How the Soil Became Our Soul: Fasting, Spirituality, and the Ancestors

Many of us think of the word "ancestors" as referring to ancient human-like beings, but if we go further back into time, we can see that our ancestors WERE ACTUALLY microscopic entities. And since our digestive system consists of trillions of microbes, we actually carry around most of our bodily "ancestors"...in our guts. Isn't that convenient? So IF we carry our ancestors in our guts, then shouldn't we be able to connect to our ancestors at any time...by just listening...to our guts?

Of course ! Let me tell you how this is possible...And what it means for our spiritual and physical health. Here I offer a different perspective on "Soul retrieval". A potential bridge between modern science and mysticism...

Let's say that each of those little micro-dudes carries a fragment of our soul-self, and within that individual fragment is a piece of the "bigger picture", a piece of the Great Mystery. Each microbe plays a role in commandeering these bio-suits we call "bodies", to think, feel and act in certain ways. And yes, just like humans, these bacteria each have wisdom, agendas, and tendencies. Some critters like candida have a tendency to be opportunistic and reckless reproducers. They rape and pillage the terrain in an attempt to spread and conquer, despite the damage to the greater organism. Much like the white man has historically done to the indigenous brown cultures ;)
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Reflecting on the above parallel has brought me to the idea that these so-called "beneficial bacteria" that have often been trampled upon by candida and other parasites, are VERY much like indigenous cultures that have been over-run by dominating/opportunistic cultures. They may not be as clever or driven to reproduce and dominate, but they are wiser, more connected to source and the lands where they dwell. They are more resourceful and they know how to live within their means, so as to not disturb the whole. They actually give back to the land and only take what they need to survive. They can survive disasters and famine, because they know how to live off the land without over-indulgent behaviors. These native bacteria, I call the "wise ones", are the microscopic entities that connect us to the source of ancestral knowledge, because they have been with us from the beginning. The ones that came from the ancient soil also connect us to that soil, AND maybe they want us to return to the indigenous ways of living and remind us of our connection to a higher power. They are a part of a collective consciousness that is not competitive and exclusive, but cooperative and inclusive. Perhaps, they want us to create abundance, not exploit it. They break down our food and put nutrients back into our inner ecosystem, instead of robbing us of nutrients like parasites. Natasha Campbell-McBride refers to them as the little "house-keepers" of the gut because they clean up waste and use it for creating a fertile inner terrain.
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So how does fasting fit into this story? Fasting has been touted for many benefits such as increased immune function, increased mental clarity, improved digestion and enhanced healing. This is because, when we fast, it's similar to hitting a reset button on our inner ecosystem. The opportunistic micro-villains that are dependent on high-carb diets of processed fast-foods, start to die-off. And with them and their pollutants/toxins finally under control, we can actually hear the subtle voice of our ancestors once again. The "wise ones", the symbionts that are resourceful, can adapt to the lack of "fast-food", by "living off the land" so to speak. They can live through starvation because they've been there before, in previous life-times. In fact they are the common thread between human life-times. If you take one bacteria that exists in your gut right now, you could probably link it to your mother, and her mother, and her mother, and so on and so forth. That one bacteria has passed on her soul, her DNA and "wisdom" for millions of years. Through many periods of fasting, when food was scarce. She KNOWS how to surthrive and she carries with her, the wisdom of HOW to surthrive.
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This "theory" is very supportive of how I actually FEEL when I fast. I have never felt SO connected to Spirit as I do when I fast, except for maybe when I was a little girl. Before my body was over-run by candida and parasites and before my gut was sterilized by anti-life pills (anti-biotics). I see now, why all the major religious sects practiced fasting as a way to connect to the Higher Power. And speaking of spiritual beliefs...many cultures still believe that ancestral spirits cause disease, how interesting is it that we have also come to the conclusion in our Western society that bacteria cause disease. Do you see the link? Bacteria ARE ancestral spirits!!! The soil IS...our Soul!
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In order for us to maximize our potential, as individual spiritual beings and as a collective evolving consciousness, we need to think in terms of how we can shift our inner AND outer eco-systems, from competitive battle-zones to harmonious, self-regulating entities. Let's start with the "inner" ecosystem, specifically the gut, which is where most of our bacteria reside. If you read the Wikipedia article on gut bacteria this is what you'll find..."The human body, consisting of about 10 trillion cells, carries about ten times as many microorganisms in the human gut. It is estimated that these gut flora have around 100 times as many genes in aggregate as there are in the human genome."
That's a massive amount of genes controlling more than we can ever imagine. So, when our inner ecosystems are over-run by opportunistic micro-dudes, we OURSELVES take on an opportunistic way of being and living. We ALSO become reckless and overly concerned with mating and spreading our DNA regardless of the damage we are inflicting on the greater whole. We BECOME the parasites and the out-of-control candida.
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This is why I strongly encourage intermittent fasting, for optimal spiritual and physical health. For the sake of the native micro-cultures, we MUST keep those rampaging, wasteful dominators in check! By cutting off their food source for just ONE day a week, you can start to recolonize your inner ecosystem with little indigenous beings. Ones that don't just seek to PRO-CREATE, but also seek to CO-CREATE and co-evolve with you, symbiotically. By doing this regularly you will start to develop an inner collective wisdom, that will teach you how to thrive within your environment by downloading intelligence from the field that connects the past, present, and future generations. Think of fasting and eating live, bacteria covered foods as making an investment into our inner culture AND outer culture. AND by exploring these inner terrain modification techniques we are also learning to modify our outer terrains through practices like permaculture, where the primary focus is also on the microbial matter in the soil. We, ourselves, begin to SHIFT from opportunistic parasites to collaborative symbionts. We can stop supporting practices that "till and kill the soil/soul" and start building and giving back to it instead.
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I believe the quickest way to "normalize" our inner ecosystem is through intermittent fasting, whether on liquid foods (like broths, fresh juices, herbal teas, fermented drinks, or spring water) or ideally through dry fasting. For some highly acidic individuals, initially re-inoculating with ancient bacteria through ingesting fermented foods can hasten the process of overthrowing the "inner dictators" and supporting the indigenous bacteria. Try it, and you'll soon find that these "wise ones" seem to carry with them a memory for the feeling of "home." By increasing serotonin and other feel-good bacteria production in the gut, we can enhance our mood and cognitive function to be more joyful and more conscious stewards of the land. And just as we want to create bio-diversity in our outer ecosystem, we also want to increase diversity in our inner ecosystem to ensure resiliency of the whole...and we can do this by ingesting bacteria on a variety of wild herbs, in-season fruits and veggies grown in your own food forest or by friends, and by breathing in healthy soil bacteria (like M. vaccae) throughout the day by working the soil or hiking in Nature.

So with all that being said...I no challenge you to join me, by doing what I call "flinging poop" (the beneficial microbes) far and wide, inside and outside to connect to the ancient wisdom of our ancestors, which is transmitted through us more easily when we engage in regular fasting...or by just cleaning up our diets. Let's all guide each other to the source, to the soil, where life began as microscopic entities. A feeling and a place that we call "HOME"...where it all started.

Alohaaaaaahaaaahaaaa!
Pachee