by Jennifer Rodriguez-Allen

At this moment in human history, one of our most controversial relationships is our natural and healthy relationship with our closest star, the Sun. We are caught between our need for sunlight to keep us healthy and happy and; a fear of the sunlight that penetrates the hole in our precious ozone layer.
How often do we find ourselves blinded by the Sun? How often do we turn to sunglasses to lessen its brightness on our eyes? How did we lose our ability to naturally adapt to sunlight? Could it be that we have spent too much time indoors under artificial light, too much time in front of television or the computer? How do we regain the ability to quickly adapt to the Sun’s brilliance that we had as children? What sort of misinformation is in our brains that is stopping us from doing so?
At Agoo Agii, we think in terms of surviving our present circumstances through a conscious relationship with the Nature. Our goal is to reclaim the human sense that is balanced with the values of the Nature and as we shall demonstrate in this article, with the Universe. We believe, very much, to know the Sky, we must first know the Earth and with each step we take closer and closer to the Earth, we find ourselves deeper in the mysteries of Creation and our place within in it, from the beginning of human history to today.
The Sun in Relation to the Universe
Unlike human beings, the components, the elements, the living spirits of the Nature do not have Egos. The Sun has been ascribed its importance to us by its proximity to us in the Universe. It is evident that we need the Sun but the Sun does not exist as a domineering tyrant to whom we must serve. In fact, ancient cultures that placed the Sun as a supreme deity (e.g. ancient Roman, Egyptian and Aztec) were cruel, imperialistic and domineering cultures.
The Sun lives in relation to the Universe and the forces of creation. It is just one of unimaginable number of stars that exist in the Universe and the Sun is as aware of that as you and I. From a distant planet, the Sun is merely another star in the sky and if you open your level of consciousness a bit more, the Sun realizes that. The Sun does not have an Ego; it has a responsibility to support the planets that revolve around it. To learn from the example of the brilliance of the Sun is to learn to let go of Ego and to accept our responsibility to sustain life.
During the daytime, we should not let the Sun make us forget about the Universe beyond the blue sky. The heat we experience during the day can be balanced through the conscious reminder that beyond the blue, there is a large expanse of dark coolness containing an infinitude of stars equally as important to us as the Sun.

The Sun in Relation to Darkness

Darkness is the force of creation whereas light comes from a fixed point, an object or subject of creation. Darkness is not evil for the people who fear darkness, believe the most in the manifestation of evil within our world. Our ability to live comfortably in darkness allows for us to demonstrate the illumination of our souls. Darkness is the furthest point beneath our feet, it is at our toes, over our head and it is through the darkness that our eyes search for the Creator. Creation is an unfixed expansive point that is always simultaneously in front us of and beyond our reach.

Darkness, or shall we say, Black Light is never obscured or eliminated. The Sun's rays project themselves through darkness. It is this consciousness that allowed the pioneers of the physics of light to postulate ideas about the nature and the movement of light with their naked eyes. The next time you go outside, try to see the darkness to lessen the effect of the Sun's brilliance. Do our eyes not weaken when we do not adapt to variations in light intensity? We need to learn to develop our eyes' abilities to serve as their own sunglasses.
The Sun in Relation to Water
Our existence and the source of our own humility begins and ends with water. Water is the most important element of the Nature when it comes to living in balance with the Sun. As the Sun is hot, Water is cool. Here we cannot over emphasize the importance of cold/cool showers and baths. In the summer, cold showers lower the body’s surface temperature and help to make the heat bearable. In the winter, cool showers help us develop a resistance to the effects of the cold so long as we do not take cold beverages and foods in excess.
Cold water helps us reestablish and maintain a balanced ecological relationship with our local sources of water. It is very easy for us to distance ourselves from our natural bodies of water dismissing them as dirty and/or polluted. However, dirty water is water with dirt in it, polluted water is water with pollution in it, yet water forever remains water and is always itself pure.
Hot water on the other hand, when used excessively can produce an enormous amount of damage to the skin. Hot water decreases the amount of blood circulation to the skin causing it to become unusually dry. Hot water decreases our ability to retain and produce moisture. By decreasing our skin’s capacity to perspire when necessary and therefore cool itself when overheated, we are denying our body the ability to ease its own discomfort naturally. This results in a cycle of excessive use of air conditioning to relieve our body of heat and the use of air conditioning was originally one of the sources of the pollution that is responsible for the hole in the ozone layer.

