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Eat the Sun

All life on Earth owes its sustenance to the Sun. At the base of the food chain pyramid lie the plants, autotroph beings capable of converting the photonic energy of our home star into complex organic compounds that are passed on to higher organisms through predation.

But, would it be possible to circumvent the food chain entirely, and get our nourishment directly from solar energy alone?

Such a claim is completely abhorrent to all our current scientific notions, not to mention the numerous risks that could be caused to your eyes by direct exposition to the Sun for prolonged periods of time; and yet that is the theme of the documentary ‘Eat the Sun’, to be released on 9/20/11:

Eat the Sun is a feature length documentary that focuses on a young man’s journey into the little known world of sun gazing–an ancient practice of looking directly into the sun for long periods of time. Today, with the help of the Internet, this revived practice is gathering global momentum. Modern day sun gazers claim a multitude of health benefits including better eyesight, increased vitality, weight loss, and in more profound cases a total loss of the desire and need to eat food.

Eat the Sun is the story of one man’s struggle to uncover the truth and ultimately, reveal the the power of the mind.

Controversial stuff for sure, but a fascinating topic nonetheless.

[Thanks, Dina]

  1. cataract surgery
    you are all going to need it, especially when you realize that it is your own selves that have been holding your mind back. a placebo effect. also if you are going to sun gaze, might i suggest painting the skin around your eyes black, like a meerkat, that is why football players do it so that the sun is absorbed away from their eyes. not like anything will help

    although i do like the cover art 🙂

    1. Exercise
      Some proponents of Sun gazing claim that the eyes, like any organ of the body, need to be slowly conditioned through regular exercise in order to achieve their full potential. So going out and stare into the sun a couple of hours one day without proper preparation would certainly cause you to need the aid of a guiding dog and a cane.

      This is certainly the type of topics when ‘Caveat lector’ is more than pertinent. And yet, I can’t help finding the subject completely fascinating, because it really goes against the grain of all the things we take for granted; something TDG members I’m sure would appreciate 🙂

      PS: There’s a story that Sir Isaac Newton spent many hours staring into the Sun directly during his youth to conduct scientific observations; and afterwards he had to seclude himself in a completely dark room, trying not to think of the Sun’s radiant light in order to preserve his sight. History doesn’t record anything about his sight being permanently impaired because of this experience –Lucky chance?

      1. he died at 47 from supposed mercury poisoning…
        …the lost alchemist of history would have benefited from not being a meerkat amongst other things. You’re right however, it does look like an interesting docu, but the sun gazing not recommended. That being said i am not so close-minded as the scientists in this film. i do believe people should look into some ancient knowledge and see what we can find to become more spiritually active. i fear many who see this film and think this is a wise decision however, are misguided and out of either desperation or stupidity, will bring forth the greatest surge of blindness we’ve ever seen, both spiritually and literally.

        http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/meerkats-1.jpg

      2. Happy to go blind
        [quote=red pill junkie]it really goes against the grain of all the things we take for granted; something TDG members I’m sure would appreciate :)[/quote]

        No, I take for granted my eyesight and I appreciate being able to read TDG. 😉

        Eating the Sun is as ridiculous as the people who claim the only food they need is air. As for the so-called health benefits of staring at the sun? Er… that’d be vitamin D, which is synthesised by your skin when it absorbs the sun’s UV light. So yeah, standing in the sun for at least 15 – 30 minutes a day will certainly give you health benefits — but staring at it will destroy your eyes.

        I’m not just deaf & dumb, I’m staring at the sun,
        I’m not the only one, who’s happy to go blind…

        http://youtu.be/kt4Mo8l968Q

        1. DVD
          Well, I’m pretty sure that watching a DVD is pretty safe for the eyes –unless you’re still wary of that thing you dad told you back when you were 13 😛

        2. from the Roger-Ramscoop-Oort-Bound-Dept.
          Of course the mere fact that a one-eyed cat can work on a computer and read English boggles the mind, but that’s neither here nor there ;3

          That fantasy movie I found interesting…2 movies in 1.

  2. staring at the sun
    I hate to admit this but when I was about 7 or 8, I used to stare at the sun, here in the UK. There was a knack to doing this as it was quite uncomfortable to begin with but after a short while of sun gazing, no discomfort was felt at all. I guess I would only look for maybe 2 or 3 minutes in total on each occassion and did not suffer any after effects, then or since.

    When looking at the sun and once the the discomfort had passed, it was like looking down down a rotating tube, with the centre a solid blob of colour (greenish I recall)and blackness around the outside. It also appeared to pulsate.

