What have I learned from fasting

I am on the physically weaker end of the spectrum, but I'm physically and mentally healthy.

Fasting depletes the area where you are weak. My immune system is relatively weak. That's why when I exercised as much as I usually did before the fast, I caught the cold that my husband had just recovered from when I returned from the fast. Then, when I didn't take care of myself and continued the heavy physical exertion, I drove the sickness inward until I had bronchitis. Once I was sick, I was very slow to recover because my immune system was not strong.

Fasting burns fat cells as sources of energy. Because toxins are stored in the fat cells, the liver needs to work harder than it normally does to process those toxins. Normally when I do acupuncture, my acupuncturist says my liver is weak, but is never the major weak organ. After I caught cold, my liver became the major weak organ that she worked on. So  I am guessing that because I had release so many toxins, my liver was overworked.

 Interestingly, during the fast and after it even when I was very sick, I did a lot of intellectual work. I enjoyed it very much. The spleen and stomach in Chinese medicine are organs of not only digestion, but also digestion of intellectual material. Usually, my spleen as a Chinese medicine organ, is only a little bit stronger than my kidney which is my weakest organ.  After fasting, it was no longer weak.  The Meridian is distinct from the organ still have weak points on it, but the function of digestion was not weak. And I have a strong interest in intellectual activity.

 Returning to the function of the liver,  my liver became a week organ.  After I returned from the fast, I suffered from skin irritations as I had before I left for the fast.  But during the recent month, though skin irritations. And during the fast I never had skin irritation.   These are evidence of improved liver functioning.

The weakness of my liver appeared more on the emotional than the physical level. During my recovery, I felt painfully intolerant of other people. Particularly, if there was even one small thing that irritated me about someone, I remember that irritating aspect over and over and it made me feel more intolerant of that person.  Furthermore, I had no desire to improve my relationships with anyone. I was totally unforgiving.

In Chinese medicine, the liver is not only the organ of detoxification, it is the organ covering long-range goals and a place where anger is stored. Since my liver was overworked, I felt those emotions of a depleted liver. Also, currently I am having trouble focusing on my long-range goals.

 I've never experienced this level of intolerance of their people. I see it in other people when I'm doing homeopathy, but personally I have never felt it.   Although I have felt very uncomfortable during the last few months since the fast, and I have irritated other people who have made me feel uncomfortable, it's very good to strongly feel anger that I had suppressed in the past. Perhaps it is ideal with this anger, I can feel more clear about what I really do feel.