In cinematography, Golden Hour, or Magic Hour, is the first and last hour (or so) of sunlight during the day. It is so magical that you can feel it intensely on a filming set. Everybody is buzzing around because the time to accomplish what’s needed is very limited while everything and everybody looks perfect. Even the crew.
The quality of the light is softer, warmer and the light becomes subtler for a short period of time.
Twice a day. A moment in awe.
A tipping point of balance between day and night, between a state to another.
When was the last time you watched the sunset?
And I don’t mean that time where you were at work and saw the sunset in the background, I’m talking about the last time you dropped everything to watch it disappear - even your phone, after you made sure to Instagram the insane shot you took of the sun setting of course… -
Remember yourself watching that sunset.
Remember how it feels like?
Calm
Peaceful
In awe
Quiet
Soft
Beautiful
Inspirational
Relaxing
…
You name it
How often do you feel like this in your everyday life?
When was the last time you watched the sunrise?
And I don’t mean when was the last time you were coincidentally up as the sun was rising, I’m talking about the last time you dropped everything to simply watch it appear.
Golden Hour is not only magic for photography.
Think of it as a reflection of what’s inside of you.
Twice a day – that’s more than 700 times a year – you get the (free) opportunity to reflect on how beautiful you are. And if this sounds too New Age for you, just think of how you felt last time you watched the sunset.
That’s what I’m talking about. That moment of silence, in between the mental chat, where suddenly the thought and feeling of ‘This is beautiful” is taking over everything else.
This energy is simply Love and it leaves an imprint in your whole body.
The more you get this ‘love’ impact, the bigger the imprint will be on you and have consequently proportional ripple effects.
I love watching the Sun setting, and about a year and a half ago I started the regular practice of being up at dawn to watch the Sun rising as much as I can. It is a rather easy thing for me to be up that early considering the fact that I live with a toddler, but it is also a choice I make on days I could sleep in.
Magic Hour at dawn is different than at dusk. The light has more power at the beginning of the day and it diffuses completely differently.
I do experience every time these feelings of being amazed with what Nature has to offer. You think you’d be bored after watching it so many times but it presents such an incredible and unique landscape every day. Nature is so magically beautiful this time a day that it makes me feel humble to simply be able to get a glimpse of the show.
One great thing about this regular practice of ‘Mindful Magic Hour’ has brought me is an overall deeper connection with Nature.
And to give you an idea of the context, I do live in one of the biggest city in this world. People living in it might be all angels, but connecting to Nature as often as possible is a necessary contribution to my Zen…
Of course the more I practice, the more beneficial it is in my every day life.
(Did you ever hope to get a six-pack in one training session…?!)
It helps reduce my stress in general, it makes me feel healthy, bathing in that golden sunlight is extremely soothing, observing a natural phenomenon of such an immense scale gives me a different perspective on life, I am calm and my body produces all the feel-good hormones… What’s not to love, really?!
And besides watching the Sun at Magic Hour, what else in your life makes you feel this way?
~> Include Mindful Magic Hour in your schedule and watch the Sun transitioning at least once a month.
You can start by watching sunsets if you don’t feel like getting up early, but remember that the Sun is waiting for you to wake up every morning, so you can return the favor at least once in a while and notice if and how much you take the Sun for granted, or even Nature in general.
Feel free to experience the bliss.
It is at your disposition twice a day.
And please don’t forget to take that incredible picture and share it to the world before you drop everything and just simply be with Nature.
Sharing your Magic Hour photography is also a way to spread your love.
And it feels great ☺
Emma Julaud, CMT, CST. Flowing Still, Body Therapy. emmajulaud.com
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