We need the Sun!
Most of us don’t get even close to enough sun. We spend our days indoors and when we go outside we are so afraid of it we lather up in sunscreen.
Do not be afraid of the sun! We absolutely need it for good health. It is the largest source of what the Chinese would call Yang energy in our physical world and its power and energy sustains the earth and everything that lives on it, including us. It continually shares its light and energy with us and just like the earth, the plants, and the animals, we need its energy for our health.
We know that sunlight helps us get our vitamin D, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. It does so much more than that! Science is just beginning to understand that our cells are photo-receptive and act like little batteries soaking up the sun’s energy.
We are also just barely beginning to understand the other vital processes and nutrients it helps our body with. You can feel this if you just sit in the sun and quietly pay attention. You can feel your body hungrily soaking up the suns vital rays, refilling an energetic reservoir that’s usually depleted, and giving strength to your body as it helps the body with critical nutrients and processes.
The sun also sends with its energetic vibrations a measure of joy to lift our spirits. The thyroid in our neck, with its butterfly shape, is excellent at soaking up the sun and acts much like a solar panel using the sun’s rays to recharge. (see the book Thyroid Healing for more information on this)
New research is showing that sunlight helps our eye health and that constantly wearing sunglasses prevents our eyes from receiving the vital energy it needs from the sun to be healthy.
Hats work great for protecting the delicate skin on our face, while also letting our eyes soak up indirect sunlight. I haven’t worn sunglasses in years and my eyes no longer need them. When everyone else’s eyes around me are hurting from the sun and they reach for their sun glasses, my eyes are strong and no longer sensitive.
Respect its Power
We need the sun, but the sun’s energies are powerful and we need to respect them. Ideally an average Caucasian skinned person should get around 20 minutes of midday sun in the summer. Darker skinned people need more exposer, fairer skinned less. And the less sunny it is, the more sun exposure you need.
And while sun exposure is wonderful for us, getting a sunburn is not because it damages our skin, hence the need to respect the power of the sun. Getting sensible sun exposure on a frequent basis is so good for us, but too much is harmful. So when we need to be out in the sun longer than our skin can safely handle, a good sunblock is needed.
Most sunscreens people are familiar with are chemical based and are toxic, and even raise your risk of skin cancer. The way they work is the chemicals in them absorb the sun’s energy, instead of your skin absorbing it, and then dissipate it as heat. The problem with this is that the chemicals are slowly absorbed deeper into the skin and unless you continually apply a fresh layer every half-hour or so, the sun’s rays hit the chemicals deep in the skin and instead of being able to release the heat into the air the heat energy is now being released into the sensitive deeper layers of your skin where skin cells are formed increasing the risk of cell mutation and potentially cancer cells.
These chemicals themselves are also toxic and create a burden for our already overburden livers to try to filter it out of our blood. Sunscreens with these chemicals are now banned in California and Hawaii for use at the beach because they are killing the reef and fish. What do you think it is doing to you?
The spray sunscreens are the worst because you are also breathing those toxins into your lungs. So as is often the case in this modern world, convenience is killing us.
The best type of sunblock to use is a non-nano particle Zinc based barrier sunblock. Zinc particles reflect the sun instead of absorbing it and they do not get absorbed into the skin (stay away from the nano sized zinc because that can get absorbed).
The two downsides for this type of sun block that it is more difficult to apply and that it can leave a whitish sheen. This is unavoidable because it is the zinc that causes the whiteness. Don’t use the nano particle zinc sunblocks even though they cause less whiteness because they can be absorbed by the skin.
I have tried many, many brands of zinc based sunblocks and my favorite and the one that I have personally used for many years is the Badger brand. It is completely non-toxic, effective, relatively easy to apply (compared to other brands), relatively inexpensive (compared to other brands), and with a little practices at applying it, doesn’t leave much of a white sheen. Here are some links to my favorite types of this brand of sunblock that you can get on Amazon:
Badger Sport - water resistant for water activities
Badger Active - not as water resistant but easier to apply and less white for non-water activities
Badger Face Stick - water resistant and easier for face application.
Don’t be worried about the fact that zinc based sunscreen's SPF ratings usually only go as high as SPF 35. The SPF scale is not a linear scale and is very misleading. An SPF of 30 actually has a sun protection of 97%, and an SPF of 50 offers an 98% protection . So you see that an SPF rating of 30-35 is plenty for a standard day of sun exposer and the rest is just marketing hype. For more information on this topic visit:
Summary
We need the sun for good health!
Try to get around 20 minutes a day.
To prevent burning which is harmful to the skin, us a zinc based sunblock.
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