"Unconventional" SCIENCES and NEW DISCOVERIES > SUNGAZING to Boost your Vitality (and other things)

Best practices for Sungazing

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PiJo:
       


Author's page : http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/health-benefits-of-sungazing/

The Health Benefits of Sungazing
by Dr. Edward Group DC, NP, DACBN, DCBCN, DABFM
Published on April 19, 2012, Last Updated on May 1, 2013

         

I recently saw the feature length documentary, "Eat the Sun" (video below), and was inspired to explore the practice of sungazing.

         
         "Eat the Sun" full documentary (1h 22min)


The practice of sungazing closely resembles its name.
At sunrise and/or sunset, when the sun is closest to the earth, sungazers stand barefoot on the earth and look directly at the sun for 10 seconds. Every day, 10 seconds are added and some sungazers eventually reach a duration of 44 minutes [1].

The theory is that the sun is the force of all life, and staring at it can infuse the body with large amounts of energy. So much so that one of the sungazers featured in the film, Hira Ratan Manek, claims to have gone eight years without eating. He has been “eating” a steady diet of solar rays, and claims that this is all he needs for nourishment.

Our ancestors understood the relation between the sun and health. From the Aztecs to the ancient Egyptians, many past societies revered sungazing as an esoteric practice for high-ranking priests and shamans. Today, it is experiencing a resurgence in popularity and sungazers claim it has its benefits.

  -  Boosts production of melatonin and serotonin. Research shows sungazing stimulates the pineal gland as the direct sunlight hits the eye, moves through retinal-hypothalamic tract, and then hits the brain. This stimulates the pineal gland, also known as the “master gland”. This boosts the secretion of melatonin and serotonin, our “feel-good” hormones.
  -  Increased energy levels. Modern day sungazers say the practice has boosted their vitality. This is probably related to the secretion of the aforementioned hormones.
  -  Increases the actual size of the pineal gland. Not only can this practice boost hormone levels, it has also been shown to increase the size of the pineal gland. Normally, as we age, the pineal gland shrinks. However, brain scans of a long-term practitioner of sungazing show that this 70 year-old man has a gland three times as big as a normal man.
  -  Promotes weight loss. One of the historical theories for sun gazing was that the body and mind could be nourished by the sun, reducing the need for food. Similarly, some modern day sungazers say they have lost excess weight, and some even report a total loss of the desire and need to eat.

Sungazing is an interesting practice that touches the spiritual and psychological realms, which are very personal things. Everyone is wired a little differently and this practice isn’t for everyone, nor is it something I recommend. If you choose to partake, do your own research, be careful, be cautious, and document your experience.




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Author's page : https://iamheart.org/heart_rhythm_meditation/sungazing/index.php

The Sun in the Heart

   

"Sun Gazing" is an ancient technique for human development that has recently been rediscovered by New Age seekers of Light and Truth and many people have reported increased vitality and inspiration from the practice.

Our History with Sun Gazing

The Institute for Applied Meditation has a long lineage of mystics who have looked into the sun. I learned sun gazing in my early spiritual training 40 years ago, but I did it only on retreat, for as long as three hours at a time. At IAM, sun gazing has been an essential practice in private, spiritual retreats for more than 20 years, and it has been pivotal for our retreatants. However, I didn't practice it myself outside of my retreats and we didn't teach sun gazing to the public.

In 2012, Susanna and I were invited to speak at a Cosolargy conference on the "Spiritual State of the World". In preparation for our presentation, we watched a movie that Cosolargy recommends called "Eat the Sun". This video inspired us to bring sun gazing into our daily practice of Heart Rhythm Meditation. We then realized that sun gazing is appropriate for daily use; it doesn't have to be confined to retreats.
-- Puran Bair

Isn't this dangerous?

Why would anyone look into the sun? Isn't it harmful to the eyes, even dangerous? Does it have any benefits that would outweigh the risks? In my experience of using the sun in meditation, I can say it's not dangerous. It needs to be learned and practiced correctly, but if you don't know how to do it (and you're not on drugs), you simply won't let yourself look at the sun long enough to do damage. However, with the right method and with practice, you can look into the sun from sunrise to sunset, and there is a special group of mystics who take this day-long task as their responsibility to provide light for the sun.

