Prolonged fasting in the Bible:
- Moses fasted for forty days on Sinai while "talking to God" - the result was the 10 Commandments (Exodus 34:28).
- After a final meal, Elijah also fasted forty days as he journeyed to Horeb, where, in a cave, he experiences a range of effects, including a commandment about who is to be future king of Syria (1 Kings 19:8-15).
- Jesus also fasted 40 days and as a result, experienced a battle with Satan in a series of visions (Matthew 4:1-11).
''As a species, we have been artificially inducing mystical experiences for as long as there are records of our behaviour. '' [from:
http://www.humanreligions.info/hallucinations.html ]