Ghia—Looking for ways to feed and nourish your soul? How about a ritual water fast on the summer solstice?

Hello, this is Gia.

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Welcome to the Creative Spiritual

Journey, where Judy and I explore the

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connection between faith, nature, and joy.

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Oh, my word, I can hardly believe

what I'm about to say, but here goes.

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The solstice is just around the corner.

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The longest day of the year

arrives on June 21st, which means

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that half of the year is gone.

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Can you believe it?

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Crazy.

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But for me, the good news

is, it's time for my seasonal

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celebration of Jesus Christ.

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As you may recall from my equinox

celebration back in March, this

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year I have chosen to use fasting

as the theme for my celebrations.

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and here is what is so cool about that.

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This morning, right before sitting

down to write this podcast, I happened

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to open one of my favorite books.

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It's called Upon Waking

by Jacki Hill Perry.

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It is a daily devotional

featuring a scripture and her

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brief, poignant reflections.

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She is not a member of the Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

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but she is a wonderful Christian

woman with powerful insights.

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When I first got her book, I just started

opening to random pages and just reading.

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But this morning, for some reason,

I decided to start at the beginning,

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and what did I find but a beautiful

thought that I am applying to fasting.

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Don't you love it when

serendipity works this way?

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Let me share her thoughts.

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First, she talked about our biology.

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We need food.

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Our bodies need food.

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So much of our lives revolves

around that need, and so much of

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our mood revolves around whether

we have fulfilled that need.

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We all know the misery of being

hangry and the joy of being satiated.

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So it shouldn't be a surprise that Jesus

Christ calls himself the bread of life.

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What a perfect analogy, right?

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He can satisfy us.

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He can make us feel better.

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But in scripture, he isn't specifically

talking about bodily sustenance, is he?

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He's talking about being the bread

of life, His bread gives us eternal

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life, the thing we need the most.

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Okay, with that set up, let

me read you Jackie's quote.

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She says, "In the same way our bodies

need a constant diet of food, our

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soul needs God like this always.

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Upon waking, we are hungry for heaven,

and yet we fill it with a scroll or many.

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As the day moves forward and the

belly still empty, we fill it

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again when a person gives us a

measure of love, a like, a look.

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Before bed, the soul, if visible, would

be skeletal, barely able to stand on

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its own or smile with all of its teeth.

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The body who holds this almost

dead thing feels alive because

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it depends on every other bread

except the one the Father sent.

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but the Lord's table has been set,

so sit, revive yourself in His

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life, fill yourself in His love,

scrape the plate, and wipe it clean.

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We need the bread of Heaven because

truly no other food will do."

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End quote.

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I love the part where she describes

a spirit that has been starved of

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the bread of life as being skeletal,

barely able to stand on its own

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or smile with all of its teeth.

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That is a very vivid image.

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So one of the goals for my solstice

celebration is to fast from food

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that would nourish my body and

instead feed myself spiritually.

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I want to fill myself at the Lord's

table and scrape my plate clean because

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I want a nice plump spirit, One that's

full of life and has the energy to

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love and be kind to those around me.

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Now, before I dive into my plans, I

want to talk for a minute about why I

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have anchored my seasonal celebrations

of Jesus Christ around the solar cycle,

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specifically the solstices and equinoxes.

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While Christian celebrations do have

ties to the solar cycle, for example,

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it's not a coincidence that Christmas

came right after the winter solstice.

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The date was deliberately picked to

coincide with the return of light.

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Still, celebrating the phases of the solar

cycle isn't generally a Christian thing.

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but I love tuning into the seasons.

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It brings a richness and depth to my life.

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I think it grounds me in

my body and to the Earth.

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I also think it anchors

me in time and space.

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I like the sense that I know where

I am in my journey around the sun.

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Modern life is incredibly

good at flattening time.

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Tuesday in February can feel almost

identical to Tuesday in August

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because so much of our world is

centered around screens, climate

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control, and artificial light.

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So here's my theory.

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In general, celebrations

create a sense of meaning.

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They remind us what matters.

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Celebrations strengthen relationships

and enforce a sense of belonging.

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Celebrations are also a way we

create joy on purpose instead of

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randomly waiting for it to show up.

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and creating seasonal celebrations

creates traditions and teaches our

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communities what's important, sacred,

and worth remembering that's why I'm

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anchoring my celebrations of Jesus

Christ on the seasonal solar cycles.

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I want the constant reminder

of what's important, sacred,

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and worthy of remembering.

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But for me, it goes one step further

because it also helps me connect

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to the larger rhythms of nature,

which I love, because it gives

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me a strong connection to my God.

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I'm just in so much awe of this world,

which translates directly into awe

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for my creator Now changing gears a

little, it's interesting to note that

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nearly every ancient culture developed

some form of solstice observance.

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There could be several reasons for this,

but one that stands out is that watching

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the sun was how they kept track of time.

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Before modern calendars, the

changing length of daylight

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was the only clock people had.

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Isn't that crazy to think about?

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Stop for a moment and try to

imagine what it would be like to

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live without a clock or a calendar.

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Honestly, I can hardly

wrap my mind around it.

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Judy and I just went on a

nine-day backpacking trip.

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I was fine without my phone.

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Honestly, I didn't miss it at all.

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What I did miss was a clock.

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I kept asking people what time it was.

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I was worried about eating my lunch too

early and getting hungry before dinner.

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I kept wondering how far we could

walk before it was time to find camp

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I suspect if I were more in tune

with my body and the cycle of

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the sun, I wouldn't need a clock

to help me make these decisions.

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But as much as I think it would be

grounding to live without a clock, I know

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that isn't practical in this day and age.

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Even still, it's my idea that if I

want to connect more to this Earth

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and my body, one step would be to

connect more to the cycle of the sun.

