For 47 days, Navenna Shine, a 65-year-old Seattle woman, subsisted on nothing but sunlight and her faith. Even though anyone else would think it’s some kind of convoluted accomplishment to live so long without food, Shine technically failed to meet her four- to six-month fasting goal.
“The overt reason is that on that day the phones and internet will be cut off and I have nothing to pay for the space I am in. In practical terms I cannot continue,” Shine wrote on her blog last week.
Many skeptics (aka, society) think this was just a cop-out Shine dreamed up when she started thinking about an ice cream sundae or French fries. But, Shine maintains the experiment was a success.
“I see this as an amazing success. Even though I didn’t prove that you can live on light, what I did do is open up the subject so that this can be talked about and is being talked about throughout the whole world,” Shine said in her final YouTube reflection. (Warning: You’ll probably soften to her kooky opinions when you listen to her talk like the world’s sweetest grandmother.)
From the very beginning, Shine’s journey has been criticized by many who view “breatharianism” as an impossible-to-sustain diet.
However, the ultra-positive Shine said her mission has also been met with support: “To all those people who encouraged and supported me I want to thank you for your kindness and concern and your willingness to open to many things that might not be apparent to those who see things differently. I know that everyone lives in a different view of reality and by honoring ours and everyone else’s point of view and the consciousness that contains us all can we live in harmony on this beautiful earth.”
Shine’s experiment was based on the 1998 book “Living on Light” by Jasmuheen. According to Amazon, the book aims to teach followers how to tap into the Universal Life Force. Doing so, Jasmuheen claims will “convert the body to the new way of being sustained.”
Since its publication, “Living on Light” has been blamed for the deaths of five practitioners. Both Jasmuheen and Shine believe those who fail only fall short because they didn’t start with good intentions or proper expectations.
“From the feedback I am getting it is becoming patently clear that most of the world is by no means ready to receive the information I am attempting to produce,” Shine said in her final blog entry. “Even if it were true that a person can ‘Live On Light’ and I were successful in demonstrating that, I see now that it would be synonymous with giving a loaded shotgun to baby. The vast majority of people would inadvertently shoot themselves with it.”
I guess that means we should just stick with eating and acting like normal people until we reach a higher degree of evolution. Shucks.
