Welcome to the Commune podcast. This is Jeff Krasno. How many of you may receive my weekly

Sunday commusing article, where I address a breadth of issues from the spiritual to the physiological,

to the sociopolitical. And on occasion, I will also record an audio version of

these articles and release it here as a bonus episode. So the provenance of this particular

episode is an article that I recently penned about fasting. I have recently adopted dual roles as amateur biologist and willing, if sometimes reticent

subject of my experimentation, basically on my own petri dish.

First off, I've been intermittent fasting for about the last 60 days, oddly but not purposefully timed with Lent. And along with

consolidating my food consumption into eight-hour blocks, I have affixed a continuous glucose monitor

to my right tricep. And I then study my metabolism with a bookkeeper's zeal. I recently discussed glucose

levels at great length with Dr. Casey Means on this very podcast. Now there's a bit of geekiness,

admittedly to it all, but there's also a loftier objective. Mechanism reveals pattern.

And I am convinced that if you want to grok the metaphysical, then dive deeply into the physical,

for that's where the universe's cosmic intelligence is transcribed.

When you begin to comprehend the ins and outs of physiological systems,

you get a glimpse of the Tao, the course of nature. Life, including you and me, is a system of

energy that dances between on and off, positive and negative. And under close inspection,

the yin yang of our own organism is everywhere to be found. Okay, with that preamble,

off we go into the physical and spiritual dimensions of fasting.

What do Jesus, Muhammad and the Buddha have in common?

Indeed, they all had an impeccable fashion sense.

If I had my druthers, I would don a diaphanous saffron robe as an indication of my spiritual pursuits.

However, there is a conciliance among these prophets unrelated to style.

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