I’m Fasting Again… and I Need a Crystal

I'm going to be fasting this week.

It’s something I do every year around this time—a ritual observance in my culture—and I always find myself approaching these days with a mixture of anticipation and curiosity.

There will be the physical hunger, of course. The little thoughts about food that seem to become much more interesting once food is no longer an option.

And then there is the other part.

The quiet.

When we stop doing something we normally do without thinking, we create a little space around ourselves. And in that space, things can become surprisingly loud.

Thoughts we usually outrun.

Feelings we usually soothe.

The little impulses that say, Just have something. It will be easier.

Sometimes I think the hardest part of a fast isn't the hunger at all.

It’s resisting the urge to escape what the hunger brings with it.

The Pull

It’s funny how quickly the mind can become occupied with something once it has been told it cannot have it.

We can go for hours without thinking about food.

But tell us we’re fasting?

Suddenly we are thinking about breakfast. And lunch. And that thing in the refrigerator we weren't even interested in yesterday.

There is something almost comical about it.

But beneath the humour, I think there is something worth noticing.

The pull itself can become an invitation to pause.

What is it that I am really reaching for?

Comfort?
Distraction?
A familiar rhythm?
Something to fill the space?

Or am I simply hungry?

I don't always know. And I don't really need to know, immediately.

How these 3 crystals eased my fast

This is one of the reasons I like having crystals nearby when I fast.

Not because I expect a crystal to magically make me stop being hungry. I don't want it to take away the experience.

I think what I want is companionship. Something beautiful to hold while I sit with the feeling.

Last year, when I was preparing for my fast, I asked the crystals which ones wanted to accompany me.

Three came forward: Apatite, Aquamarine and Copal.

Each had something different to say.

Apatite has a particularly interesting relationship with appetite.

I’ve found myself turning to this beautiful blue stone when I want to understand what is underneath a craving—to become curious about the hunger rather than simply fighting it.

Aquamarine feels different.

This crystal brings me toward the inner waters. Toward the places inside us that are already flowing, even when we are looking outside ourselves for something to satisfy us.

And Copal has been a companion of mine in another way.

Its name always makes me smile.

Cope-all.

There is something rather perfect about that during a fast.

Because sometimes we are simply trying to cope with the moment we are in and that's when we can call on this special stone.

You can see them all in the video I made for you at my last fast 👇🏼

A new ritual

I've been inspired to try a little ritual this year.

Before the fast begins, I’ll choose a crystal to keep nearby. (That's something I always do.)

I’ll hold it in my hand and tell it why I am fasting. Focussing on why I am choosing to do this, rather than what I'm giving up. 

Then I'll say out loud or in my heart...

What I intend to remember?
What I choose to make space for?

And then I'll ask my crystal friend...

Will you join me in creating this in my life?

That's all.

No elaborate ritual.
No special words.

Just an invitation.

Then, when the quiet arrives and temptation pulls on me—and it will—I can pick up the crystal again.

I don't have to ask it to make the hunger disappear.

I can simply notice.

What is happening in my body?
What thoughts are moving through me?
What am I wanting right now?

And I can choose to ask:

What would you like me to notice?

Then I wait.

I don't have to force an answer.

Staying with the Feeling

I think this is where crystals can be such beautiful companions.

They don't necessarily make the difficult moment go away.

They can help us stay with it.

There is something different about having something to hold when we are tempted to reach for something else.

The crystal becomes a little anchor.

A reminder that I don't have to act on every impulse the moment it arrives.

I can feel the pull.
I can breathe.
I can listen.
And then I can choose.

The temptation doesn't need to be defeated.
It just simply needs to be heard.

What crystal is singing?

This year, I haven't heard a crystal singing yet.

And I'm strangely okay with that.

I trust that a stone will come forward. One always does...or two...or a whole circle. The stone I need might already be sitting somewhere nearby, waiting for me to notice it.

I don't know yet. And that is part of the practice too.

Not rushing to fill the silence.
Not needing to know.
Just listening.

Because that is one of the things I love about crystals.

They don't always give us an immediate answer.

They can teach us to become quieter.
To notice.
To wait long enough for something subtle to make itself known.

That is one of the things a fast can offer too.

A little less filling.
A little less reaching.
A little less noise.

And in the space that remains, we might hear something we couldn't hear before.

I'll be listening for the crystal that wants to accompany me this year.

I wonder what will sing.