Beautiful Historical Ecological Relationships

Water has long held an important spiritual status especially amongst women

 

In the Hindu Legend, The Ramayana, the auspicious woman Sita emerges unscathed from the funeral pyre of her husband.
In the Book of Exodus, Moses’ mother turns to the waters of the River to save her son rather than turning to fire the Sun to demand its wrath to extract justice.
Images of Christian Saints often have halos on the back of their heads. These representations of the Sun demonstrate the coolness of the head brought by baptism.
One of the most misunderstood Indigenous American ceremonies is the Sun Dance. The older men who have prepared themselves to participate in this ceremony sacrifice a piece of the own flesh to make a deep prayer for the sake of all living things. They make this self-sacrifice with the belief that the only thing we rightfully own is our own body and it is only our own body that we truly have the right to sacrifice to the Creator.
In ancient pre-patriarchal African culture, the coupling of the Sun and the Water is considered to be a holy marriage. This union is considered so sacred that one is never mentioned without the other.
Horrible Historical Confusions
Some of the cruelest and most imperialistic cultures that have developed on this planet have worshipped the Sun as a supreme deity. They used the Sun to inspire wrath and terror amongst the people they conquered. This includes the use of human sacrifice to "appease" the Sun. Many of these cultures were also fond of using the Sun to justify their use of slavery.
Millions of women have been burned throughout history in the name of using fire, the earthly embodiment of the Sun, to determine their purity or as evidence to demonstrate their lack thereof. These self-proclaimed judges of female purity would have burned themselves had they set themselves on fire for those who would not burn are amongst the humble, not the arrogant.
Timely and Conscious Adaptation
Eco-logical adaptation to the Sun is a lifelong exercise that is made with baby steps. Each day we must practice seeing the darkness with the light, consciously keep the Sun in its rightful place with respect to the Universe and use daily cleansing with cool/cold water. We must be aware of our own reactions and as we move closer to the natural world, we must be aware of the situations where our indestructible connection with the Nature is compromised.
Sunscreen should be used intelligently rather than blindly. It is important that we have at least 15 minutes of direct sunlight each day as sunscreen decreases our body's ability to produce vitamin D. If your sunscreen contains mineral oils, it can also decrease your skin's ability to effectively produce and absorb vitamins A and C.
In any type of weather, it is important that your skin has an opportunity each day to feel natural. After spending a day in the Sun, you should clean off any residual chemical sunscreen. Our skin is responsible for 1/3 of the body's elimination of wastes, it is necessary to allow our bodies to relax, detoxify and feel natural.
Finally, we must ask ourselves what contribution hot water has made to our decreased ability to handle the Sun. Is it a coincidence that the countries that have the highest rates of skin cancer also use the most hot water? Should this matter not be studied?

Written by: Jennifer Rodriguez-Allen, B.Sc., Environmental Chemist and President of Agoo Agii, inc. Images realized by the artistic talents of Ella Clark. Agoo Agii is a multi-ethnic women-owned grassroots company that specializes in skin and body care products made from indigenous plants. (http://www.agooagii.com/)

 

 

Legal Disclaimer--All information contained in this website are for educational purposes only and are not intended to serve as medical diagnosis, treatment or cure. Please consult a healthcare practitioner before beginning any health care program.
©2001-2004 Agoo Agii inc. All rights reserved.

Our Products

The Knowing Touch--Aromatherapy Breast Care
A relaxation aid to assist with breast familiarity, self-exam, massage.

Dawn's Star--Dandelion Relaxation Cream
Use this relaxation aid to learn to control facial expressions that lead to exaggerated facial lines.

Four Season Friend--Balsam Fir Cream and Massage Oil
Body and Spirit care for cold weather

Paradise at my Feet--Plantain Cream
For adult sports massage and foot care yet gentle enough for baby's bottom

Feminine Innocence--Violet Cream and Massage Oil
Excellent as after-sun skin care and as a night cream. For oily to normal skin.

Indigenous to Earth--Calendula Skin Care
A Herbalist's favorite, excellent for delicate and sensitive skin.

Bear Balm - Mint Body Balm and Massage Cream
We use this to improve the Mind-Body Connection

Gifts
The Breast Self-Defense Kit

Other Products

The Pink Solution - A Multi-Purpose Non-toxic Organic Cleaning Product

Beauty Walk--Lots of free articles to help you keep yourself looking eco- great!

Natural Self-Defense Against Breast Cancer - Learning to Cope with Organochlorine Pollution

The Art of Radiance

Aromatherapy for the Breast Self-Exam

Natural Self-Defense Against Breast Cancer

Breast Self Massage

The Experience of Growing Down

Get Yourself Out of Hot Water

Make Peace with Dust