Get the New Download

When we expose ourselves to the sun, which we can easily do after sunrise and before sunset, we receive a new download from the literal source of all physical life on the planet: the sun. Evolution has been speeding up: our genes are 7% different than our human ancestors of only 5000 years ago, a short time in the history of homo sapiens over 200,000 years, and most of that change has occurred in the last 100 years. We believe that the changes in our DNA are being directed by information we receive from the sun.

The secret of how the sun is able to influence life is that sunlight carries not only energy, but also intelligence -- the sun broadcasts a message to all life in our solar system to direct the evolution of every living thing. Life is continually evolving, based on the experience of all life so far and also guided by the intention of the Creator. It's the sun that transmits the updated design, what the bible calls "the Image of God" that is the template of creation.

Coincident with human change over this 100 years is a transformation in technology, including the creation of automobiles, electric power, radio and television, the petroleum industry, pharmaceuticals, nuclear power, computers, and space travel. The world is moving fast, and humanity is both leading the change and adapting to it.

Become Solar

Beyond reconnecting to our Source and receiving the update to our DNA, the purpose of the Sun practice is to commune with the Sun through your heart so as to become a solar being. As you uncover your sun-like self, you develop solar qualities in six steps: (1) brilliant inspiration, (2) radiant power, (3) unwavering love, (4) joy without cause, (5) fearlessness, and (6) pervading peace.

At IAM, our spiritual objective is to be solar beings, embodiments of the powerful rays of the Sun, rather than to be angelic beings of diaphanous light. The practice of bringing the Sun into our hearts by breath and visualization produces hearts of sun-like radiance.

Healing by the Sun

The Sun is also a powerful source for healing. Our culture's fear of the Sun's effects is unfounded. There is more evidence that skin cancer is caused by sunscreen than by sun rays. For example, skin cancer is virtually unknown in the tropics and becomes more and more prevalent as one travels farther north and south. (Ref. "The Healing Sun: Sunlight and Health in the 21st Century").

Some people have discovered another side-benefit of sun gazing: the Sun seems to provide a nutrient that is so powerful it replaces the need for food. It seems that the information in the sunlight instructs the body to generate vitamins and amino acids from water and the energy of the Sun. Puran Bair has been experimenting with the "Diet of the Sun" and has found that half-an-hour of Sun gazing at sunrise and sunset greatly diminishes his hunger. He eats very little yet remains energetic. Additionally, the hypoglycemia that he had developed has vanished and the "floaties" in his eyes have disappeared.

How to Bring the Sun into Your Heart

To get the full benefits of communing with the Sun, we need to know how to best receive the Sun's energy and circulate it back. As Walt Whitman warned us:

"Dazzling and tremendous how quick the sunrise would kill me,
If I could not now and always send sunrise out of me."
from Leaves of Grass, pub. 1855.

Here are the steps in our practice of "The Sun in the Heart":

1    Arrive before sunrise at the place where you will be able to see the Sun rise over the horizon.
2    Stand barefoot on the earth if possible, or in a way that provides an electrical connection with ground, as in the book "Earthing."
3    Remove eyeglasses, as glass and plastic block a portion of the light spectrum.
4    Do Heart Rhythm Meditation, coordinating your heartbeat and breath in a balanced rhythm: inhale for 8 heartbeats and exhale for 8 heartbeats.
5    Appreciate the diaphanous quality of the light before sunrise; it casts no shadows.
6    As soon as the Sun appears, the quality of light changes: the Sun gives direction and clarity, providing clear areas of light and shadow.
7    Say a prayer of praise while looking into the Sun at sunrise. We recommend including the Sunrise prayer, below.
8    Return to Heart Rhythm Meditation and continue looking directly into the Sun.
9    Breathe in the sunlight, drawing it through your forehead, into your pineal gland, and then down your spine into your heart.
10  On every exhalation, send your breath directly forward from your heart and into the Sun.
11  As the Sun rises and the sunlight gets stronger, let your emotion rise as well. It is your ecstasy that generates light in your heart with which you fill the Sun.
12  If you feel heat or irritation in your eyes, then stop. It's enough for today.
13  Ultimately, your heart becomes the Sun, and the disk in the sky becomes your moon. At that point, you have become a solar being.

