 180, and unintentionally kept right on going, up to my current weight of 193.

     "Although 193 might not be the end of the world, in my opinion, I can't carry it. I had polio when I was nine, and after recovering, the major problem I was left with was weakened stomach muscles. During the last year with my colon problems, I've had three areas of pain. One of those pains has returned with a vengeance. It is on my left side, up under my ribs. The VAswears this has nothing to do with my colon problems, but they are at a loss to explain the pain. I have about four inches left of the descending colon, and eight inches of the ascending colon, all of which is pretty much relocated to the right and center of my body, so nothing is really left on the left side.

     "I recently went through an evaluation at the Post-Polio Syndrome Clinicat the Los Amigos Medical Centerin Downey, and they left me hanging, too. It is self-diagnosis, but I believe that if I can lose 20 or 30 pounds, and get down in the 160-to-170-lb. range, the pain will subside. Anyway, that is my hope.

     "On the spiritual level, I am looking for an actual epiphany. Through the help of two twelve-step programs--AAand Nicotine Anonymous--I have brought some spirituality into my present life. I am at a crossroads. Eleven years ago, I drank my way out of a job as the president of a company with over $250 million in sales, and 500 employees; I was also the regional vice president. I was making a considerable salary, and had houses in Huntington Harbour and Palm Desert. Since that time, I have not been able to grab my ass with both hands. I filed a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy this Spring. I am now back at square one--as broke as when I came to California. I need to decide which direction to go in, for the last chapter of my working career. That is, do I have my own business, or go back to working for someone else. If I go back to the corporate world, do I aim big or small?

     "As you can see, I have a lot of expectations from this fast. I hope to gain a lot by doing this with my higher power, and for myself. Sincerely, Joe S."

[Upon completing the fasting aspect of his 40-day Program,Joe offered FCI the following conclusions. . .to demonstrate to others just how much can be accomplished--by oneself, for oneself--in one brief month of concentrated cleansing effort on the physical, mental and spiritual levels:]

     "Dennis: Well, I made it! If I make it through tomorrow, I will have done my 30 days. I seriously considered going for 40 days, but I don't think my ego could stand it. I'd probably walk around comparing myself to Christ. One of the strangest things is that the last two days have really been rough. The temptation to eat has been very high, and I am startled! My brain keeps saying things like: 'Screw it; you've done enough. Go ahead and eat; 27 days in good enough.' My thoughts, as I write them now, are kind of rambling and disconnected, so if you'll excuse me, I'll just ramble on. It's nearly 1 a.m., and I don't feel like worrying about cohesiveness.

     "For the most part, I am just proud of myself for having established a relationship with a higher power, whom I can rely on to give me the strength to get through a Programsuch as this. I am even more proud of the fact that I can say things like that to someone I haven't even met. You have no idea how far removed that is from the way I was brought up. I don't know if I have really reached any heightened level of spirituality. I think most of the time, I am so overwhelmed by my current financial situation that I'm blocking my possibilities for true meditation. I'm just too nervous and worried; I cannot seem to turn it over. It's not that I have the worst problems in the world; it's just that I have never been able to pick a direction, and make a valid effort at making a living. I'm 54, and I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. My capacity for self-sabotage seems to be boundless.

     "I would say that I have noticed a heightened sense of awareness about what is going on around me, however. The night before last, as I was trying to go to sleep, I could hear the little bell a neighborhood cat wears around its neck, tinkling as he crossed my roof or just walked around outside, prowling in the night. My window has been open forever, and he's been here forever, but I never heard it before.

     "I still have solid fecal material in my enemas. I find that incomprehensible after 30 days of no solid food. I had one day where some amazingly disgusting black stuff was in my stool; otherwise, I haven't noticed any 'visible' evidence of de-toxing.

     "One of my sisters will probably wind up being a customer of FCI. She sounded really impressed about the Program.A lot of people seem to assume that I will just give them the Program.However, I will stick to my guns and tell them to pay for it. I don't want the responsibility for them, and I'm not qualified to supervise them.

     "My intention at the moment is to do another 30-day fast in three months. Do you think that is too soon? If I don't do it then, I am considering doing it during Lent, if I can do it in the right spirit. (My goal is to be spiritual, not religious. I'm sure it is a character flaw, but I always have a problem with the messenger.) I assume I am going to put some of the weight I lost, back on, automatically. My idea would be to try and drive my weight down, so that I can keep it in the 160-lb. range.

     "One of my reasons for embarking on this fast was that I have this chronic pain in my left side, which I was hoping to get rid of with this weight loss. Well, it was killing me yesterday, and it is killing me right now. It looks like my idea did not work. Nice try, but no cigar. I really think I am going to break down tonight and take some pain killers; I'm not sure that my rational for not taking them is solid.

     "By the way, you can use any of my stuff if it is of any use to others. You also have my permission to use my name, if it is of any value. I started sharing what I am doing in my twelve-step meetings, and people have been very supportive. I am pretty surprised about that fact. People seem to be more impressed about my ability to do this than I am.

