I have, from time to time, read stories about forest ajahns who would fast for days or even weeks at a time and have wondered how it was that they were able to remain mindful under such trying physical circumstances. Although my own experiences with fasting over the last 8 years have shown that one can develop a certain kind of stamina and endurance I have yet to reach the point where I feel I am actually fasting in a way that is both skillful and wholesome. For me, fasting usually turns into a complete denial or abnegation of the experience as I try to bury myself in work. The results are, predictably, less than stellar and I often end up stranded somewhere around the twelfth hour (4pm) of the fast feeling despondent, depressed and stressed out.
That there is a better way would seem to be obvious but how to find it is the question. Sukhi hotu!
Cattāri Brahmavihārā 
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