Fasting Journal : Fasting Center International

FASTING SUPERVISION: IS IT NECESSARY?

I'm pretty low (or at least was) on the self-control and willpower spectrum, and could never really stick a diet out much more than a week or so, before I'd fall right back into my old eating habits. The thought of prolonged self-denial was not something I thought I was capable of, and it suprises me that I went for this fast in the first place (the best thing I have ever done in my life!), but I was acutely aware that there were elements of my life that needed changing, and FCI's program seemed to be a good attempt at a fix. I was feeling pretty cloudy, I was way overweight, my mental capacity was half of what it used to be, I was often moody, and was ready to throw the whole self-esteem towel in and give up on the possibility of changing, until I met Dennis Paulson of Fasting Center International.

I read his Website's testimonials, and I heard his description of the fast, and realized that he knew what he was doing, that he had way more experience in the subject than I could ever try to accumulate on my own, and that this really could work. FCI's skillful juice-fasting program is well-designed, and in its simplicity is the obvious product of years of research and data accumulation from all different systems and programs from around the world. What you get with FCI's plan is not just one point of view, but a synthesis of all the best parts of all different plans, and on top of that, you get a coach and mentor in Dennis who was, at times, imperative to the fasting experience.

The actual plan FCI/Dennis lays out is well-crafted, and is very easy to implement, but nonetheless, fasting can be scary and it's really helpful to have someone on hand who's had maximum experience with all the weird moments that happen along the fasting adventure. In my life, I'd met people who'd fasted for 3 or 4 days on water or juices, and had felt the beginnings of the sort of anxiety which can arise when we break those society-run programs that tell us we have to eat eat eat, so it helps to have someone to talk to as you reprogram your understanding of your body and your relationship to consumption.

As a UCB philosophy grad, I understand someone supposing s/he could buy a bunch of books on fasting, study fasting for a long time, and maybe possibly be able to do a safe fast, but I really would not suggest it. Most books start off saying that one should NEVER do an unsupervised, prolonged fast, and rightly so. At FCI, I've learned how to do a prolonged fast skillfully, following a tried-and-true, supervised system in which I had complete confidence, and the result was that I enjoyed the most pain- and trouble-free weight-loss/detoxification experience I've ever had.

However, if you're launching off into unknown territory, without sufficient experiential knowledge to even know if the plan you've stumbled upon has weaknesses you couldn't know about (or is a plan you're not sure about), and doubts begin to arise in that method, and you have NO one to bounce questions off of, you'll probably not get very far, possibly hurt yourself in the process, and poison your mind against the possibility of fasting in the future.

On the other hand, now that I've done FCI's 50-day Program, I've concluded that even without the mentoring, their fasting Program is worth the money, because I KNOW it works, and now have it for life! I'm only one testimonial in FCI's 30-year files, but because many of the books out there on fasting have contradictory instructions in them, knowing what I now know about fasting, I would be afraid to try some of the things they suggest. I have complete confidence that FCI has formulated the most optimal Program for purification of the body and mind, weight loss, detoxification, and physical safety and comfort. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that this Program was way easier than any diet I've ever attempted, and its benefit was direct and lasting. I'd pay double FCI's fees for the peace of mind I have about their Program, whereas I don't know if I could have (or would have) done the fast on my own, reading scores of books and trying to figure out who was right and who was wrong, trying to gamble between contradictory advice.

Another large piece of the FCI Program is the follow-on aspect--their LIFETIME OPTIMUM-HEALTH PLAN--designed to teach you to eat and live for optimum health, and thus keep you from coming back to fasting for the same reasons you went to it in the first place. Even if you were able to figure out the fast on your own, what would stop you from losing all of the gained benefits after you were finished? The same time, energy, and research that went into designing FCI's scientific juice-fasting Program went into the design of their guide to lifetime optimum-health.

So, I've hyped the fast, and really do think that it's worth the money to get the peace of mind--that you will be doing a Program that is safe and that is easy, and you'll have the support of a master fasting instructor to boot. Please, email Dennis Paulson (FastMaster@fasting.com) and talk with him about the fast before you undertake it. He's fully knowlegeable, and can answer all of your questions about the actual fast, and about fasting in general (including why other types of fasts can be problematic). He's a gold mine of information!

Finally, I want to just let you in on a bit of the exciting revelations I had during the fast I underwent earlier this year. Having met someone who'd done a water-fast for 3 days (btw: I would *NEVER* consider doing a water-fast, after doing a juice-fast), and just started to experience clarification of consciousness, I want to let you know this was just touching the tip of the iceburg. For during a prolonged juice-fast, you more efficiently cleanse your body of the toxins you ingested over a lifetime from improper nutrition, pesticides, smog, smoke, drugs, radiation, etc., and as you really start to clear out (after perhaps 20 days, it starts to become seriously noticeable), you become capable of AMAZING feats of consciousness.

Now, I don't want to mislead you--you can't bend spoons or levitate or anything like that ( ;) ), but I found myself able to see my own life more clearly, and really figure out why I was doing the things I was doing. Also, I was reading six books at once, able to follow all of their plotlines with ease. I started playing chess again. I was able to meditate more clearly, and came into a well-being I haven't felt in years. I almost wish I could live life on the juice-fast indefinitely (though I do love food and love to cook, so I like the option of eating; but I now have a vehicle into a level of consciousness that I can tap at any time, and fully intend to on a regular basis). After fasting 35 days, I was almost completely clear of toxins, and my body felt absolutely electric! The longer I stayed on the fast, the more energy I had, and the better I felt.

Regarding consciousness, itself, the increased clarity was gradual, from day to day, so I didn't really notice the change as acutely as I did as soon as I began to eat solid food again. That was like getting knocked off of a tall fence--I literally felt my consciousness drop a few notches. Nevertheless, now being completely devoid of toxins, I was leagues ahead of my peer group; but I definitely felt below the point I had acheived merely the day or two before, at the height of my fast. I know I can use this knowledge of fasting whenever I need a higher level of awareness (I am starting a business in San Rafael, near San Francisco, in a few months, and will do another prolonged fast during this time, specifically to clarify my mind during this critical transition).

This juice-fasting Program is SO much more than merely a weight-loss or a detox tool. It is really a way to get to your higher consciousness, in the same way meditation does, but the effort is easier and the effect is more prolonged. Some take transcendental meditation courses that cost thousands of dollars; if they knew about intelligent fasting, they would absolutely FREAK at this quick method to self-awareness. Of course, if you combine these elements, the effects are literally astronomical!

I guess I've raved a bit too much here, but if you're presently considering FCI's Program, I hope you do decide to go for it, because I can't suggest anything more highly to anyone. If you decide to go with the fast, feel free to email me about it (through FCI), as well as your progress. As you can see, I'd love to exchange fasting stories!

--Joshua Archer

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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