Hunger has always been seen as a unique form of suffering that can lead to insight, both in art and religion. – From the book Hunger: An Unnatural History by Sharman Apt Russell

The first time I’ve ever fasted was back in late 2006 / early 2007, a 24-hour spiritual fast, filled with late night fervent prayers for 3 hours, broken the next morning with a hearty breakfast and Sunday worship. I remember the intense uncomfortable feeling of weakness, dizziness, and light-headedness. Yet after all was said and done, I felt it was worth it, a spiritual cleansing of my soul mixed with rumbling cries from the pit of my wretched stomach.

It was (... read more)

Fasting is meant to awaken us to the hunger of the world, not just our own hunger. - John Piper

Being minimalist doesn’t mean just in regard to tangible possessions. Being minimalist also applies to your living environment, work space, savoring the moment without adding anything to it that is unnecessary, appreciating quiet solitude, limiting the amounts of bad food consumed, limiting the amount of food consumed-period (read: gluttonous behaviors), slowing down and enjoying the simple things in life. This post will focus on how fasting, a minimalist state of mind in conjunction with a period of time with very minimal intake of food (in this case, none), can “awaken us to the hunger of the world.”

Recently, (... read more)

The best runner leaves no tracks. – Tao Te Ching

“A lot of foot and knee injuries that are currently plaguing us are actually caused by people running with shoes that actually make our feet weak, cause us to over-pronate, give us knee problems. Until 1972, when the modern athletic shoe was invented by Nike, people ran in very thin-soled shoes, had strong feet, and had much lower incidence of knee injuries.” – Dr. Daniel Lieberman, Harvard University

One of the most shocking books I’ve read that really opened my eyes towards running and shoes is Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. What an amazing read that is insightful and provocative! I used to not enjoy (... read more)

Countless articles, studies, polls, books and documentaries have been created for the study on the negative effect of watching numerous hours of television. It is a national and world craze, an addiction to the world you can lose yourself in when engaged in televised dramas, sitcoms and late-night shows. Granted, there are a lot of arguments for the positive sides of TV, such as:

What is the most recent book you’ve read? Have you even read a book in the last month? How about year? Sad to say, there are a lot of folks who have not read a single book after their college years. And by reading, I mean a real book, not a newspaper, magazine, or blog. A book.

Reading good books, not trashy romance novels or books that are not helping you to learn and grow as a person (a more recent book that is quite popular but I believe to be extremely vulgar and crude is I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell), will really help develop and mature you as a person. The classics, American literature, (... read more)