43.33 - over a week of fasting and i don’t feel like i’ve lost much weight. . . i definitely feel lighter though. . . i like the emptiness, what i always liked about fasting. . . the simplicity: no choices, just simple nourishment. low energy, ish. . . but mostly feel pretty good. enjoyed this time alone. going back to zionsville tonight. bye dogs. . . back to my garden. . . will it be harder not to eat in the house full of miraculous costco snacks and the summer garden. . . and eggs? /// and excerpts from today’s transcription: “Help me quiet my mind, Quiet my desires. Make me useful. Help me to see the same divinity in all creation. Remove all hatred from my Heart” (write in the ⁋ from page 38 “The person practicing svadhyaya. . . “) [“ The person practicing svādhyāya reads his own book of life, at the same time that he writes and revises it. There is a change in his outlook on life. He starts to realize that all creation is meant for bhakti (adoration) rather than for bhoga (enjoyment), that all creation is divine, that there is divinity within himself and that the energy which moves him is the same that moves the entire universe. (skipping one paragraph, the next is: ) To make life healthy, happy and peaceful, it is essential to study regularly divine literature in a pure place. This study of the sacred books of the world will enable the sādhaka to concentrate upon and solve the difficult problems of life when they arise. It will put an end to ignorance and bring knowledge. Ignorance has no beginning, but it has an end. There is a beginning but no end to knowledge. By svādhyāya the sādhaka understands the nature of his soul and gains communion with the divine. The sacred books of the world are for all to read. They are not meant for the members of one particular faith alone. As bees savour the nectar in various flowers, so the sādhaka absorbs things in other faiths which will enable him to appreciate his own faith better. Philology is not a language but the science of languages, the study of which will enable the student to learn his own language better. Similarly, Yoga is not a religion by itself. It is the science of religions, the study of which will enable a sādhaka the better to appreciate his own faith. - BKS Iyengar, Light on Yoga “]