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Our constant rushing about, stuffing ourselves and chasing after ‘more’ means that our lives lose the dynamism that underlies all living things – that healthy rhythm. The regular alternation between eating and digesting, working and resting, giving and receiving. All too quickly, we lose our sense of the finer things amidst the challenges of everyday life. Lent is about to begin, and it invites us to step away from the everyday through a simple act – by practising self-denial. At a time when everything is always immediately available – not just food and material goods, but, thanks to new media, even people – the decision to practise self-denial can be incredibly healing.
Renunciation as a prerequisite for enjoyment
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With the loss of a healthy rhythm and an excessive focus on „more“, enjoyment is also lost. For abstinence is the prelude to enjoyment. Through voluntary abstinence, we are able to sharpen our sense of the subtle once more. Those who do without the superfluous are reminded of what is essential. When I do not eat, I tap into finer sources of energy and remind myself that I am more than just my body. When I free my body from strain, I can feel it more clearly.
Fasting means doing without cheap and quick food
For one thing, we’ve become accustomed to „cheap pleasures“. Our everyday diet contains all sorts of things that are addictive – sugar, milk, wheat, coffee. So we turn ourselves into junkies without even realising it. It’s a socially acceptable drug, which is why we exchange conspiratorial winks as we tuck into a chocolate bar. But, like any drug, the effect is only short-lived. We constantly need more, and we gradually become unwell.
Food as the foundation of community
There is something that brings people together about eating. Dining together is almost like a shared meditation. Anyone who says, „No, thank you, I don’t eat sugar,“ is immediately an outsider. Seen in this light, fasting can mean having to withdraw from the community for a while, or realising just how much I bow to the unwritten rules of a community in my everyday life.
Food as a substitute for spirituality
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Our supposedly civilised society has scarcely any time for nurturing our energy. We act as though we were robots that merely need fuel. Is it any wonder, then, that we panic at the thought of doing without? Meditation, quiet reflection, nature and art – these, too, are forms of nourishment. The more we starve our minds, the more feelings of meaninglessness take hold. Paradoxically, we then feel an even greater physical hunger.
The chocolate bar as a substitute for sense
Where there is no meaning, a substitute for meaning is needed. A chocolate bar does the job perfectly. When I’m racked with inner conflict, food is the comfort that wraps me in cotton wool. Fasting, in this context, means stepping away from everyday life and allowing silence to take hold – something that’s hard to come by these days, precisely because it costs nothing.
Fasting is the celebration of silence
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In silence, the mind can find peace. Silence heals. Lent is a necessary period of purification and detoxification, enabling us to see food once again as genuine nourishment.
Cleanse your mind and body with pleasure
To make this cleansing experience a truly enjoyable one, we have launched our Mallorca Retreat Week. There, you’ll have the opportunity to eat food that’s truly nourishing – free from sugar, gluten and chemicals, yet packed with vital nutrients. Every meal there becomes a little energy boost.
TCM expert Ursula Peer and I will be there to guide you through the process. I’ll give you a thorough understanding of the „Chi instead of Botox“ methods, so that your newfound sense of well-being can be reflected in your face too.
Renunciation as a gain
Giving something up can be seen as a gain. With a personalised constitutional analysis, you’ll go home knowing exactly which foods are particularly good for you. Only those who can give things up can truly enjoy them!
