The vine
Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can't bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.
The word is menō: abide, remain, stay. Not a command to do but a command to stay connected. A branch does not strain to produce grapes. It stays on the vine and the grapes come. This is the opposite of the striving religious life and the exact description of the contemplative one. Abiding is what the sitting trains: to remain in the presence, in the breath, in the Name, and to let the fruit be someone else's business. Yesterday's fast was a day of remaining. Today, eat gently, and stay.
Today's practice
Sit twenty minutes with the word "remain" or "abide." Each time you notice you have left, return to the word, and to the vine.
The fast
Daily fast. Break yesterday's fast gently: broth or fruit first, then a simple meal. Rest.
By the calendar, today is Day ?.