我認識不少學生時代非常認真的朋友，我自己大概也算其中一員。離開學校多年後，我們時不時還會夢見考場的場景，而夢中的我們幾乎一題都不會寫，手足無措，狼狽不堪。

這類夢境其實不難解釋，那是學生時期所累積的考試壓力殘留至今，即使聯考早已成為過去式，即使我們早就不在校園。從某個角度來看，那甚至可被視為一種創傷後症候群。競爭帶來創傷，對被淘汰的恐懼也烙下陰影。

然而，當我們真正領悟人生這場遊戲的規則，會發現：考場，其實從未離開，只是，它變了樣。人生是一個沒有考卷、也沒有標準答案的考場。

在整理養生細節的過程中，我突然意識到：每天都是一場測驗，是否及格，只有自己心知肚明。

「好好活著」就是養生的核心，而如何做到，則是將生命的每一個環節，都與養生對接。生命對大腦提出連番考題：你有和內心連結嗎？你有與身體合作嗎？

 

養生從來不是產品的事情，也不是為了減重，更不是單靠運動就能完成的任務。

在你準備對這句話提出質疑前，請先釐清這樣論述的前提：這些手段不是不重要，而是它們的真正價值，只有在「身心當家」之後，才會顯現。

產品、減重、運動，這些都屬於大腦主導下的行動，即使它們有效、即使成果斐然，但若無法觸及心性、無法進入生活，就難以持久。

若你仍習慣發脾氣、不好好睡覺，或每當不適便仰賴藥物解決，那麼即使身體暫時配合，心也無法真正歡喜。

超過九成的現代人，都深陷「饑與匱」的惡性循環。不但與自己的身心世界失聯，自然也無法理解身體真正的需求，無從體悟靈性透過直覺所要傳遞的訊息。

若想逆轉這個彷彿無法止損的轉輪，大腦意識本身是無能為力的。唯有喚醒心的力量，讓感動去駕馭匱乏，讓行動去超越對食物的依賴。

 

即使因聽說斷食有益而開始嘗試，此類起始往往仍由大腦主導。 當你開始以結果論斷食成敗，無法體諒身體需要時間整理內部囤積，你還沒真正理解：斷食，是身體的事，不是大腦的事。

真正的斷食，是由「心」下達行動指南，再由「身」去接手執行。

每一位深入斷食的人，最終都會讓心來主導生活規劃。於是他們會產生一種覺醒：原來這也是「考場」，是現代人無法逃避的重要功課，當熟悉斷食的人對消化負擔與食物囤積的敏銳度驟然提升，考場也就出現。

大腦可能會因飯局邀約而延後斷食計畫，但身體不會；大腦會因身體出現異樣而擔心繼續斷食是否妥當，但身體不會，因為身體永遠歡迎斷食。

睡覺，是身體的修復之力；斷食，也是。從每日到每週，再到每月的斷食計畫，都是身心合作的產物，是為自己打造的「自律養生考場」。

活著，意味著每天都在面對健康與不健康、快樂與不快樂的選擇題。每一天，我們都能為自己當天的表現寫下註解。

 

回想過去的考場記憶，有人在場外輕鬆聊天，有人把握最後時刻猛背重點。這種場面，很難知道誰是實力派，誰只是臨時抱佛腳。

每天都在考場中，心境就截然不同了，因為這場考試，沒有主考官，沒有觀眾，只有「天」與「自己」。

當你熟悉了這個「考場」，你會發現：大腦提出的問題，多半不是問題。你會明白，大腦的「知道」，多半是虛假的知道，身體才是真正的明識。

而這一切，站在考場外的人無法理解，也無從領悟。這並非能力的差距，而是機緣的不同。

你若總在考場門口向路人打聽裡面在發生什麼事，就像我們在斷食營中遇見工作人員問我們要不要訂便當一樣，彷彿活在兩個不同語言的國度。

你不可能走進考場向監考官詢問答案，監考官或許會反問：「這場考試，是你在考，還是我？」，甚至語帶提醒的說：「嘿！看清楚，這裡是考場，好嗎？」

 

（我們每個人內心都有一股未曾察覺的潛在力量，當生命將我們推向考驗時，它便會浮現。）

 

This Is the Exam Room, Isn’t It?