Here is the prayer "Sunrise" :

"Let me meet all the struggles in life with power, wisdom and strength, and
let me be able to better the condition of my own life and of others' lives every day more and more."

from Hazrat Inayat Khan

And here is the prayer "Sunset"

"Let me draw nearer to You every day more and more.
Let this progress in my life not diminish, but grow to its fullness.
Make my end in this world be full of satisfaction, honor and glory, that the beauty of life may follow me to the end and that it may not leave me on the way."

from Hazrat Inayat Khan




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Author's page : http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/07/10/sun-gazing-why-you-should-be-doing-it/

Have You Heard Of Sun Gazing?
Find Out What It Is And How To Do It !
Alanna KetlerJuly 10, 2014

               


The sun gives life to almost all beings on this beautiful planet we call Earth, including ourselves. We wouldn’t be here without the sun and we certainly wouldn’t survive long without it. The sun is responsible for the process called photosynthesis, which keeps plants alive, and growing, which in turn keeps those animals that eat those plants alive, and the animals that eat them. The sun also provides our bodies with what we need to make vitamin D and of course the light and warmth that we experience everyday. And nowadays, the sun is providing us with the energy to power many of our gadgets, electronics and even some of our homes. The sun truly is magnificent! Did you know that there is a way that you can experience even more of what the sun has to offer? You can do so by adding this simple practice into your daily routine, its called Sun Gazing.

The practice of sun gazing has some truly amazing benefits, not only for your physical health, but also for your mental well-being and spiritual development. Some of the benefits of sun gazing include:

  -  Relief of stress and tension
  -  Increased energy
  -  Boosts production of the feel good hormones serotonin and melatonin
  -  Improved eyesight
  -  Reduces hunger pains –body is completely nourished by the sun (Some people claim to have been able to take part in this practice and not eat anything during the entire process which is usually about 9 or 10 months)
  -  Stimulation of the pineal gland
  -  Increased size of pineal gland
  -  Releasing of internal blockages
  -  Increased human potential

If you haven’t heard of sun gazing before, it means to stare at the sun for a short period of time, during what are known as safe hours during the day, either during the first hour of the sunrise, or the last hour before the sun sets. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! IF THE PROPER TIMES ARE NOT FOLLOWED EYES CAN BE DAMAGED BY THE UV RAYS FROM THE SUN. This should be ideally practiced barefoot with your feet standing on the earth. We will get into a more specific and detailed method soon, but first, a little history.

The Man Who Made Sun Gazing Cool

Let me introduce to you the man that gave a name to sun gazing and brought it to our Western world. His name is Hira Ratan Manek, but he is more commonly known as HRM. He has founded the Solar Healing centers, and a website. He is a man who lives off of the energy that the sun provides and water, and that’s (pretty much) it! (Sometimes HRM will have tea, coffee or buttermilk for social purposes) In his own words, HRM states that the sun can be used to heal the mind, body and spirit. He also claims that as a result of sun gazing you will have better physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. HRM has gone through three strict long term fasts and during those he was under the supervision and observation of various medical and scientific teams.

Yes, some of these claims sound outrageous, but if you are interested in any of these benefits and the practice of sun gazing interests you, why don’t you give it a shot and see for yourself? “Don’t knock it ‘till you try it.”

The Studies

The first studied fast went on for 211 days in 1995 and 1996 in India. Dr. C.K. Ramachandran, a medical expert on Ayurveda medicine, directed this study. The second fast took place right after that and lasted an impressive 411 days! Yes, that is over one year with no food; it sort of takes what we thought we knew about the human body and throws it out the window! This study also took place in India and was directed by an international team of 21 doctors and scientists; Dr. Sudhir Shah led it. The third observed fast took place in the United States at Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Philadelphia, this study lasted 130 days.

Some people say that this man must have a genetic mutation and that is why his body allows him to survive (in amazingly good health mind you) without the need for food. For all we know, this may be the case. The purpose of this article is not to convince you to stop eating, but more so to open the doors to show the potential of what we are capable of and to show you a method that if practiced regularly should at the very least, bring some more joy, clarity and energy into your life.

