Cleansing and its counterpart, fasting for body purification trace back thousands of years around the globe. It has traditionally been used as a way to stay healthy and to reconnect with Source.
There are references from ancient India in the Vedas, Egypt in the “Ebers Papyrus,” and Greece from Hippocrates. One of the most accessible early accounts of fasting is in the “Essene Gospel of Peace,” also known as “The Gospel According to John,” which was translated from Aramaic by E. B. Szekey in the 1930s. In this account, Jesus encourages fasting and even instructs a group of lepers in the taking of enemas.
Until the advent of modern allopathic medicine less than 100 years ago, people went to sanitariums to eat fresh foods, rest and bathe in the sunshine to restore good health. Modern society’s “silver bullet” pills, combined with the fast pace of living, have made those retreats rare. Yet the enormous benefits of fresh air, sunshine, clean foods, pure water and natural ways remain.