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Rick Burnett:  There are steps we should take in fasting which you talk about in the book.  Would you elaborate on each of these steps:  The first is preparation:

Dr. Robert A. Schuller: There are several things you'll want to do to prepare for a fast.  First of all make a decision as to how long and what kind of fast you're going to do.  If you're going to do the apple juice fast, which I suspect that's what most people will want to do after hearing this interview, you'll want to make sure you have an adequate supply of apple juice.  So, go and buy a couple of gallons of the good stuff - really splurge - get the fresh squeezed, with all the pulp in it, etc. Get a sipper bottle - like a sports bottle.  You can get a 32-ounce bottle and fill it half with apple juice and half with water.  Then you're set to go from a physical aspect.  Then, from the spiritual aspect you need to get yourself prepared emotionally and spiritually.  You should like at your calendar and see if there will be any conflicts.  Look to see if you're scheduled to do something that would require extra strength.  You don't want to be in a situation where your body is going to require extra strength during this fast.  The whole idea is to give your body a chance to detox and rest.  So you need to find the right time to do the fast.  Then you spiritually prepare yourself by praying to God.  Pray accordingly - such as "Lord, I want to be drawn closer to you, please use this time to draw me close."   You might possibly want to have a reading plan, things that you wish to read; biblical passages, or maybe a spiritual topic you want to study.  Maybe there is something you're struggling with and you can use that time to give it over to the Lord.  So, it becomes a spiritual time of getting closer to God.  Then you set the time and put it on your calendar.  When the day comes, you put on the best face and best clothes and you don't go around bragging to everyone that you're fasting.  Act as if everything is the same.  Don't change a thing about your day, except you add some scripture reading, some personal meditation of changes you want to make in your life.  You've prepared yourself that this will be very important three days of your life.

Rick Burnett: You also talk about the importance of relaxing.  Dr. DiSiena would you comment on that?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  You definitely want to have some time for relaxing and meditation.  Also, this wouldn't be a time you'd want to go out and train for a marathon!  You should limit your physical activities.  You wouldn't necessarily have to abandon a training session or working out, but I wouldn't add extend or prolong a training or working out session.  It's really important to really let your body settle down a bit, especially at the beginning of the fast.  The only couple of things that I would add are, people who've done research on fasting say that between twenty to thirty minutes of natural sunlight seems to be really helpful in drawing out the toxins.  This is primarily because this is the largest organ in our body is our skin, and there is something about detoxifying and having natural exposure to sunlight.  Obviously, we don't want to put any chemicals on skin to prevent burning, so if it were in summertime, you'd want to stay away from the peak sun hours.  Nonetheless, some exposure to sunlight has been shown to be very beneficial during a fast.

Rick Burnett: You also say that fasting should be refreshing! 

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:   It will be refreshing!  The first day will be rather challenging.  Your stomach is going to be saying "give me food."  Your mind is going to be saying "I want to chew something."  So, the first day will be challenging.  However, once you get through the first day, the second day is really a day that can be challenging in a different way.  You may feel tired, you may feel a little depressed, or a little nauseous.  That is usually because on the first day your body has been attacking all of the toxins and dumped them into your bloodstream.  The second day your body is in the process of getting rid of all those toxins.  If you've been drinking a lot of caffeine, you might want to really cut back on your caffeine consumption before you begin fasting.  On the first day you'll get the "caffeine headache." On the second day it will begin to subside and by the third day you will not have caffeine headaches anymore and you won't be addicted to caffeine anymore, or at least not physically; however, you could be emotionally addicted to it.

Rick Burnett:   Doug, you say it's important to drink an abundance of water.

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:    Well, the water issue is taken care of because we recommend 50% apple juice and 50% water.  Every thirty minutes you should be consuming 4 ounces of ½ water and ½ apple juice. 

Rick Burnett:  Why not all apple juice?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:    Because it's way too much sugar.  The funny thing about this fasting is that if you do it right your blood sugar should never really get too low because you're maintaining a relatively level blood sugar because of the apple juice.  So, your brain is going to think you are hungry, but the reality is your blood sugar will remain relatively constant.  We encourage people to continue to drink the liquids or this apple juice/water mixture which will keep your blood sugar levels OK and your hydration up.  The main thing I find is that people are not used to drinking that much, so they neglect to have a regular intake.  So, the number one key for this type of a fast is to have the sipper bottle available at all times so that throughout the day you can have some intake of this juice/water mixture.

