Good Day Sunshine

October 1, 2009 9:30 AM

Filmmaker, Peter Sorcher, will be showing his documentary "Eat the Sun" at this year's Mill Valley Film Festival. The film follows people who practice sungazing. The leading proponent of sungazing, Hira Ratan Manek, is seen as a teacher by some and a scam artist by others.
posted by agatha_magatha (18 comments total)

Count G.K. Chesterton among the others.
posted by Verdant at 9:47 AM on October 1, 2009

most sungazers seek better mental and physical health
posted by biffa at 10:01 AM on October 1, 2009

"pi" movie references in 3...2...1...

or wait! Maybe Darwin Award reference will show up first. On the edge of my seat here!
posted by sidereal at 10:04 AM on October 1, 2009

This is the sort of thing that I used to get really worked up over, but now makes me so irrationally angry I can't really stand to focus on it for too long.
posted by Nomiconic at 10:05 AM on October 1, 2009

tb;dr
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:07 AM on October 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

Something about this post makes my spider-sense tingle, agatha is in marketing in the SF bay area, Scorcher films is in the bay area...

*tingle*
posted by Static Vagabond at 10:10 AM on October 1, 2009

Um. So the new Prime Minister of Japan goes for long periods of time without eating, because he believes he can live merely by staring at the sun...

That seems... not good?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:11 AM on October 1, 2009

Objectives vary from person to person but most sungazers seek better mental and physical health along with a higher level of spiritual awareness retinal damage.

FTFY
posted by HumanComplex at 10:17 AM on October 1, 2009

"When you reach 30 minutes duration of continuously looking at sun, you will slowly be liberated from physical disease since by then all the colors of the sun will have reached the brain through the eye. Brain regulates the flow of color prana appropriately to the respective organs. All the internal organs get ample supply of the required color prana. The vital organs are dependent on certain sun color prana. Kidney red, Heart yellow, Liver green etc. Colors reach the organs and address any deficiencies. This is how color therapies work --Reiki and Pranic Healing. There is a lot of information available on color therapy. This is the process of getting liberated from physical ailments over a six-month period. After 3-4 months you can become cured of your physical ailments with autosuggestion, which is imagining and visualizing healing your ailments while gazing at the sun. Scientific methods such as the Solariums, crystals, color bottles, natural stones, gems, all utilize sun energy, which is stored in these natural stones. You can keep natural color stones in drinking water to further hasten healing."

When you put it in plain terms like this it makes perfect sense really.
posted by y6y6y6 at 10:19 AM on October 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

"I eat the sun," Miyuki says, raising her arms as if to tear pieces off an imaginary solar disc. "Like this: yum, yum, yum. It gives me enormous energy. My husband has recently started doing that too."

The first lady of Japan is officially awesome. She also believes she has a deep spiritual connection to Tom Cruise from their experiences together in a past life.
posted by infinitywaltz at 10:34 AM on October 1, 2009

agatha_magatha: "a scam artist by others"

James Randi deals with an incredible amount of insanity:

Japan has underground cities and tunnels under Tennessee; Alabama; Mississippi; North Carolina; South Carolina; Virginia; Delaware and Maryland. They are supplying the Mormons with disk craft and crystal meth. Since W.W.II. the Japanese have been building disk craft in factories under Japan, in tunnels that stretch all the way to Pejing. The "Silicon Chip" is made out of "Solidified" human murdered sub-atomic light particals known as Silicon.

The Mormon Federal Police have distributed crystal meth to the Gym Teachers in every County, from the Atlantic to the Pasific. The Gym Teachers have a large supply waiting at their homes that they will bring to the school on "Truth Or Dare" Day!" It's to be held in the school gymnasium. Inhaleing the chemical, the little witches will "bite" something off. This is all done "under the Big witch's spoken orders."

This sino-mormonic pact is more plausible than eating sunlight.
posted by boo_radley at 10:44 AM on October 1, 2009

Years ago a Colorado "Breatharian" did an interview with Westword, a local free paper. He also claimed to live without food. (I saw him once in the foothills testing the air for nutritious tastiness.) On the way out of the restaurant where they held the interview, the breatharian grabbed a handful of mints.
posted by kozad at 11:20 AM on October 1, 2009

It's like timecube, except with retinal damage!
posted by Theta States at 11:45 AM on October 1, 2009

Something about this post makes my spider-sense tingle, agatha is in marketing in the SF bay area, Scorcher films is in the bay area...

*tingle*
posted by Static Vagabond at 10:10 AM on October 1 [+] [!]

Move along, nothing to see here. Tingle away, Static, I'm in Marketing for a transit agency--nothing to do w/films. I just read the article over coffee this morning and as I had never heard of such a thing before, thought I'd share. However, I also live in Marin and so does Sorcher...duh duh da!!!!! (cue the trumpets).
posted by agatha_magatha at 11:58 AM on October 1, 2009

Sungazers? Naaah. I'll stick with Shoegazers thank you very much.
posted by Rashomon at 5:02 PM on October 1, 2009

GREAT.. I am now legally blind... am I doing it wrong.. or not long enough.
posted by infinite intimation at 9:11 PM on October 2, 2009

GREAT.. I am now legally blind... am I doing it wrong.. or not long enough.

No. you're doing it just right. Keep going. All will be revealed.
posted by metagnathous at 4:21 PM on October 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Poor boy had spent too long observing the Sun through a telescope - his squint was permanent.
posted by kcds at 6:05 PM on October 4, 2009