The Sun Ritual By M.J. Makransky This sun ritual was given to me by my spirit guides to help me to open my heart. (I've since learned that it's a well-known ritual in many Pagan circles.) I do it every morning, weather permitting. Stand facing the sun with your chest bare and your palms open to the sunlight. Feel the sun's rays on your left breast warming up your heart (if you like, imagine the sun's warmth is filling your heart with every in-drawn breath). You should do this exercise for a few minutes every day (semi-cloudy conditions also permit doing the exercise so long as there is some shadow). At the end of the ritual do an obeisance to the sun to thank it for its help. I did this exercise for several years without feeling anything out of the ordinary, or any more open-hearted. Then one day I returned to my house after performing the ritual. My wife was playing Porgy and Bess on the tape deck, and my kids asked me about the story of Porgy and Bess. So I told them the plot. As I neared the end I felt waves of sadness and anguish sweep over me. I broke down and cried and cried. I couldn't help myself. It may be the first time I cried as an adult. Ever since then the ritual has become a bit more intense, not every time I do it, but often enough. The warmth is a lot more palpable. I feel filled to the brim with light and energy. I don't know if I've become more open-hearted or not, because I'm not sure what that entails; but I've certainly become more vulnerable, and more careful of intruding into other people's space or doing things which would hurt their feelings (no matter what they've done to me). And my good friends tell me I've become a lot softer. So maybe it is working.
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