I'm always surprised at how many things connect to the blessings of the fast.  Perhaps I shouldn't be, but it never ceases to amaze me how many things are involved in fasting.  Most people are only aware of the most base part that has to do with not eating.  I wouldn't do that if I were you, are the words of some wise people.  Fasting is so much more.

Recently my husband and I were sitting in church taking the sacrament.  The priests who prepared the bread tear it up in tiny little pieces.  My husband has always mentioned that these little crumbs of bread are so miniscule.  Yes, they look like crumbs.  I do not believe that the Lord never intended the sacrament to be a crumb of bread and a drop or two of water.  I believe that the sacrament is the reminder of the feast that the disciples had with Christ, as well as the one that we are encouraged to have with him also.

I was reading in the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible in the book of Mark, where the Savior is telling his disciples about the reason for the sacrament.

Mark 14:20-24
20 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them, and said, Take it, and eat.
21 Behold, this is for you to do in remembrance of my body; for as oft as ye do this ye will remember this hour that I was with you.
22 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them; and they all drank of it.
23 And he said unto them, This is in remembrance of my blood which is shed for many, and the new testament which I give unto you; for of me ye shall bear record unto all the world.
24 And as oft as ye do this ordinance, ye will remember me in the hour that I was with you and drank with you of this cup, even the last time in my ministry.

God gives unto us so many things that will reconnect us with Him and the memory of the heavens.  Swendenborg's works are all about connecting the heavens with the earth. He calls them correspondences.

Our minds are designed to remember things with connections.  We can remember things even better through smells and sounds than through sight.  Taste is also a mental connector of great power.  No wonder we have so many soul foods. They remind us of happy memories of our youth, perhaps a family tradition. Macaroni and cheese, as well as toasted cheese sandwiches rank the highest in my family.  My mother always made them for me, and I passed that on to my own children.

The fast from the worldly things, doing without the things that distract us from the that which matters most, is so we can have connections with things that truly do matter the most and have the greatest power in our lives.

When we fast from the things of this world to participate in those of a better, we feast upon the things of the Lord.  We feast upon the scriptures.  There is such a feast in reading the scriptures, because it is designed to make us salivate for more.  We want more of the food offered by Christ.  We crave the living water and the bread of life.  We want to sit at his feet like Mary and be taught directly from Him. We want to feel his arms around us.  We want Jesus, plain and simple.

I have found that fasting also clears the mind of a multitude of chatter.  Recently I was given a blessing and strongly admonished by the Lord to cease the chatter in my mind so that I might enter into his presence.

I asked how this was to be done, because I have such a busy mind, much like a thoroughfare of mental activities coming and going.  The answer I was given, so that I could achiever this lofty goal that has been in my heart now for years was that I was to fast.

In so doing, giving up anything that has been touch by man to adulterate it, such as processed food, and the very practice of preparation of this food, I would be blessed with a singleness of heart and mind. Fasting helps to eliminate all kinds of distractions.

I have been experiencing the words given to me from heaven 4 years ago.  I was told during my first 40 days fast that earthly food would never be satisfying to me again.  It has proven to be the case. Recently, over the last 6 months, the thought of eating certain foods such as pork or shrimp, a non kosher food, has become abhorrent to me.  I remember thinking what it treat it was to have any kind of shrimp, and bacon adds such flavor to food.  Now I cannot even tolerate the thought of eating it.

Fasting has such tremendous ramifications, and I am just beginning to scratch the surface.  All I can say is that I am grateful I have learned something about it.  I look forward to the greater light and knowledge that comes to conversing directly with He who has invited me to the table for the feast of light.  I look forward to being with Christ.