THINK ‘DISCIPLINE,’ PART IV. . .

I will conclude my brief exploration of a few Disciplines with two more ‘Spiritual Disciplines.’ As a reminder here are the Disciplines I have been exploring:

HUMANIST DISCIPLINES: Reflection, Listening, Advocacy/Inquiry, Dialogue

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES: Meditation/Solitude, Prayer, Fasting, Service

Fasting. I was raised in two Christian Traditions. My mother was a Roman (Polish) Catholic and my father was an English Presbyterian. As a result, I have received a variety of blessings; one of them being two different types of guilt. I was introduced to ‘fasting’ when I reached ‘the age of reason’ – which, according to my mother, was when I celebrated my sixth birthday (just in time for the season of Lent). It was not until I spent my eighteenth year in a monastery that I learned that fasting had little to do with deprivation. Fasting, I learned, was a discipline that nurtured the body, the heart and the spirit. I continue to fast (I have also, because of my mother, reframed ‘Lent’ – but that is another story). I met my first Muslim in 1995; she was part of ‘FAS’ an organization that served at risk children and adolescents in the Baltimore area. She taught me about Ramadan including the thirty day fast. She taught me that there are two essential elements to this fast. They are:

Intention
You must have the intention to fast before fajr (dawn) every night during the month of Ramadan. The intention does not need to be spoken, because in reality it is an act of the heart, which does not involve the tongue. It will be fulfilled by one’s intention from the heart to fast out of obedience to Allaah.

Abstaining from Acts that nullify the Fast
The second essential element for your fast to be accepted is that you abstain from the acts that nullify the fast from dawn to sunset. There are certain acts that if one ‘chooses’ to do them then the fast will be nullified. For non-Muslims, the most common is to choose NOT TO EAT OR DRINK from dawn till dusk. If one maintains these two essential elements during fasting, then their fast will be valid and accepted.

For me, there are two types of fasts. The first is modeled on the Muslim Fast of Ramadan; several times a year I will for seven days follow the two essential elements listed above. Then twice every week (at minimum) I will hold the ‘Intention’ and then consume 200-400 calories (a high protein drink generally) a day. I will also continue to drink water. For me, the most important element is my INTENTION. During my morning meditation I will emerge an intention for the day and I will seek to then be intentional and purpose-full as I consciously hold the intention for the day.

Service. For me, service is focused upon an ‘intention’ which I hold: ‘Do those served affirm that they are cared for and do they grow as persons?’ This discipline requires that I am ‘conscious’ (awake and aware) and that I am intentional and purpose-full. As with all of my disciplines, I seek to be consistent rather than perfect (remember I am blessed with two powerful types of guilt and ‘seeking perfection’ is a tiger’s pit for me).

There is more I could write about each of the ‘Humanistic’ and ‘Spiritual’ Disciplines but this is enough for now. Gentle reader, what are the disciplines that you follow? Why those disciplines?