Yoda mentioned sun gazing in a recent post. I’m curious about the practice, and would like to hear any experiences/opinions of it, pro and con.
Hi Meg
I’ve been sun-gazing every morning for a couple of months now. It fits in well with amaroli before my meditation. Check out www.solarhealing.com
Jaya Surya!
alan
Thanks for posting that link Alan, the website was quite interesting.
Have you or are you sungazing?
Hi Hunter. Yes, interesting site. I’ve been gazing early A.M. for a couple of months now
Peace, alan
Meg,
I’ve sungazed for about a year and then quit doing so for the time being. It’s very energizing and I’m estimating maybe 1+% of the adherents actually achieve a near inedian state.
In AYP terms, it’s like a pranayama practice which has its challenges and does not do well without meditation. At the time, I didn’t know about Yogani’s guidelines and I experienced many exciting, yet often negative and distracting emotional surges. I didn’t practice meditation at the time. I did notice that the people who did mix meditation, light diet, and sungazing had the most positive results.
There is a forum dedicated to sungazing at lifemysteries.com.
I’ll return to sungazing at some point, as I love the high energy thrill and the unique esoteric knowledge that it imparts, but I need to build a much better base consisting of daily iaming and a much lighter, fruit and veggie based diet.
-Yoda
Hi Yoda,
I thought after that much time on Sungazing that they claim you are supposed to be able to go without food or something to that effect?
Just take what you read on solarhealing.com with a grain of salt. I think it is possible, but it doesn’t happen often.
It’s nice to watch the sunrise or sunset from time to time, but to turn it into a daily practice is very challenging to do smoothly.
In Chinese terms, it’s very “raw” chi–hard to digest.
If one is curious about sungazing definitely make it a point to watch a sunset or a sunrise and see what you think. Just be careful, as one is inclined to think that watching a sunrise or two is no big deal, but it adds up. A more gentle alternative is stargazing. You get the same esoteric knowledge but without all the high energy of sungazing.
Hi All,
Thanks for your discussion of sun gazing.
I recently started, having been introduced by a coworker. After about a week of practice, (along with my usual twice daily routine of spinal breathing, iming and samyama in solitude; and daily naked cuddling with my lover) I can say that I’m really enjoying the raw chi.
this is the first i’ve heard of sungazing but i’m always open to learning about new things… just curious, how long is the recommended amount of time to do this and what time of the day? so i take it that one is staring directly into the sun- OUCH! my eyes are super sensitive to light plus i’ve had retinal problems. would this still be recommended for someone like me?
Hi Bewell
I thought Iming was the process of sending instant messages. Have I got this right. Is it really part of your spiritual practice, after pranayama and before samyama?
Hi everyone,
Apparently there is a man called Hira Ratan Manek who lives on sunlight and takes no physical food. He says he gets all the sustenance he needs from staring at the sun for one hour a day. Recently NASA paid for him to travel to the US as they are looking for ways of sending people into space for long periods without feeding them. They carried out studies on him.
According to some, the sunlight has an active effect on the pineal gland which is light sensitive, and is situated in the centre of the brain, right next to the focal points of the 6th and 7th chakras.
Another experiment was carried out on a Jain monk who also does not eat. The scientists could find nothing special about him, except that brain scans showed that his pineal gland was about 4 times the size of a normal human being.
Christi
I just meant saying the I AM mantra. 
The standard way it is taught, you start slow, a few seconds, and do it when the sun is close as possible to the horizon.
As to adapting the practice for people with light-sensitive eyes, I do not know.
Hi Bewell,
That would be Iaming, surely?
That would be Iaming, surely?
I stand corrected.
Sorry to be a stick in the mud, but, I found lots of links on the web debunking that claim and none to support it. See, for example, this:
http://www.randi.org/jr/071103.html
Sungazing update.
I get a raw prana rush from sungazing barefoot on bare soil in the morning – I did it this morning again (for, i think, the forth time) and I’m still buzzing with energy. I’ve combined the practice with both eating less and drinking lots of water. Sun gazing does seem to be an appetite suppressant.
I have noticed a little eye-burning sensation. So the bulk of my gazing is with eyes closed, which actually seems to work just fine in terms of energy generation. Also, I’m trying to get out there as early as possible, so that the sun is low, and more buffered.
I confess I have tended to be fairly ignorant of the timing and specific directional location of sunrises and sunsets. I like getting in touch with that aspect of nature. What a wonderful way of finding deeper orientation in seasonal, regional time.
I feel light and airy and perhaps more prana-filled than ever before. I like it, but it will take some getting used to. Self-pace, of course.
I drove to Mt. Trashmore in Virginia Beach to get a good vantage and it was a great experience. The second time I’ve done it. I waited until the last 20 minutes or so, as even the last 30 the sun seemed terribly bright. But in the end it was incredible enough to register on my ‘I got to do this more often’ meter.
The gazing time was brief but very enjoyable.
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it too. I went out again this morning. Woke up on time without an alarm. I hope my internal clock is getting set for a routine.