    "I don't care what anybody says; weird things happen to me. Since I have already gone on so long, let me tell you this story. A couple of weeks ago, I called a young man who used to work for me. He is now a vice-president of one of the larger foodservice distributors in the L.A. basin. I told him that I was looking for a job. He recommended a guy he thought I should give a call. The gentleman involved used to run a family-owned distribution company in L.A., which he sold in '85. At that time, he was a competitor of mine, since I was running our distribution center in L.A. I called him and he proceeded to explain to me that he was very dedicated to networking, and he had a file with over 2,000 names of people in the foodservice industry in Southern California.

     "He said I was welcome to come to his office, go through the names in his file, and make a list of the people I wanted to get in touch with for my job search. He would then have his secretary prepare letters of introduction for me, leaving the date off, and I could insert it the day I mailed the letters. I asked him how much he charged for that, and he replied nothing. He stated that some people had helped him out when he was really down (after selling his company), and he was just returning the favor. I was really blown away by the generosity of his offer.

    "I went to his office, prepared my list, and had a nice lunch with him. Last Monday, I was debating whether I should call him or not, to find out if he was going to mail me the letters, or if I should go to his office and pick them up. As I'm sitting here thinking about this, the phone rings and it's him. He tells me that he is not going to do the letters for me. He says I'm too downtrodden. . .that I think the things that have happened to me in the last 10 years are so overwhelming, that I will never recover from them. He goes on and on about what I think. I'm sitting on my end listening to this, and thinking that with him around to read minds, we certainly don't need God.

    "I wasn't on a high or a low the day I saw him; I was just cruising on my fast, and trying to be respectful to someone who was going to do this very helpful thing for me. At lunch, I'd allowed him do most of the talking. . . .I was dumbfounded! What a promise to renege on. He wound up with the fact, I guess, that he didn't want to embarrass himself by introducing me to his friends. I just wrote it off as one of those incomprehensible things that happen. If anything, I decided to use him as a motivational device, and as a foil. If I really wanted to find a job, I would find one fast, just to show him, etc. And, I would stop trying to figure out what happened.

    "The next day, the phone rings and it's him. He says hi and gives me the name of the president of a small restaurant chain with 25 stores, who is looking for a chief financial officer. He says he thinks we would be perfect for each other, and hangs up. I sit there in an absolute state of shock. I guess the day before, I was talking to his evil twin. I don't know who I talked to on Monday, or who I talked to on Tuesday, but I am glad he called back. I have a prospect on the line for next Thursday. Too weird!

    "I am getting serious about walking. I walked for two hours, three days this week. I am actually doing things that are good for me. I take that as evidence that I think I am worth doing good things for. What a monumental change that would be! With this polio thing hanging over me, I can't get into strenuous exercising like weights, but I am feeling more confident about a limited exercise program. If I just keep this walking up, a year from now, I will be unrecognizable. I'm good enough to let something good happen to??? Amazing! Love and kisses, Joe"

[NOTE: As many prospective FCI clients, worldwide, do wonder what FCI's supervision aspect actually 'sounds' like, here is my response to Joe's above emailing, here on his F30 (fasting day 30):]

    "CONGRATULATIONS, JOE, on your excellent, initial fast. You'll now have this marvelous, self-improvement technique for life, and can use it with confidence. You must wait the length of time you've actually fasted before beginning another, taking vitamin and mineral supplements in between to rebuild. You should not go longer than you have under skilled supervision, however, as things can occur throughout longer fasts--physiologically, psychologically and spiritually--that generally are not seen during shorter Programs.

    "I, too, continually find it amazing that others wish to simply purloin what you and all other FCI clients value enough to pay for. Beyond the moral weakness and copyright infringement aspects, it's unwise from precisely the position noted--you don't want that huge responsibility, knowing that all fasting experiences are totally different (as all human body-mind-spirit complexes are absolutely unique). To give you just one example, FCI recently had a call from a medical team at a Kentucky hospital, wondering what on Earth to do with a dazed couple admitted to their emergency room, having tried some 'religious' fast totally on their own.

    "I appreciate your referring you sister to FCI, Joe. If she's online, have her check our extensive website and email me with whatever questions she may have, or simply for our recap of the site, plus some educational and inspirational things which might help her make a more intelligent decision. Finally, thank you so much for offering to share your story with kindred souls who may be suffering similarly. Such metagestures are precisely the key to the successes which 12-step Programs seem to enjoy with 50% of those who use them. Likewise, such sharing has been a legendary tradition at FCI for over 35 years, as all prospective clients immediately see on our extensive Website.

    "Re: your not yet finding, at 54, what it is you wish to do with your life, know that Mother Theresa--the soon-to-be-Sainted Nobel Peacelaureate who died at age 87--was 47 before she discovered what would become the magnum opus of her own life. . .what truly inspired her to greatness through selflessly serving the very poorest of the poor in Calcutta (where the word 'poverty' was invented, as I've seen from several visits there). It's been my studied observation, Joe, that perhaps 95% of humanity get up every day and drag themselves to jobs they truly do not love and feel passionate about, and would not long remain in, were there not a paycheck connected. The fortunate 5%, quite courageously, take that road less traveled (the 'unknown,' versus 'security'), and that, it seems, makes all the difference.