A scientist by the name of Vinny Pinto did conduct a survey on 56 participants and outlined their experiences in what he called "The First Sungazing List Group Sungazer’s Survey". His major findings from the study were:

-    Health improvements especially among women
-    People who practiced sun gazing for more than five years and who gazed mid-day (instead of the insisted hour after sunrise and hour before sunset) were more likely to report adverse effects
-    35 out of the 51 participants reported to have “increased or greatly increased energy” while only 1 participant reported reduced energy
-    The number of people who reported a “decreased need for solid food” was approximately equal to the number of people who reported “no significant change in the need for food.” Only 1 person in the study reported an increased need for food.
-    People who had sun gazed for at least a year for at least 4 times per week were far more likely to report a decreased need for solid food.
-    The most common physical/mental/spiritual experiences reported from sun gazing were bliss, joy, peace and calmness.
-    No one from the study reported a decrease in physical health, everyone reported that his or her health was the same or had improved.

The Method

It is important to note that this is just one method. This can be adjusted to each individual and doesn’t have to be practiced exactly how it is stated. This method is the HRM method. Many people have however had amazing success using this method. If you are going to modify this method please do your research and do not attempt to stare at the sun during the times with uv radiation present, and also do not stare at the sun for longer than the approved times. You can adjust this method with how often you practice it and for your intentions behind it, but aside from that you should try to aim to stick to the general guidelines so that you don’t injure your eyesight or cause permanent retinal damage, this is very serious.

Here is the method that HRM recommends :

    Begin by spending a maximum of 10 seconds on the first day by looking directly at the sun during the safe hours.
    It is an important part of the practice that you stand barefoot on bare earth. Apparently this helps to keep you grounded and enhances the benefits of sun gazing.
    As you are staring at the sun visualize the energy from the sun coming into your body and filling your body and cells with rejuvenating light.
    On the second day aim for 20 seconds, each day after that continue adding 10 seconds to the previous day. So at 10 days you will be looking at the sun for 100 seconds, or 1 minute and 40 seconds.
    Continue this daily until you have reached 44 minutes. This should take between 9-10 months depending on the weather. According to HRM this is all you need to gain the benefits described above from sun gazing.
    After this you will need to walk for 45 minutes each day for the 6 days following the completion of the 9-10 months of sun gazing.
    From here on out, just make a conscious effort to continue to walk barefoot on the earth, preferably in the sun whenever you feel like it or get the time.

During this time it is important to stay centered and see what comes up for you. It is also a good idea to keep a journal to track your progress and keeping note of how you are physically and mentally feeling. There are many resources for sun gazing out there and I will provide some below. I recommend an amazing documentary that you should definitely check out that’s called “Eat The Sun.” This documentary  follows one mans journey through the HRM practice of sun gazing.

The best part about the whole journey (should you choose to embark upon it) is that you are making sure that you are spending time doing something for yourself every day in nature, that alone can have some amazing benefits to your well-being! I wish you all the best and would love to hear about your experiences! If anyone practices sun gazing and would like to share their story or can share some useful information please do so in the comment section below or on our forum.

Eye Damage ?

So you might be wondering whether or not it can be damaging to your eyes to sungaze. As mentioned above, if you look at the sun when there is no UV (last 45 minutes and first 45 mins of sunlight) you will not damage your eyes. To go into this further, you can check out these two short pieces of a documentary on sungazing and the eye test that went along with his journey.
This documentary will explain what Sungazing is, how it is practiced, the effects on the brain from a world renowned Doctor, and will include the most thorough eye exam possible from one of the nations top eye clinics. Is there a way we can safely look at the sun?

Let's see what the doctors have to say...

     
     Part 1 of 2


     
     Part 2 of 2




Sources :

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/health-benefits-of-sungazing/

http://fractalenlightenment.com/14950/spirituality/sun-gazing-why-you-should-be-doing-it

http://solarhealing.com/

http://www.sungazing.com/how-to-sungaze.html

http://sungazing.vpinf.com/sg-surv-1.htm

Videos featuring HRM

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=HRM+sungazing












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