I know quite a few friends who were exceptionally studious during their school years. I suppose I could count myself among them. Yet years after leaving school, we still occasionally dream about being back in the exam room—unable to answer a single question, panicking, helpless, completely overwhelmed.

Such dreams aren’t hard to interpret—they’re residues of the immense exam pressure we carried as students. Even though entrance exams are long behind us, and campus life is but a distant memory, the stress lingers on. In some sense, it’s a form of post-traumatic stress disorder. Competition leaves its scars, and the fear of failure casts a long shadow.

But once we come to truly understand the rules of this game called life, we realize: the exam room never really went away—it just changed shape. Life itself is an exam room. One without test papers, and without standard answers.

While sorting through the nuances of self-care and wellness, I suddenly realized: every day is a test. Whether we pass or not, only our own heart knows the truth.

“Living well” is the core of self-care. And how to do that? It’s by aligning every facet of our life with the principles of health. Life throws a constant stream of questions at our minds: Are you connected to your inner self? Are you working with your body, not against it?

True wellness has never been about products, weight loss, or just relying on exercise alone.

Before you start questioning that statement, first understand the premise: these tools are not meaningless, but their true value only emerges after the mind and heart have taken the lead.

Products, diet programs, and exercise routines are actions driven by the brain. And while they may be effective, even impressive, if they don’t touch the heart or integrate into daily life, they cannot last.

If you still get angry easily, sleep poorly, or rely on medication at the first sign of discomfort, then even if your body complies for a while, your heart will remain unconvinced.

Over 90% of people today are trapped in a vicious cycle of hunger and lack—not just physically, but mentally and spiritually. They’re disconnected from their inner world and therefore can’t recognize what the body truly needs. They miss the messages that intuition and spirit are trying to deliver.

To break this cycle—this wheel that seems impossible to stop—the conscious brain is not enough. Only by awakening the heart’s strength can we overcome scarcity with inspiration, and transcend food dependence with true action.

Even if you begin fasting because you heard it’s beneficial, such decisions are often still brain-led. If you judge your fasting by outcomes alone and can’t accept that your body needs time to clean house, then you haven’t really understood this truth: fasting is about the body, not the brain.

Real fasting begins with a directive from the heart, and is then carried out by the body.

Everyone who goes deep into fasting eventually lets the heart guide their life. They experience an awakening: that this too is an exam room—an essential curriculum for modern life. As seasoned fasters develop a heightened sensitivity to digestive burden and food accumulation, the “exam room” reveals itself.

The brain might delay your fasting plan because of a dinner invitation—but the body won’t. The brain might worry if it’s still safe to fast when discomfort arises—but the body doesn’t, because it always welcomes fasting.

Just as sleep is the body’s tool for repair, so is fasting. Whether daily, weekly, or monthly, each fasting plan is a partnership between mind and body—a self-disciplined wellness exam, crafted just for you.

To be alive is to face a daily choice between health and illness, joy and discontent. Every day, we write our own evaluation.

Think back to exam days—some chatted casually outside, others crammed frantically till the last minute. It was never clear who had truly mastered the material and who was faking it.

But when life itself becomes the exam room, your mindset changes. This exam has no proctors, no audience—only heaven, and yourself.

Once you become familiar with this exam room, you’ll discover: most of the questions your brain poses aren’t real questions. And most of the knowledge your brain claims to have isn’t true knowing—because only the body holds true awareness.

And all of this is something that people outside the exam room cannot understand. It’s not a matter of capability—it’s a matter of timing, of readiness.

If you keep standing at the entrance asking passersby what’s happening inside, you’re like the staff at our fasting retreats asking participants if they’d like to order lunch—speaking from an entirely different world.

You can’t walk into the exam room and ask the invigilator for answers. The invigilator might ask in return:
“Who’s taking this test—you, or me?”
Or gently remind you:
“Hey… look closely. You’re in the exam room, okay?”