SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Will she make it? Seattle woman living on sunshine for 100 days

Jun 7, 2013, 12:58 PM | Updated: 1:44 pm

...


Luckily for Naveena Shine it’s been a sunny week, but things might get rough when the rain returns.
Shine, a Seattle resident, is conducting an experiment to see if she can survive only on light (and water).

“Human beings do not have to eat or ingest any kind of food into their stomachs in order to thrive in this world,” she writes on Living on Light website.

Dori wanted to know why. He has a hard time believing basic biology could be so wholly refuted.

“There’s a whole load of interest in this. The main reason is that if it truly is possible it could alter everything on our planet,” says Naveena. “It could alter humanity, it could alter how we use the planet, and it could alter how we use our lives.”

She describes a whole community of people called “Breatharians” based in India who “do this all the time” and have mastered a way to turn light and water into energy like plants.

The 65-year-old started her “experiment” on May 3 and has lost over 30 pounds in 34 days; in her YouTube video diary of the experiment, she appears visibly thinner. She wrote on her Facebook page that she lost 12 pounds in the first week.

Shine gave up coffee, but still occasionally drinks tea. Other than that, it appears she consumes waters and that’s about it. She might want to try a big glass of chlorophyll.

Naveena has eight video cameras streaming at her home to prove she’s not cheating.

“I am feeling hungry more and I miss the presence of food in my life,” Shine wrote on June 2. “I think the addiction might be much stronger psychologically for me than physically.”

Dori says he could never live without the pleasure of food – why would anybody want to go without food?

“It’s a question of what’s true. My whole life has been about what’s true. And I think it’s not true that you have to eat. You can eat; I’m not necessarily going to do this my whole life! I love food, too,” said Naveena.

She says that if she starts to lose significant strength and realizes she’s failing, she’ll just stop.

I’m not a scientist, but I did learn about photosynthesis in middle school and it’s not going to work for Shine. I also learned about what happens when a human body goes without fuel for too long.

Dori has a sneaking feeling that she must be cheating. But Shine says she’s still going strong.

“Once you move into that source within you that can access light,” she said, “if it’s there, if you can access it, it gives you the nourishment that you need. You don’t need to go through the second-hand thing that’s called food.”

Stephanie Klein contributed to this story.

Seattle News Archives & Features

Associated Press

Faced with influx, prosecutor in Washington says he lacks resources to defend immigration cases

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Faced with an influx of petitions by people alleging they’re being unlawfully detained by federal immigration authorities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington said Monday that it no longer has the manpower to defend every case and will let judges rule without government opposition. Acting U.S. Attorney […]

1 day ago

Fire crews respond to a helicopter hard landing after the aircraft's engine reportedly lost power n...

Tom Brock

Two aircraft emergencies in Pierce County Saturday

Two aircraft emergencies in Pierce County Saturday resulted in injuries to one pilot. 

3 days ago

This NOAA satellite image shows the magnitude of the storm moving inland from the Pacific Ocean. (P...

Ted Buehner, KIRO Newsradio Meteorologist

What to expect as Western Washington’s first big fall storm arrives Saturday night

The fall season’s first strong weather system will sweep through Western Washington tonight, bringing strong winds and rain.

4 days ago

Associated Press

3 dead, including suspect, and 2 deputies critically injured in eastern Washington state

SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. (AP) — A shooting and subsequent firefight with responding officers left three people dead, including the suspect, and two deputies critically wounded in eastern Washington state Tuesday. Deputies responded to a home in Spokane County, which borders Idaho, around 2:30 p.m. after a woman told her neighbor that she had been shot […]

7 days ago

Sedro-Woolley medications missing...

KIRO 7 News Staff

Student medications found missing or diluted at Sedro-Woolley schools

Students’ medications are missing or diluted at multiple schools across the Sedro-Woolley School District, according to a district statement.

21 days ago

In this photo taken with a smartphone, Mike Herrington, the FBI special agent in charge, speaks to ...

Associated Press

Washington resident charged with conspiracy in Canada shool shooting is ordered detained

SEATTLE (AP) — A Washington state resident charged with conspiracy in one of the worst school shootings in Canada’s history has been ordered detained pending further hearings in the case. Melody Bryant, also known as James Cody Bryant, of Bellingham, Washington, was charged this month with conspiring to murder people in a foreign country. Investigators […]

29 days ago

Will she make it? Seattle woman living on sunshine for 100 days