‘Parking’ the Eyes During Meditation
Just sent this in to Mudita Forum...
I’ve noticed something recently, during my sittings, that I thought might be worth sharing.
When I sit down to meditate, if I pick a spot on the floor or on the bedspread in front of me (if I’m facing a bed in my room, as I often did during this year’s Brasington retreat), and allow my opened eyes to kind of “park” on that one spot, I find that within a matter of moments I slip into a relaxed and focused sort of reverie.
It’s not reverie in the sense of daydreaming, but in the sense of a subtly altered state of consciousness that is relaxed and very amenable to developing peaceful concentration, if I choose to do so.
The key element, in my experience, is parking my eyes. Something about holding my eyes fixed on one spot in front of me seems to quickly open the doorway to greater relaxation.
Does anybody else experience this, when you try it? I’m curious to know if it’s a common phenomenon — quieting the mind by quieting the eyes — or if it’s something unique about my nervous system.
Hi Joshua, I think what maybe happening here is when you “Park your eyes” as you say ,you are copying the bodys natural response to stare,when we stare it is a natural meditation of the mind, and you usually don’t blink either in that condition. Regards Mike