May 30, 2004

M wrote:

"When I use my peripheral vision to gaze, I feel thrills in my heart area, my whole chest, and of course, from that the whole self feels good. Physical feelings, almost sexual....I can't think of any other way to describe it."

Ramon wrote:

M, could you describe in greater detail what you mean by 'When I use my peripheral vision to gaze?"

I get a similar thrill in my heart and chest - and once had it measured, at first by having a woman friend put her ear to my chest to listen to the change of pulse, but later with an EKG monitor. Definite change of heartbeat was occurring when I sun-gazed - big speed-up!

I'd like to do this again at some point.

I used to turn the old phrase "Things seem brighter when you're in love" around to "When you look at the source of all brightness you feel as if you're in love."

May 3, 2004

Ramon wrote to RGV:

On a recent afternoon in the back yard, I truly dissolved into just the mockingbird's song, the wind in the trees, the moment. Utter freedom and ecstasy! Now to learn to live there -- I think it can be done via surfing on the front slope of the relaxed breath - the place before thoughts arise.

"Cultivate the sense of wondrous Kind Regard that exists anterior to thought."

Subject: Sunyoga

(to a Buddhist list)

For those interested, here are a few 'sun yoga' sites to check out.

Breatherians don't interest me much -- in fact I'm not certain "just" living on light interests me much -- unless it happens on its own without any weight loss.

• http://www.newtreatments.org/fromweb/manekji.html (no longer "Sun Yoga" -- only "CBD")

• http://www.jsocf.org/sshrm.htm (Bad Link -- in "Jain Society" website)

• http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/377/11377_yoga.html (nothing about "Sun Yofa"?)

• http://indiamonitor.com/news/readCatFullNews.jsp?ni=3257&ct=Indian%20Achievements (Bad Link)

• and a good historical background site:

  • http://www.sunlight.as.ro/ (Bad Link)

What does interest me is that when I'm sungazing, all thought ceases. I hooked up to EEG and EKG monitors some years back and was told I'm getting the same high Alpha as some zen meditators. Also very interesting speedup changes in the heartbeat. With the advances in monitoring technologies, I'm now eager to try it again.

Watch the sun-gulls line up at the beach facing the sunset some time -- and guess what they're doing. Animals are natural sun yogis. Artificial light has totally screwed up our natural hormonal rhythms. Total darkness is as equally important as sunlight.

The 56 page PDF file -- http://www.universal-tao.com/dark_room/DarkRoom.pdf (Bad Link -- about Tao, now) -- is especially thorough and interesting.

And a brief quote: Our Relationship with Light & Color by Dr. Annette M., Patterson (or here)

http://www.wellbeinginst.com/Rep&Art_Relationship.htm (Bad Link)

"In studying the work of Jacob Liberman, O.D., Ph.D., I discovered that it has been scientifically proven that light is responsible for "turning on" the brain and the body. It enters through the eyes and skin. When even a single photon enters the eye, it lights up the entire brain. It triggers the Hypothalamus, which regulates all of the body¹s life-sustaining functions, our autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, and our body¹s master gland, the pituitary. The Hypothalamus is also responsible for our body¹s biological clock. This gland then sends a message, by way of light, to the Pineal Organ, which is responsible for releasing one of our most important hormones, Melatonin. Melatonin¹s release is directly related to light, darkness, colors, and the earth¹s electromagnetic field. It affects each and every cell in our entire body, and turns on each cell¹s internal activities, making them able to harmonize with each other, and nature. It is believed the Pineal is the part of us that allows the feeling of oneness with the universe, and sets the stage for our most intimate relationship, that of our inner being with the environment. Animals come by this naturally, living in nature."

Beams from where it counts the most,

Meadow Unicycling to Solar Consciousness,

Ramon

"Cultivate the wild rose Wondrous Kind Regard that blossoms anterior to thought."

