Thursday, December 22, 2011

Here Comes the Sun: Merry Yule!



I hope the night was not too horrible for you and that you got to spend it by a warm fire cuddled up to the one you like best doing naughty things with evergreens! 

As was discussed in yesterday's blog, there are many ways that people use Sungazing and there are many ways that the practice can be integrated into religious practice.  I'm still getting a lot of helpful feedback from the Sungazing community, so as information continues to come it, I'll post it.

This is Issac's story:
I am not affiliated with any religious or spiritual group, organization, lineage or tradition. I live in surrender to Divinity, receiving guidance from Spirit and communing with Spirit in daily meditations.  My first regular sungazing was in 1997. I currently sungaze on an irregular basis, according to my inner guidance. On average, I sungaze once every five weeks, for one minute at a time. I always remove my glasses and stand barefoot on bare ground (I prefer gravel or dirt, but grass or stone will do, and occasionally even concrete). I often close my eyes after sungazing, and use my attention and breath to move the energy I've received evenly throughout my body, discharging any excess.  Most of my sungazing is usually with the rising sun, less often with the setting sun, and even less often with the mid-day sun. Ever since I was little I have enjoyed looking directly into the sun for only a few seconds at a time. I do this at any time in any conditions.
I sungaze only when my Heart tells me to do so. This guidance can range from a mild message that I may sungaze if I would like to, to a stronger message that tells me that it would be best to sungaze at a particular time.  By only sungazing when I receive inner guidance to do so, my natural interest in sungazing is yet one more thing that helps to keep me tuned in to my inner guidance, awaiting the signal / nudge / "go ahead".

My Heart and Solar Plexus and Belly chakras became larger and more open as a direct and prompt result of sungazing one morning, and were filled with a special energy from the sun, which felt wonderful, and stayed with me for a week or so afterwards, slowly fading.

On more than one occasion I have experienced a connexion with the Sun as a living being, gazing back at me. This connexion helps me to transcend my personal self, and gives me a deeper understanding/knowledge of life and my place in the universe. This is not an intellectual knowledge but rather a heartfelt and bodily knowledge.  I have experienced the sun as a manifestation of Divinity, and communicated with the Sun, both sending and receiving thought & feeling.  The intensity of the Sun's light touches me in a way that few things in the physical world can compare with.
Sometimes when I gaze at the sun, it splits into three or more different suns which overlap. Sometimes a colored halo appears around it, very striking, rainbow-colored or diaphanous diamond white or with other coloration. Sometimes the sun shimmers, or waves of light rapidly run across its surface in various ways. This is not really important but I appreciate it when it happens.
Halo with sun dogs, aka mock suns


My vision has at times been better after sungazing.  My appetite and digestion have often improved. I've felt quite energized at times, with a very focused and efficient mood.  Fall, winter and spring can all be rather overcast for much of the time where I live. When I sungaze, this tends to not bother me. A small amount of sungazing goes a long way in this regard.  I have experienced impaired or reduced visual acuity, temporarily, from sungazing. Nothing serious. I've had my eyes checked plenty of times over the years (I wear glasses) and the most recent tests, about half a year ago, confirmed that my eyes are very healthy.
When I first sungazed, many years ago, I was never grounded (bare feet), I gazed at the sun while it was high in the sky (very intense), and I also did not know to remove my glasses. I gazed only with my left eye. I was very ungrounded at the time and suffered from various mental issues, and sungazing in this fashion may have exacerbated things, but was not the cause. Even though, from my current perspective, I was doing it all "wrong," I think that it was more helpful than harmful at that time. However I would never recommend that someone try to copy the "technique" I had! In fact, I don't recommend sungazing to people at all unless they are guided to do so by their Higher Self, by Divinity / Spirit, and/or by their Heart and Gut Knowing.
I always love it when he gods shimmer and separate before my eyes!