Rick Burnett:   Why is it important to limit your activities?

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:  I think that you probably won't have as much strength as you normally would.  Because you don't have the intake of calories, you don't want your body to start depleting its food storage and muscle.  So, you'll really want to limit your exercise.

Rick Burnett:   Would you suggest fasting when you're on a vacation?

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:  That's really a personal preference, if someone wants to spend his or her vacation that way.  For many people a vacation is a time to eat, drink and be merry!  So, it depends on what they want to do for their vacation.

Rick Burnett: You say that rest is extremely important - exactly what does rest do?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  Rest is a time that we regenerate and renew.  So we rest for physical, emotional and spiritual reasons.  We live in such a busy world that we don't take time to be quiet and be with the Lord.  I recommend resting and meditating as much as you can during a fast.  It's amazing how the Lord will speak to you when you take the time to rest and be quiet.  For me, the Lord speaks to me when I am resting and waiting to hear what He has to tell me.  So, sometimes we are in the busyness of life, we don't get the chance to commune with the Lord.

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:  I think that most people, unless they have a job that is physically demanding, can probably do a fast during their workweek.  You can use your workweek as part of your spiritual enrichment.  You have to realize that part of our spirituality is using our daily "jobs" and the things we do, to enhance the kingdom of God.  If we find out that it is impossible for us to do that, we probably need to find another job.  So, that may be part of your spiritual enlightenment that takes place during a three-day fasting period.  On the other hand, if you have a physically demanding job, you would probably want to do it on a three-day weekend. 

Rick Burnett:   You say that hygiene is extremely important during a fast.

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  Yes, for a couple of reasons.  First, you might have a tendency to have some odors through your skin as a result of detoxing - especially if someone has had a lot of alcohol consumption, or a liver that is quite toxic.  So, the skin needs to be cleansed to allow the purification to come through the skin.  As I mentioned earlier, the skin is the largest detoxifying organ - so we want to make sure we keep the skin clean.  The other thing I highly recommend is to brush the back of their tongue.  You'll get a coating on the back of the tongue because of detoxing, so you'll want to brush the back of the tongue.  If a person has access to a steam room, they might want to do that also.  However, you'll want to limit the time because you'll be perspiring quite a bit which will cause you to lose some minerals.  Again, if you're doing the apple juice/water fast you replace some of those minerals with the apple juice.

Rick Burnett:   You've also included a section in the book on completing the fast.  What should we do to wrap up the fast?

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:  The way I wrap it up is to eat something!  Seriously, the way to enter a fast is slowly and the way to exit it is slowly.  When you finish a fast the first thing you do not want to do is to consume alcohol.  Be aware of the toxic affect of alcohol on your pure, clean body!  The same is true of any other foods that are not good for you.  You might want to introduce easily digestible foods and gradually work back into eating with small to medium quantities and grow into your normal diet.

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  Obviously, you don't go to a Sunday Brunch and overload on eating after fasting.  The reality is if you do a three day fast, you will not want to do that anyway.  You'll be a lot more conscious of the foods you eat.  You'll be a lot more nutrition driven and taste driven.  Start slowly and use that opportunity to change your future diet. 

Rick Burnett:  You talked a little about the spiritual aspect of fasting.  What does the Bible say about fasting?

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:  The Bible tells us to fast and pray.  If we do that we will find healing spiritually, emotionally, and physically.  I find that to be very true!

Rick Burnett:   How will fasting help us embrace the Possibility Living lifestyle?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena: Fasting really incorporates the entire body, mind and spirit - so, it's the perfect Possibility Living process.  It encompasses everything; it helps the body (our temple), it helps us emotionally, and it helps us spiritually - it helps us to get closer to God.  It follows the Above, Down, Inside, Out principal.  Fasting is a beautiful thing to do as part of our normal body, mind and spirit hygiene. 

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:   Fasting is a very good thing to do!  But, it only works when you do it!  I would encourage people to just start and make plans to do it! 

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  Again, I want to encourage people and remind them that the first 24 hours might be a little tough.  But, if they can get through that 24-hour hurdle, they will reap all the benefits of fasting.