“The goal of fasting
is inner unity.

This means hearing,
but not with the ear;
hearing, but not
with the understanding;
it is hearing with the spirit,
with your whole being.

The hearing that is only
in the ears is one thing.

The hearing of the understanding
is another,
but the hearing of the spirit
is not limited to any one faculty,
to the ear, or to the mind.

Hence, it demands
the emptiness of the faculties,
and when the faculties are empty,
then your whole being listens.”

Fr. Thomas Merton

When you fast,
“[t]here is . . . a direct grasp
of what is right before you
that can never be heard
with the ear or understood
with the mind.

Fasting of the heart
empties the faculties,
frees you from limitations
and from preoccupations.”

Fr. Thomas Merton

“Through fasting, let your mind
depend on its own power.

When that power manifests,
the life force in the body
becomes increasingly reinforced
with the eternal energy
continually flowing into the brain
and spine from the cosmic energy
around the body,
entering through the medulla.”

Paramahansa Yogananda

 

“Becoming detached from dependence
on outer, physical sources
of bodily sustenance,
the life force sees
that it is being supported
from within,
and wonders how this is so.

The mind then says:
‘The solids on which the body
used to depend are nothing
more than gross condensations
of energy.
You are pure energy,
and you are pure consciousness.’

Then, whatever command
the mind impinges
in the consciousness of the life force,
it will manifest accordingly.”

Paramahansa Yogananda

“A complete fast
is a complete and literal denial of self.

It is the truest prayer.”

Mahatma Gandhi