Fasting Month of Ramadhan

[tailor STATELY]

Fasting is a major tenet in my faith as well. Fasting with prayer and purpose is a powerful way to become more receptive to the Spirit, hence closer to our Heavenly Father. An LDS primer to fasting in my faith: https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-pr...sting?lang=eng

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[cacian]

Is this a line from a song or a poem or are you just trying to annoy me because you have found out that I occasionally do proofreading? (Occasionally! Please don't stalk me, looking for errors in my posts.)

saralyn how do you mean proofreading?
no this is not a song or a poem I was just saying that life if fragile if we are fragile with it.
in other words if and when we do things we have to ensure we do because we truly understand them otherwise the consequences may not be what we expect them to be.
fasting is a big act and to make others fast children and others is a big responsibility,
just because I feel something makes special does not mean I have the right to make others do it.

[cacian]

Well, I have never been a Muslim, but I have been devout in my own idiosyncratic way (borrow from this and that) and I never performed any rituals because I was told to do so. For instance, when I was enthusiastic about Patanjali, I abstained, to a reasonable extent, from using the word "I" for about two weeks. This discipline taught me two things. One, was how often I talked in reference to myself. (not surprising, I suppose, but revealing nonetheless) The second thing it taught me was to recognize how unconscious I was most of the time.

wow that for me sounds quite debilitating. speech is free form I am not sure it is a good idea. I would not do it.
what made you look for things such as these to do?
I have only ever done one thing because of someone else. My ex boyfriend decided to go vegetarian because his sister was.
I did too. I did not decide it just happen. I stuck to it for a while and he did too and then we both gave up.
we were in Spain and there was no away we could have kept to. there is no vegetarianism in Spain. it is a full on meat country.
I am glad now we did. god knows how long it would have gone on for. I think I was getting a bit bored from being limited in things I could have in life.
I did not like to think about what I could not eat. I wanted spontaneity which I love.

I've never fasted, but I assume there are lessons to be learned as a result of this spiritual discipline. In addition to this, there is the symbolic meaning attached to the process. One is sacrificing for one's beloved, who is usually a reflection of one's highest ideals. It can be an act of love and the act itself increases one's devotion. This may be hard to understand if you are not religiously inclined, but it is real. It is sort of like how waving a flag makes you feel more patriotic

fasting to me is a discipline. it just mean one cannot eat for a few hours and then eat again.
I don't need to be religious to think it is a bit extreme.
I do not see how it could increase devotion because whilst nature oozes food nutriment one is not eating it and so I consider it a waste.
the other thing is that when one is not hydrated in the heat it is not safe heath.
anyway each to their own.
the one thing I believe in is that piety is not once a year .it is everyday and it is not an act it is a fact a mental belief.

Of course, you are right....many fast because they are told to do so. Many read Shakespeare for the same reason. This does not reflect on Shakespeare, it demonstrates how his work is approached by different people at varying levels of intellectual/emotional maturity. It's the same with sacred literature and the rituals associated with various religious traditions

why do you compare fasting to Shakespeare?
oh and I always wondered why it was called fast as in speed??

I am glad you chuckled at the social worker comment. A few minutes after I posted, I worried that I may be seen as tactless, or, as my mother used to say when she reprimanded me, "Stop acting like a little snot!"

haha that is funny

[saralynn]

Cacian: wow that for me sounds quite debilitating. speech is free form I am not sure it is a good idea. I would not do it.
what made you look for things such as these to do?
I have only ever done one thing because of someone else. My ex boyfriend decided to go vegetarian because his sister was.
I did too. I did not decide it just happen. I stuck to it for a while and he did too and then we both gave up.
we were in Spain and there was no away we could have kept to. there is no vegetarianism in Spain. it is a full on meat country.
I am glad now we did. god knows how long it would have gone on for. I think I was getting a bit bored from being limited in things I could have in life.
I did not like to think about what I could not eat. I wanted spontaneity which I love.

It increases self-awareness and you become more conscious of being unconscious. That is important to me.

Cacian: fasting to me is a discipline. it just mean one cannot eat for a few hours and then eat again.
I don't need to be religious to think it is a bit extreme.
I do not see how it could increase devotion because whilst nature oozes food nutriment one is not eating it and so I consider it a waste.
the other thing is that when one is not hydrated in the heat it is not safe heath.
anyway each to their own.
the one thing I believe in is that piety is not once a year .it is everyday and it is not an act it is a fact a mental belief.

Yep, each his own. It might be a matter of temperament. It's always puzzled me why some people are drawn to delving into religious questions and others are not, but it is obviously so. I have always had this inclinations since I was a child and have no explanation for it. I grew up in a staunchly secular home, which may or may not be relevant.

Cacian: why do you compare fasting to Shakespeare?
oh and I always wondered why it was called fast as in speed??

Because many people (perhaps the majority) might be puzzled why anyone would appreciate Shakespeare in the same way that many people (perhaps a majority) would find an appreciation for fasting bewildering.

Have no idea where the word "fast" originates.