    That said, there is no way I would every do that these days, my eyesight is far too precious to try sun-gazing again, and my adult mind would not let me do it anyway.

    1. Adult mind
      I know what you mean, and it makes me wonder if there’s some sort of placebo effect or conditioning process to the effects of sun gazing, something one would be more inclined of trying as a kid, but later would learn not to do due to the warnings of adults.

      I was in my teens when I snapped a set of photographs of an incredible halo surrounding the Sun, and it was later when I stated to consider the health implications my little stunt might have caused on my eyes. Fortunately, nothing came of it, and although I’ve been using eye-glasses for quite a while, I feel the greatest threat to my sight over the years has been the numerous hours of staring at a screen of one sort or the other 🙂

      1. Good Point! But,…
        Emlong,

        Many people in Asia gaze at the glow just before sunrise and after sunset; but, nobody gazes directly at the sun between sunrise and sunset! It gets its name from this practice of gazing before sunrise and after sunset. Unfortunately, many of the URLs about sun gazing falsely extol the benefits of gazing at the sun between sunrise and sunset. This is fraud; because, it is harmful, not beneficial, to gaze directly at the the sun between sunrise and sunset!

  3. Being Exposed To Sun Light!
    Red Pill,

    I think that it is important to be exposed to sun light. In my opinion, however, staring directly at the sun is foolish. According to Michio Kaku, we will eventually get all of our nourishment from the sun; but, I don’t think that he meant we need to stare at the sun to get our nourishment!

    1. Heretical
      Obviously this topic is not about the Vitamin D you get from sunlight that protects you from rickets. This is about something completely counter-intuitive, and down-right heretical. I’m not saying I support the practice of sun gazing; but I thought the topic in itself was worth considering due to its implications –one of them, for example, being the possible sustenance of what we call ‘the spirit’ after the body decays and dies.

      1. Oh! I Didn’t Pick-Up On The Spirit Aspect! Sorry!
        Red Pill,

        Yes, I agree! Traditionally, the spirit is sustained by the sun.
        Let’s talk about that!

        In Asia, people gaze at the predawn glow of the rising sun and after glow of the setting sun!

          1. Except For…
            Red Pill,

            Sunrise on the first day of the New Year (Gantan or Ganjitsu), it’s cultural tradition in Japan. In Shinto, Gantan or Ganjitsu is a very holy day and watching the predawn glow of the sun at sunrise is a very spiritual experience! To a lesser extent, this is true in Japanese Buddhism.

            Many people stay up all night to gaze it! I wake-up at 05:00 every morning. So, if I gaze at it it, I get a good night’s sleep first!:)

            In Thailand, I think that it is related to religion!

          2. Green Rays And Other Things To Help Our Conversation!
            Red Pill,

            Here are some links that might help our conversation!

            SUNGAZING

            Religious Sungazing

            http://sunlight.orgfree.com/history_of_sun_gazing.html

            Magical Power Of Solar Healing

            http://psychedelicadventure.blogspot.com/2010/01/stargazing-magical-power-solar-healiung.html

            Green Flashes

            http://sunlightenment.com/an-introduction-to-green-flashes-of-the-sun/

            Green Rays

            http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/Gf/observing/greenray.html

          3. As was pointed out sun gazing
            As was pointed out sun gazing is really about taking in solar energy through the eyes but in an indirect manner.

  4. Sooryayog a safe and govt of india recognized healing method
    Ancient Indian texts of Ayurveda write about looking at sun in the morning and evening but under the guidance of guru. I am doctor who have been working in this field for many years and have practised it daily for past 7 years. It’s not only safe for the eyes but helps correct eye diseases. Regular practice is very good for meditation and treatment of various lifestyle disorders.i am
    living on solar energy directly and thru food .
    World is suffering from lack of sunlight we need to overcome
    our concerns and learn the practice of Sooryayog which is union with sun. We conduct seminars around the world to teach this safe method. http://Www.Sooryayog.com
    http://www.sunsociety.in
    also search for sun trataka on google it’s the Sanskrit name of the technique.
    There are some great books light medicine of the future, sunlight can save ur life and sunyoga
    best of luck

    1. There is already a lot of
      There is already a lot of science that points out the connection between sunlight and melatonin and serotonin production in the body. It is not at all a stretch to say that bringing more full spectrum light into the eye might be beneficial. Granted, indirect sun gazing may be taking it way far, but the science is already there. The biological mechanisms are well known.

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