Gazing Meditation

There are many different types of meditation, and no single technique is universally the best for everyone (unlike some people out there claim). So, in our meditation journey, we need to experiment with different practices, until we find the one that suits our personality and our needs the most.

One way of classifying meditation techniques is based on the sensory channel that they use. Examples:

• Touch - Breath awareness, walking meditation
• Sound - Mantra, TM, nada yoga
• Sight - Gazing meditation (trataka), visualisation
• Mind - Self-enquiry, inner silence, Vipassana
• Heart - Loving kindness, Sufi meditation

In this article, I explore gazing meditation, which is a powerful form of concentration and has the effect of quickly calming down the body and mind.

The Eyes-Mind Connection

After the brain, your eyes are the most complex organ in the body, containing more than 200 million working parts. Sight is so important that almost half of the brain is dedicated to vision and seeing.

Conventional medicine knows that mental health conditions translate into specific eye movement patterns (source). That is why people with good emotional intelligence can read your mental state through your eyes. Indeed, there has been much research suggesting that mental conditions involving attention (such as ADHD, dyslexia and anxiety) are accompanied by an increase in erratic eye movements.

The contribution of Eastern philosophy and the consciousness experimentation of the Yogis is that the opposite is also true: your eyes also directly influence your mental and emotional state. This is really good news, because it is much easier to work on the more tangible level (breathing and eyeballs), than it is on the subtle and volatile level of the mind.

Interestingly, in the past few decades, Western psychology has developed theories and methodologies based on the same principle. One of them is EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing), which is a therapeutic modality for the treatment of trauma, started in 1987 by psychologist Francine Shapiro. EMDR is now recognised as an effective treatment by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and is one of the treatments for PTSD sanctioned by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Still Eyes, Still Mind

Our eyes are constantly making microscopic jerking movements called microsaccades, designed to make sure that the image of anything falling onto the retina is constantly changing, and thus doesn’t disappear from our perception.

The eyes’ restless scanning of the environment, much like our fight or flight response, was a survival necessity when living in the jungle. In our modern lifestyle, however, our inability to turn off this anxiety-producing pattern does not contribute to our survival or quality of life. Worse, the intensive use of computer and smartphones is training us to be ever more restless with our eyes.

Distractions in the mind translate into micro movements in the eyes or eyelids, and vice-versa. Likewise, stillness of the eyes induces stillness of mind, and vice versa.

Gazing Meditation

Trataka is a meditation technique which involves focusing the eyes (and, in turn, the mind) through intent but relaxed gazing. Initially, this practice is done with open eyes, gazing at an external object. It then progresses to internal practice (eyes closed); in the third stage, we work with gazing at the void.

The object for trataka can be almost anything, though the most popular choices are:

• Candle flame
• Black on a white background
• An image or symbol of particular significance to you
• The reflection of your eyes in the mirror
• Transparent glass, a needle, a small crystal, or flowing water

When researching the history of meditation^[1], I realized that just like mantra and breathing, gazing is quite a universal practice. In many contemplative traditions, there is the practice of gazing meditation.

• Yogis developed this into a highly elaborate practice called trataka, with many variations and objects, both with eyes open and closed.
• Buddhists practice kasina meditation, which is gazing at coloured disks and the elements (earth, water, fire, air, space). Tibetan Buddhists also do sky gazing, and Zen Buddhists gaze at a wall while meditating.
• Taoists practice flower gazing.
• Sufis gaze at their third eye in a mirror, or at their master.
• Christians from the orthodox church gaze at icons of saints for long hours.
• Greek philosophers practiced navel-gazing (omphaloskepsis).
• Jewish Kabbalists gaze at geometrical forms and symbols.

Practicing Gazing Meditation

Set your gaze on the object of your choice, and keep it there without blinking and without allowing your eyes to move. After one to three minutes, your eyes will get tired and perhaps a little teary. Then gently close your eyes for a few minutes, and gaze at the afterimage of that object in your mind, if you can see it.

When your eyes are rested, or when the afterimage completely disappears, open your eyes and try another round. At the end of your practice, you can gently wash your eyes with cold water.

All the instructions you need are in the guided meditation audio, which will take you through the preparation and two rounds of external (open eyes) and internal (closed eyes) gazing.

Some practical considerations:

• Place the object at eye level on a little table or support ahead of you.
• The recommended distance is an arm’s length away, but some teachers recommend up to five feet away. Experiment and see what works for you.
• If you are using a candle, make your room completely dark, and make sure there is no wind, as the flame ideally needs to be still. For gazing at other objects, dim light is preferred, and the source of light should be behind you.
• Don’t gaze on a candle if you have cataracts, glaucoma, myopia, astigmatism or epilepsy. Use an image instead.
• Above all, it’s important not to strain the eyes. Let them be still but relaxed.
• If you like, you can also use a mantra to still your mind during practice. Or simply mentally say the name of the object (e.g., “flame, flame, flame”).

Final Thoughts

The practice of gazing meditation is one of the oldest meditation techniques, and it’s present in basically all wisdom traditions. Somehow, it is not yet popular in the Western world—where breathing and mantra are more commonly used for meditation.

Gazing meditation is not for everyone. It’s an intense practice. But it is worth trying out, because the benefits are many.

In my own journey on meditation, I got introduced to this practice twice, and both times, I wasn’t interested in it. Actually, I actively disliked it. Until I was ready to try it a third time, some years later, and then saw its true value.

Now, having tried^[2] dozens of traditional meditation techniques, I can say that for me gazing meditation was the most powerful in quickly stilling the mind, and developing intense concentration.

Have you tried any type of gazing meditation? If so, please share your experiences.