(Please note in the movie ‘Eat the Sun’ its documented that the person practicing sun-gazing damaged his eyes (this was pointed out by few of our readers). One reader also informed that this practice began to have a negative impact on his vision post laser eye surgery. Do your research and precautions before following this practice)
Isn’t it amazing that a simple method of sun-gazing (during safe hours) can restore balance and harmony in the mind, body and spirit! There are many proponents of this ancient spiritual technique like the Mayan, Egyptian, Aztec, Tibetan and Indian yoga, who considered the sun as the divine source of energy that heals numerous ailments.
If you haven’t heard of Sun-gazing before, it means gazing at the sun during the safe hours i.e within first hour after sunrise or the last hour before sunset when the sun’s rays are most gentle, UV is zero or very less, therefore it doesn’t damage the eyes. It is done barefoot thereby taking in the earth’s energy as well. Read about ‘Earthing’.
Generally people reckon that gazing at the sun can cause serious damage to your retina., etc., but if sun-gazing is done in the right manner (more about it below), then it can have unbelievable results, in fact it improves your eye-sight.
Why should you sun-gaze?
Absorbing the sun’s energy through your eye –
- Stimulates the Pineal Gland as the the sun’s energy moves through the eyes and charges the hypothalamus tract, which is the pathway to the rear of the retina leading to the brain.
- Powers the brain and boosts production of serotonin and melatonin (the feel-good hormones)
- Relieves stress and tension
- Activates the third eye and perceive higher dimensions
- Increases energy levels
- Increases the size of the pineal gland – Normally, as we age, the pineal gland shrinks. However, brain scans of Hira Ratan Manek (HRM), a long-term practitioner of sungazing, showed that this 70 year-old man has a gland three times as big as a normal man
- Reduces hunger pangs since body is nourished by the sun
- Improves eyesight
- Opens the energy channels or Nadis (Ida and Pingala) in your body
Don’t believe this?
To elaborate on the example of Hira Ratan Manek or popularly known as HRM, who continues to live only on sun energy and water. This was validated by the medical team of Thomas Jefferson University and University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia where he underwent a 130-day observation period in 2002 and they found that the gray cells in HRM’s brain are regenerating.
700 photographs have been taken where the neurons were reported to be active and not dying. Furthermore, the pineal gland was expanding and not shrinking which is typically what happens after mid fifties and its maximum average size is about 6 x 6 mm, however for HRM, it has been measured to be at 8 x 11 mm.
This study confirmed that he was indeed able to survive largely on light with occasionally a small amount of buttermilk or water during this time. He is more healthy than a normal person his age.
Those who have been sun gazing for many years have had their eyes checked to show no damage, though it is advised that you have your eyes checked in the first few weeks of your practice, so you can know for yourself. Ensure that you are grounded while sun-gazing, so that you don’t damage your eyes
How to do Sun-gazing according to HRM
Sungazing is a one-time practice of your lifetime usually for a period of 9 months. You can break up the practice into three phases – 0 to 3 months, 3-6 months and 6-9 months.
Hira Ratan Manek talks about the healing power of the sun and how to go about it –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9unDtguHRx8 You can blink your eyes or flicker, don’t need to keep your eyes steady and don’t wear any lenses, glasses, sunscreen lotions, etc. while sun-gazing. You don’t need anything to block out the full spectrum of sunlight. For safety reasons, you can always go for an eye check-up and also check the UV index using a phone application or photo sun-cards to UV and IR radiation.
0-3 months – Look at the rising or setting sun one time per day during safe hours while standing barefoot on mud, sand or any soil, for 10 seconds on the first day and add 10 seconds every succeeding day. So at the end of 10 continuous days of sun gazing you will be looking at the sun for 100 seconds i.e. 1 minute and 40 seconds. By the time you reach three months gazing duration would be15 minutes at a stretch. Initially the brain gets charged up and you tend to feel more relaxed as mental tension and stress fades away, you gain more confidence and positive mindset as a result and an increased ability to easily solve your problems.
3-6 months – During this period of gazing you would have reached 30 minute duration and studies show that physical diseases start to disappear since by then all the colors of the sun will have reached the brain. The vital organs are dependent on certain sun color like Kidney red, Heart yellow, Liver green etc., each color reaches the organs and address any deficiencies. Thats why its recommended to eat a diet rich in all colours.
6-9 months – By the time you reach 7.5 months of sun-gazing for 35 mins, hunger starts going down palpably as need for food intake decreases. Its like when we eat food we indirectly get the sun energy, here you are directly satisfying the need to eat food from the source.
Energy is at a higher level and the brain including the Pineal gland is well activated with the sun energy. Sunshine helps to balance the flow and production of melatonin in the pineal gland.
The below videos ‘Sungazing: The Science of Staring at the Sun’ shows the experience of a college student with sun-gazing, the effects on the brain from a world renowned doctor, and also a thorough eye exam after staring at the sun –
Once you reach a duration of 44 mins of sun gazing, you need to stop as its harmful for the eyes to continue. But you need to carry on walking barefoot or Earthing for 45 minutes daily for 6 days generally when the sunlight is falling on your body. The reflex for the pineal gland is found in the big toe and the remaining four toes represent other glands – pituitary, hypothalamus, thalamus and amygdala. When you walk barefoot on soil/ mud/sand all these 5 glands are stimulated and combined with sunlight, create a sort of magnetic field in and around your body that recharges you and your brain.
You can continue to reap benefits of sun-gazing by walking barefoot for 45 mins for a year, and few minutes of sun energy falling on you once in 3-4 days will be enough from then on. In yoga, Surya Namaskar or salutation to the sun works on the same principle of tapping the energy of the sun for a better living and health!
Staying connected to nature have more benefits then any other treatment or medicine – more chances of less or no illness at all and in the bargain you also don’t support the profit-making Pharma industries.
If you chose to partake, be very careful, take your time, be cautious, and document your progress. Take advice from an expert, if required! Practice correctly at the right time and get energised!
Sources
Sun-gazing
Book on the Art and Science of Sun Gazing Living on Sunlight