~ La Bella Jardinera

~P

T wrote:

"The Sun is yet another impermanent material object -- subject to the deeper permanent, immutable esoteric law of impermanence/cause"

For me, matter and spirit are merely different vibrations on the same scale. Although science assigns a life span to the sun, that life span in human terms is long enough to qualify subjectively as 'eternal.' Of course the sun is merely one harmonic node in the galactic symphony also -- but I like to live with what this body was designed to experience on its own without the 'wider views' afforded by telescopes, etc. Primitive man's untampered outlook is what I think we're designed to work with.

Our evolution towards Solar Consciousness is a movement towards a transfigured 'light body' that can live on the higher frequencies of light-love-consciousness. I also believe that it will be capable to living much longer than the lifespan we currently experience. A totally 'merged' Solar Being probably could live as long as the sun lives, but that's only speculation. Yes?

This synchronizes well with what Sri Aurobindo and Sweet Mother Mira Alfassa were attempting - the 'divinization' of the physical. When all is said and done, what other Integral Yoga is there?

V wrote:

"By the way, it is also common mythology or folklore in the welding world that anyone who works at electric arc welding for more than a few months becomes a mystic."

Ramon wrote:

Very interesting experience, V.

Brought to mind several thoughts.

I don't think we realize how much artificial lighting has transformed the world we live in. Just try living without it and see how different you feel. Gaslight, candle light, are two possible alternate light environments, but how about primitive man who relied just on firelight after dark? Camping out in the wilderness allows us to taste this experience. Pondering some written scripts such as Hebrew, I wonder if the letters did not evolve from many hours of staring into the flames of a sacrificial altar fire. Same with Sanskrit. 'Flame scripts...'

Back in the Sixties hey-daze, I once came down to the city to score some pot. Sitting around the dealer's living room with some other customers, we smoked a sample and then, since sunlight wasn't available, I turned a Tensor reading light around so that it shone on all of us and suggested we meditate on it. The experience was quite amazing, not only for me but for the three or four others -- to the point that they all followed me back to the commune and spent some months there. I felt like the Pied Piper -- and we certainly were 'pied' by the experience!

Ever since then, I've often wondered just what the 'chemistry' is that allows certain herbs / substances to lower our photosensitive barrier so that the light-to-bliss connection becomes so much stronger. The Sufi teacher Gurdjieff, in his very instructive and hilarious book "All and Everything, Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson," describes how 'something' went terribly wrong with our species on planet Earth many millenia ago and, to fix it, an organ he calls 'the Kundabuffer' had to be placed in mankind. Now I think his made-up word "Kundabuffer" speaks for itself (the book is full of homemade expressions that alternately exasperate and amuse), implying that the Kundalini had to be 'buffered' so that humans could survive in a hostile ice-age environment that would not tolerate bliss-outs as a natural way of life (the role of the priest-shaman then evolved to bliss out for the group while they hunted and gathered food).

Anyway, many psychotropics - entheogens, if you prefer, seem to turn down the Kundabuffer and allow various energy flows to be either re-established or at least experienced consciously -- Mother Nature's way to show us that our bliss tolerance is adjustable. I think learning that my 'Kundabuffer' had a volume control and that its setting, due to my education and upbringing, was set very low, was a very important experience for my 'back then.'

These type of Tensor lamps used the old car headlight bulb that gave a warm, yellow output -- and no longer seem to be available. They have been replaced by the new halogen lamps, and I have yet to give these a real try-out but, when I drive at night, I truly dislike the cold brilliance from approaching halogen headlights. There are also Xenon, full spectrum, etc, but I think it's best to stick with DC types myself, because otherwise you're into the 60-cycle business that I think is just enough 'off' a natural vibration to disrupt certain body systems. (European 50 cycle is healthier, in my opinion). Ever wonder why B flat is a preferred key jazz? Nearest key to 60 cycles -- of course the B-b clarinet and sax play easiest in that key also.

I'd be interested in anyone else's experiences with artificial lights. Vinny, yours with welding I do find interesting. I have on a few rare occasions run across someone welding and, cognizant of the warnings, only watched in short bursts. But I can see there definitely is a 'hit' of some sort to be experienced. Do you think it's from the UV output mostly? And do you happen to know whether it's 'hard' or 'soft' UV?