Actually, yesterday was Day 0...lol. I woke up to start 10s with the sunrise...and it was CLOUDY! Raining even. So I set my day 1 of SG aside and tended to other things, and read a fantastic blog regarding the experience of starting till completion of the 44m program, as propounded by HRM, the official lightening rod for SG. :)
Just in the same way I had an epiphany regarding Buddha about a year ago...I was startled by my visceral acceptance of this idea that there is energy to be found in the sun. Something that can be cultivated through common sense and a balanced inner health voice.
I certainly wouldn't encourage ANYone to embark on a SG journey with being flanked by those two things. Any endeavor that requires you to step out of the mainstream should be accompanied by a healthy skepticism, and a clear idea of what is driving this interest. The best examples of pushing our limits have been illustrated with a sensible approach to the risk associated with it. Doing anything in a willy-nilly way can invite unintended consequences. SO please do not think this blog is in anyway endorsing that YOU should do it to. :)
Okay, so I was thwarted on day 1 in the traditional sense. But, I took a walk with my dogs around 1p and even though it was still completely overcast, I set out to do a little recon.
We walked to our fave park, and I sat on the stone wall that faces E and W. I closed my eyes and lifted my head up towards where I thought the sun would be. I tried to open my eyes, and with a couple blinks, I could. I felt immmmmediately the my face went from involuntary 'squish' to relaxed in a matter of seconds. I held my gaze there for about 10 seconds when there appeared a break in the clouds about 10 degrees to my left...I could see the sun peaking out and my face instantly squished up.
I took two deep breaths and relaxed my face. The sun was blinking in and out of the clouds and I got my first taste of pure energy. I had broken it up, but I knew I had done over 10s of looking at the sun.
I pulled on the dogs' lead and we walked back to the house. I was definitely invigorated. That was exactly what I had decided I was looking for in this journey. Invigoration! My total goal for this endeavor is to translate that energy and focus into more smiling and positivity. Cliche? Sure. But that is the recipe I have decided to make.
Alright, so today was Day 1.
I got up at 5:15a and the sunrise was at 6:4oa, so no worries there. Did some reading, dog chores, had coffee, and headed out the door at about 6:35a. I decided to walk up to work and on the way try to catch my 10s.
It's about a mile walk, so about half way there I found a spot where the sun was sparkling through an oak tree. I stopped and looked right at it. It was flickering, but I immediately started counting. At 8s I knew that I could easily hold my gaze past the allotted time. But I didn't. I stopped at 10s and continued walking with the dogs. They are very good about stopping and waiting for me if I get distracted by something...lol. Love 'em!
Anyway, as the sun rose, I was suddenly amazingly aware of its proximity to me. As I got to a completely clear patch where there were no obstructions, the sun had been up for about 15m. I spun around and stared right at it, counting up to 10s. Delicious. Fantastic. Perfectly relaxing. Even easy, I thought to myself. I wanted to look again, so as a compromise, I did a round where I looked N S E W of the sun, all at about a 45 50 degree angle. That felt fantastic and I didn't have a noticeable sun 'spot' anywhere in my vision. Though my peripheral vision felt quite invigorated, if I could put it that way.
As I walked home at 8:3a, I tried to do the same thing. My face immediately went squishy...it was almost two hours after sunrise and it felt completely different. I didn't do any looking at it at all, but I did try to keep my chin up as I walked home, even though my instinct was to look at the ground. I found that interesting in and of itself. I wonder if looking at the ground starts the merry-go-round of 'same ol' thoughts'? Hmm.
I suddenly realized that I could use the sun as a kind of exercise every time I was in it. The process changed immediately for me. As opposed to simply Sun Gazing at proscribed times, this introduced itself as a lifestyle. Sweet! The fundamental idea that I got from HRM was that the experience of SG fulfills itself when your battery is full. When that is, is up to us. Nice. :)
Did anyone see the Documentary 'Eat the Sun'? I don't care about the breatharian part, but as a healing mechanism, I am fascinated. :)
Cheers! ~ Elle
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