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Thus, my seasonal solar

celebration of Jesus Christ.

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Now, for my upcoming solstice

celebration, I want to take this

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one step further and create not

just a celebration, but a ritual.

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Rituals help our brains slow things

down, pay attention, and turn

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actions into something intentional.

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I believe that creating a ritual

will help me step out of the nonstop

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pace of modern life and experience

my celebration more deeply.

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As I said above, this year I have

chosen to use fasting as the theme

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for my celebration of Jesus Christ.

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In March, I talked about some of

the physical aspects of fasting.

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For June, I want to dive

into ritualizing my fast.

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To ritualize is to repeat an action

so that it begins to have structure

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and symbolic importance, The

action itself can be ordinary, but

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ritualizing gives it meaning, intention,

emotional weight, and sacredness.

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So here's my plan.

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I'm going to ritualize my fast with water.

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Yep, I was just talking about Jesus Christ

being the bread of life, but now I want

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to talk about him being the living water.

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I live in the desert, where water

is important and oh so precious.

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Isn't that a fitting symbol for

Jesus Christ, important and precious?

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I love to think of him as refreshing

and cleansing my spirit so that

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my cute little chubby soul can

be vibrant and full of life.

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I know sometimes we are invited to fast

without water, and I often do, but I

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have a lot of trouble with dehydration.

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If I get dehydrated, I don't sleep

well, and my fingers turn into claws.

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So when I'm engaging in what I

call an extracurricular fast, I

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prefer to drink lots of water.

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So here's my plan.

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I intend to turn every drink of water

into a grounding mindfulness ritual

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that connects me to Jesus Christ.

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While preparing my plan, I

looked at different ritual ideas.

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Of course, there are lots of options.

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I could use different types or

temperatures of water: cold to

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stimulate alertness, warm for grounding,

mineral water for rich contemplation.

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I could make my ritual into a tea

ceremony with water, which could

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involve preparing, pouring, noticing,

drinking, and reflecting on water.

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All of these things would have been

fun, but here's what I decided to do.

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I am going to prepare my

water the night before.

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I would like to say I have a beautiful

vessel to fill, but in reality, I am

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just going to use a two-quart mason jar.

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Filling the jar means I won't

have to keep track of how much

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water I drink during the day.

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It will already be measured

and will be easy to watch.

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I might add some cucumber or mint just

to make it special, and then I was

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thinking I would write words on the jar.

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are you familiar with the Japanese

researcher and photographer, Dr.

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Masaru Emoto?

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Among other things, he labeled

bottles of water with words such as

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love or hate, and then froze tiny

droplets of water and photographed

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the crystals under a microscope.

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The resulting photographs are amazing.

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the water appears to have

absorbed the energy of the words.

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the positive words produce beautiful

symmetrical crystals, while negative

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words create distorted patterns.

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And since I want to fill my body with

beautiful water, I am going to write

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beautiful words all over my jar, probably

on masking tape or Post-it notes.

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I plan to put my jar in the

fridge overnight, then put it

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on the counter in the morning.

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Once again, it would be fun if I

had a beautiful glass I could use,

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but since I don't, I am probably

just going to use my Yeti mug.

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But I want to make this a ritual, so with

each drink of water, I intend to slow

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down and pay attention to what I'm doing.

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I want to pour slowly from my jar

into my mug, noticing how it looks,

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how it smells, how it sounds.

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I want to notice the light

pass through the jar.

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I want to feel the weight

as the jar lightens.

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Before drinking, I want to hold my

mug for a moment and take a breath,

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acknowledging this gift from God.

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As I drink, I want to do so attentively.

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I want to notice the

temperature and texture.

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I want to notice how my body responds.

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I want to keep my attention

on the act itself, really try

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to be there in the moment.

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And then it's my intention to

pause and speak the first words

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of gratitude that come to my mind.

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I'm not going to let it matter

if my words feel dumb or if I say

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the same words with every drink.

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it's my intention to make this a

mini-prayer spoken to my Father in heaven

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in the hallowed name of Jesus Christ.

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Yep, I wanna say a little prayer

with every drink of water.

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Not every sip, that might be too much,

but with every filling of my mug.

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So that's my plan.

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It may evolve as I get closer or

change with the actual doing, but I

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really want to make this a ritual.

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I want to see the water,

enjoy the crystal clarity.

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I want to feel it on my lips and in my

mouth as it goes down my throat, and

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I want to express my gratitude openly.

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I want to use all my senses to

connect with my body and my God.

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I can't help but think of a baby.

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How much do they love their bottles?

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A lot, right?

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How long has it been since

I drank anything like that?

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I don't know where or when it happens,

but as we grow up, we begin to numb out

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to the sensations of our body, and I think

that the older we get, the more we numb.

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I don't think we do this deliberately,

but we seem to get so used to

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sensations that they don't have

the same fascination they once did.

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It's my idea that as I tune back into

these sensations, that I will reconnect

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to my body, and that by so doing, I

will begin to see more of the simple

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pleasures of life, and that enjoying these

daily pleasures will connect me to God.

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They will feed my soul.

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the water is physical, of course, but as I

focus on the physical water with gratitude

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for God, I believe it will feed and

nourish and fill my soul, because I want

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a soul that can smile with all its teeth.

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Now I am sure I will run out of thoughts

about water faster than I might like, so

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I suspect I will also turn my gratitude

towards my body and my family, this earth,

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the birds, the sunsets, and I don't even

know what else, but it will all be in

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celebration of my God, Jesus Christ.

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So there you go.

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That's how I plan to ritualize

a water fast for my solstice

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celebration of Jesus Christ.

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Thanks for spending your time with me.

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Until next week, namaste