2017 Fasting Diary: Week 3

...Continuation 

(Click here for the introduction: week 1)

(Click here week 2)

March 15, 2017
Food for the soul:

"...Even thou outwardly the Fast is difficult and toilsome, yet inwardly it is bounty and tranquility. Purification and training are conditioned and dependent only on such rigorous exercises as are in accord with the Book of God and sanctioned by Divine law, not those which the deluded have inflicted upon the people. Whatsoever God hath revealed is beloved of the soul. We beseech Him that He may graciously assist us to do that which is pleasing and acceptable unto Him."
-Bahá'u'lláh

Food for the body:

Korean noodles & boiled egg for breakfast

Things have felt a little different these last three days. I've been eating smaller breakfasts, and I've been breaking my fast over an hour over sunset and it has made no difference. I remember during the first week, whenever it hit 12pm, my stomach would make this grumbling sound, but then it would go away and come back again at 3pm. I knew it wasn't because I was hungry; I think my system was just used to those hours as the time I normally eat (so automatic reaction). During the first 10 days or so, I'd reach home with a feeling like there's a knot in my stomach, hence the desire for some warm liquid. But no more. It's obvious the body has adapted. Outwardly, yes the fast looks difficult and challenging, but physical suffering is only temporary. 

One big lesson I've learnt about my body during these past 15 wonderful days, which I believe has mad such a huge impact on my life now, is about stress. During the fasting period, I've noticed something strange that happens in my stomach whenever I rush, worry or panic - fyi, these don't happen so often, but when I do worry or panic, I over-do it. #intense. Whenever I am stressed out, I feel this burning fiery sensation right in the middle of my stomach - almost like acid trickling down my intestines. Then I thought to myself - this has probably been happening before, but I don't feel it because the acid reacts on the food (seriously, this is how I'm picturing it), but now that my stomach is empty, I'm noticing it. Is this scientifically correct? I don't know if what I feel is really true of what happens in the stomach when we experience stress, but this is what I feel and it's definitely not a good feeling. I imagine it's harmful to my stomach, and so I've learnt to really pay attention and listen to my body. This "outward" fasting has taught me to really make more effort in becoming a more easy-going person (to take my time and worry less). I would never have noticed the acid if it weren't for the fast... this is a reminder that my emotions get in the way of my physical well-being so I need to take care of both of them equally because they affect each other. 

March 16, 2017
Food for the soul:

"Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer to the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of they pledge. Be fair in thy judgement, and guarded in they speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility."
-Bahá'u'lláh

Food for the body:

Last week I said pizza for breakfast was a good idea. So I did it again

I'm actually looking back at yesterday's quotation - the last part says "We beseech Him that He may graciously assist us to do what which is pleasing and acceptable unto Him." Now I ask myself how? I think that today's quotation is the answer. This is one of my absolute favorite quotations of all time, and each time I hear someone read it, I learn something new. Remember this quotation from Baha'u'llah I shared on my first week "Verily, I say, Fasting is the supreme remedy and the most great healing for the disease of self and passion." From the disease of self. Now look at today's quotation, telling us to be so many things... for who? for others! "Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed..." 

Now I truly see the true purpose of the fast, and why fasting is the law of God. God wants us to be selfless, to serve others, to love others, to prefer others before ourselves. If I did that for someone, and someone did that for me, the world would be a wonderful place. But it's so easy to forget these things in our day to day lives. It's so easy to be put our needs first before others (it's the "survival of the fittest" right?) So once a year, God, being All-Merciful, All-Compassionate, gives us 19 days to Fast in order to remember what and who He wants us to become, so that we are more pleasing and acceptable unto Him. It's so beautiful ❤

March 17, 2017
Food for the soul:

"Observe how rarely human souls sacrifice their pleasure or comfort for others; how improbably that a man would offer his eye or suffer himself to be dismembered for the benefit of another. Yet all the divine Manifestations suffered, offered their lives and blood, sacrificed their existence, comfort and all they possessed for the sake of mankind. Therefore consider how much they love. Were it not for their love for humanity, spiritual love would be mere nomenclature. Were it not for their illumination, human souls would not be radiant. How effective is their love! This is a sign of the love of God; a ray of the Sun of Reality."

Abdu'l-Bahá

Food for the body:

Today is my Dad's birthday, so we went out to celebrate (without him) at our favorite family dinner place. I've written about this seafood place before (click here). Tonight we had chilli-garlic shrimps, baked mussels and squid adobo. 

Since it's my Dad's birthday, I found myself remembering the Baha'is of Iran. Remember yesterday's quotation in which Bahá'u'lláh listed several things He wishes us to be? Of course in the Baha'i Faith we look up to Abdu'l-Bahá, the Master, as the Perfect Example. A lot of us people make conscious effort every single day to live a very spiritual life, and it's a life-long practice. But in my opinion, the Bahá'is of Iran really stand out. Since Bahá'u'lláh's time, His followers have been killed (in the most horrendous ways), exiled, and even until today, there are dozens of Bahá'is in prisons in Iran - just because they are Bahá'is (click here to one of my previous posts on this). Bahá'i youths in Iran  cannot enrol in Universities, or even when they do, they are never allowed to graduate. Why? because they write Bahá'i next to religion on their application form. Their businesses have been shut down, homes have been ransacked, death threats continue to be made. And yet...in spite of all of this, the Bahá'is of Iran never protest. They never fight back. They continue to be "unjust to now man, and show all meekness to all men." 

