Eye gazing meditation
When eye contact between two people is initiated and maintained, an invisible energetic circuit is established between the two participants, dissolving the barriers that ordinarily separate them from each other, drawing them ever closer into a shared awareness of union. ―Will Johnson
👥 Serves: 11-25 people, 2-10 people
🎚 Difficulty: Medium
⏳ Total time: 31-60 minutes
🥣 Ingredients: A partner or a group of people (if you are in a group, you should be an even number of participants, plus one facilitator)
🤓 Wholebeing Domains: Awareness, Community, Discomfortability, Positive Emotion
💪 Wholebeing Skills: Awe, Closeness, Contemplation, Focus, Mindfulness, Presence, Relating to Others, Serenity, Vulnera-bravery
Eye gazing meditation
📝 Description
A soul-connecting meditation to feel whole.
Eye gazing is a deeply connecting and transformative Buddhist meditative practice. In a world with endless visual stimuli, we have unlearnt what it is like to really look into the eyes of the other. This exercise helps you overcome the so-called “eye disease” to look deeply into another person’s eyes. By cultivating this practice, you will feel more connected to the other person, as if there was no separation between you, only union and harmony. Moreover, you will also realise that the other is nothing else but a mirror that reflects your own inherent creativity, resourcefulness, and wholeness. Finally, as your ego lets go of its defence, you will experience what it is like to surrender to something greater than yourself, something divine and sacred.
This exercise can be done with one other person only, with a group of people, or even with yourself alone. If you are alone, you can do so by looking at yourself reflected in a mirror. If you are looking for an alternative to facilitate this activity online, check out our recipe “Digital eye gazing meditation”.
👣 Steps
Step 1 – Preparation (10’)
Participants are twinned off and sit facing each other, at a comfortable distance. This can be close enough to hold hands or a little further apart. The key factor is that they are close enough to observe the others eyes and face very clearly. Lighting needs to be adequate for this. The facilitator explains the timing (5-7 minutes each round) and how participants are going to change position after each round so that everyone gazes at everyone else’s eyes.
Step 2 – Eye gazing (5’-7’)
Simply sit with your chosen partner, allow your gaze to go to their face and let it relax there. Avoid giggling or laughing, and try not to get distracted and look elsewhere. If you experience unpleasant emotions within you, simply acknowledge them and let them sit there with you. Focus again on your partner’s eyes.
Step 3 – Repeat (45’)
If you are in a group, swap partners and repeat until you have completed the eye gazing meditation with each participant. A simple way to do this is to ask participants on one line to move one place to the left/right. If the group is too large, consider doing the eye gazing meditation with a limited number of participants, as otherwise it could become too much for certain people. If you are just with one partner, take some time by yourself to reflect on the experience you just went through.