    "Sometimes, Joe, in totally enigmatic ways, the 'self-sabotaging' which drives us from unfulfilling paths and postions we've taken in life--along with tragedies of alcohol, drugs, overeating, sex and other addictions we use as diversions. . .in hopes of anesthetizing our suffering--will eventually be seen as blessings in disguise, for having led us, albeit through enormous sufferings of change, to something far more fulfilling in our lives.

    "Re: the very interesting way in which the abovementioned Good Samaritan offered, withdrew, and then again extended his compassion, kindness and helping hand in your present job hunt, it can sometimes be interesting to see such occurrences in light of the Christian injunction that we all reap what we've sown, or the Buddhist teaching on the immutable Law of Cause and Effect ('karma,' in Sanskrit). It's difficult, at such moments, to focus on the fact that we may simply be receiving our 'just reward' for past, ignoble actions. However, if you ask any con on Death Row their take (as writer Truman Capote once did in an extensive survey), most freely admit that whatever goes around comes around.

     "Know, Joe, that I take great delight in your marvelous accomplishments over the past month of fasting, and wish you only the very best in life. May joy, blessings, and peace be yours, and may you enjoy a stable, meritorious life with a good heart, likewise helping to end unnecessary suffering whenever you're able. Very truly yours, Dennis Paulson, Founder/Director, FCI, Inc.

    "P.S. Two-thirds of teenagers in America today, Joe, suffer suicidal ideation. Nearly every thinking adult, it seems, contemplates what Camus termed the First Philosophical Question. . .at one time or another in her or his life. For males, the most difficult period to transit seems to be what's euphemistically called Mid-Life Crisis. And with the speeding up of nearly everything in today's world, combined with the longer lives we're now living (76.1-year average now in the U.S.), you're still suffering through that transition perhaps, my brother.

     "This stage, unfortunately, also includes the highest incidence of male suicide in America. Apparently, what is wanting to occur at this adult growth stage is an ego death, so that a larger, more expansive ego can be born in us. Those who misinterpret this as a physical deathwish, tragically miss the point, thus imposing a misguided, permanent solution on what is, in fact, a temporary, transient problem.

    "Our world's depression burden is growing, Joe, and it hits far more than most realize, at one time or another in life. In America, for instance, it's estimated that one quarter of the population is suffering depression, to one degree or another, at any one time. In fact, a new study presented at a Vienna conference Sept. 14, 1997, indicated that depression will become a huge burden on the world, unless better methods are developed to treat it. In that study, most psychiatrists agree that depression will be the leading cause of disability in the developing world by 2020. Depression in the United States, for example, is presently estimated to cost over $53 billion a year, primarily through absenteeism among workers and reduced productivity.

    ""Among the myriad benefits of the excellent, initial fast you've just completed, Joe, perhaps the most important is your mind's opening to what you and fellow 12-steppers term a 'Higher Power'. Obviously, such a power is beyond mere human conceptions, but humans around our world have many names for precisely the same thing. To Christians and Jews, it's 'God'; Muslims, 'Allah': Hindus, 'Brahma'; Buddhists, 'Omniscient Mind'; Native Americans, 'Great Spirit,' etc. All refer to this same, non-gender-specific Creative Force--from which all life evolves, and to which all live eventually returns.

    "Personally, having been blessed to live 10 years outside the U.S. in 55 different cultures; having fathered two young Bodhisattvas who've climbed the undergradyate rungs of the academic ladder in the University of Californiasystem (with my son, 28, now co-owning a thriving, upscale restaurant, and my daughter, 27, nearly two-thirds of the way through completing her Juris Doctor and Master's Degrees, on the Dean's Listin the 10 spot among 260 classmates), and having built our world's largest, nonresidential fasting clientele over the past 35 years, I've concluded that this 'Higher Power' never gives us more than we can handle (although at times, that's not at all clear to any of us--each of whom, by the way, has her or his own particular bag of suffering to carry through this lifetime). However, as the famed German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) rightly concluded: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger.'

    "One book recommendation I might leave you with is The Healing Power of Mind: Simple Meditation Exercises for Health, Well-Being, and Enlightenment,by Harvard's Tulku Thondup. Of this book, Herbert Benson, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Harvard,who 20 years ago brought meditation to American Medicine's attention in his best-selling The Relaxation Resonse,and more recently authored Timeless Healing,writes this: 'Tulku Thondup guides us through practical approaches for the relief of worry, stress, and pain. Based on ancient Buddhist teachings, they are readily applicable to our modern world, and I highly recommend them.'

    "Many FCI clients have already found its wisdom helpful in sorting out the aspects of their own life, growth, understanding, and path. Hopefully, you, too, will find it somewhat helpful. Big Love; your friend, Dennis"

Please come back soon for new additions to FCI's online, archived FASTING JOURNAL!

Any questions, email or phone FCI. Email: FastMaster@fasting.com; phone: 818-590-2536 (know that the best time to catch Founder/Director Dennis Paulson, himself, with the least interruption, is between 10-4, California time). For the Fasting Center International home page, click here: www.fasting.com

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