From one generation after another, the Bahá'is in Iran are faced with troubles, hardships, sufferings - they are not entitled to the rights of their citizenship, and yet they continue to live and smile and serve their communities and country as if they have nothing to lose because indeed they have nothing to lose! They are detached from all save their love for Bahá'u'lláh. 

The Universal House of Justice wrote to the Bahá'is all over the world on 4 February 1988 "Your daily prayers on behalf of the dear friends in Iran will have great significance during the Fast. We will beseech Bahá'u'lláh to answer the prayers of His beloved followers from all over the world that the present suffering of the Iranian Bahá'is will be alleviated."

I just thought right now that during the first week of the Fast, I kept reading about detachment. Detachment from material things is one thing, then detachment in terms of what we think or how we feel is another. I feel like there's a third level of detachment which is really high and that's detachment when we pray. Meaning, it's easy for us to open a prayer book an pray for our forgiveness, for our spiritual growth, for our trials and difficulties, but it's another thing to offer our supplications for others - for our family, our friends, our neighbours, even our Government. How can we ever complain about our hardships when we know that there are dozens of Bahá'is in Iranian prisons who have absolutely nothing, and yet they have just spent the last 17 days fasting. That's why they need our prayers more than ever ❤

March 18, 2017
Food for the soul:

"Praise be unto Thee, O Lord my God! We have observed the Fast in conformity with Thy bidding and break it now through Thy love and Thy good-pleasure. Deign to accept, O my God, the deeds that we have performed in Thy path wholly for the sake of Thy beauty with our faces set towards Thy Cause, free from aught else but Thee. Bestow, then, Thy forgiveness upon us, upon our forefathers, and upon all such as have believed in Thee and in Thy mighty signs in this most great, this most glorious Revelation. Potent art Thou to do what Thou choosest. Thou art, verily, the Most Exalted, the Almighty, the Unconstrained."
-Bahá'u'lláh, prayer for the fast

Food for the body:

To break the fast this evening, we cooked some rice (with veggies and biryani spices) and last night's left-over prawns and mussels. 

I remember some years ago I heard stories that while the friends are on pilgrimage in the Holy Land, they are encouraged to pray that their pilgrimage would be accepted by Bahá'u'lláh. I remember finding this statement so powerful. It means it boils down to how pure your heart, your intentions are. Not just for pilgrimage, but anything and everything we do should be with pure intentions, or else it will be useless/pointless, as if we did things because we are "forced" or just because we want the benefits. In today's prayers, we humbly as God to accept all the things we have done for His sake.So even though we've skipped all our lunch, we've said our prayers and we've refrained from vain imaginings...doesn't mean we did it right. It's not a matter of 19/19 I got a perfect score! It's about how we attained that score. Then you know it has been a fulfilling journey. Then you know God is truly happy with us. 

March 19, 2017
Food for the soul:

"Soon the whole world, as in springtime, will change its garb. The turning and falling of the autumn leaves is past; the bleakness of the winter time is over. The new year hath appeared and the spiritual springtime is at hand. The black earth is becoming a verdant garden; the deserts and mountains are teeming with red flowers; from the borders of the wilderness the tall grasses are standing like advance guards before the cypress and jessamine tress; while the birds are singing among the rose branches like the angels in the highest heavens, announcing the glad-tidings of the approach of that spiritual spring, and the sweet music of their voices is causing the real essence of all things to move and quiver."

-Abdu'l-Bahá

Food for the body:

This morning I woke up at 5:15, prepared breakfast (bread pizza!) then knocked on my Mom's door and said "for the very last time, until next year.... wake up! breakfast is ready!!" Even while having breakfast together, I looked out the window thinking...Oh, I'm going to miss this. 

Fast forward to this evening! A lot of friends gathered at the Bahá'i Center here in Manila before sunset. We said some prayers, then food glorious food! After about an hour to eating, catching up with each other, we then proceeded with our fun-filled Nawruz program. Tomorrow marks the beginning of spring in many countries around the world BUT over here in the Philippines, summer has just started! It's really hot, so no flowers, no verdant gardens, no cypress and jessamine trees, no birds singing hehe. It's a completely different physical reality here on this tropical archipelago BUT spiritually, yes it is indeed like springtime! The joy and happiness exploding from the smiles and hearts of all the friends this evening, the laughter that filled the celebration especially when we played games...😄😄😄

Here's a picture of the potluck dinner at the Bahá'i center:

Filipino, Persian, Malaysian dishes!

***

Some of you might be familiar with the Persian tradition of haftseen. If not, well every Nawruz, Iranians place 7 items on a table starting with Persian letter S. Haft mean 7, Seen means letter S. They usually put sumac (pomegranate powder), sib (apple), saat (clock/watch), shirini (sweets) etc. 

We do this whenever we celebrate Nawruz in Iran. BUT this year, since we're in the Philippines, we decided to make our haftseen with 7 items starting with 
Tagalog letter S. So here's our Filipino version! 

 translation:

HAPPY NAWRUZ!!!

Thank you to everyone who has been reading my fasting diary since Week 1 and also sharing with me your experiences! Thank you! 

I wish all of you a joyous, blessed Nawruz! 

Alah'u'abhá

From all over Manila (Makati, Manila, Tondo, Quezon City, Malabon, Caloocan, Taguig, Valenzuela)
and even Pampangga and Guam!