So,
We're going to be calming the mind by changing the way that we pay attention to what we see.
First,
Allowing your eyes to rest lightly on some spot in front of you,
Gazing slightly downward at some spot on the floor perhaps,
Or on a wall in front of you.
And the way that we look in daily life is often very narrowly focused and effortful.
So let's practice looking that way now.
So try focusing your gaze quite intently on the spot in front of you,
Really concentrating,
Placing all of your attention there.
And as you do this,
Notice what's happening in the body.
And so typically,
As we focus in this way,
Tensions begin to creep in,
Perhaps in the back,
The neck,
Jaw,
The arms,
Maybe in other parts of the body as well.
And notice the pattern of your breathing,
Which typically may be mostly in the upper chest and quite shallow,
Perhaps relatively rapid.
And this way of looking is governed by the sympathetic nervous system,
Which prepares us for fight or flight.
And it's the way we often look during the day,
When staring at a screen for example.
But I'm going to suggest another way of looking right now.
So,
Continuing to let your eyes rest on this spot in front of you,
But now allowing the muscles around your eyes to soften,
Letting your gaze go soft,
So that your eyes are now lightly resting on the spot in front of you.
And becoming more aware of everything within your visual field,
From the top to the bottom,
And right out to the periphery of your awareness.
Just being open to everything your visual sense is offering you.
So we're letting our sense of vision be relaxed and at rest.
And there's no effort involved,
Or only a very gentle effort.
And we don't need to do anything to make seeing arise.
Visual impressions are simply arriving,
Moment by moment by moment,
Within our visual field,
Quite effortlessly.
And we've only been doing this for a short time.
But as you continue to pay attention to your visual field in this way,
You may already be noticing that your body feels softer.
Perhaps you're beginning to relax physically,
There's a sense of letting go in the muscles.
And just noticing your breathing,
Once again.
Perhaps it's slowing down.
The movement taking place more in the abdomen now,
And becoming deeper.
And just being aware of the mind now.
You may even find that the volume of thoughts has slowed down,
Even just a little.
That the mind is a bit calmer.
And perhaps the thoughts you're having,
To the extent you're still having them,
Are softer.
Maybe a little more dreamlike.
And perhaps they don't dominate your attention,
The way they usually do.
They're just drifting by.
And this is the way that we see when our sense of vision is under the control of the parasympathetic nervous system.
And that's the branch of our autonomic nervous system that brings us back to rest and relaxation and balance.
And so the eyes are often soft like this,
And our gaze is often open and defocused like this,
When we're daydreaming.
When we're staring into space.
And that's usually a very relaxed state to be in.
But now,
As well as the relaxation,
There's also mindful presence.
A relaxed sense of attentiveness.
And we can go even deeper into this state of parasympathetic attention by becoming more aware of what's behind us.
Just as if we're extending the periphery of our vision further and further back behind us,
Until we have 360 degree wraparound vision.
And we can do this by being more attentive to the sounds and the space behind us,
As well as the visual field extending all the way around from this central focal point to the periphery of our vision.
That we're allowing all of our senses to merge into one unified impression of the space surrounding us.
And as you're mindful of the space around you,
You may find that the breathing is continuing to slow and to deepen and to move into the belly.
And the mind may be continuing to calm,
To become and remain quieter.
And this way of looking is something that we can do,
Not just as a meditative exercise on our own,
But we can bring it into our everyday interactions with the world.
So right now,
Just imagining that you're in a conversation with someone.
Imagining that there's a friend in front of you,
And you're lightly focused on them,
And you're aware of their whole being,
But you're also aware of the space around them and around you.
Listening to them as they talk.
Listening in this open,
Receptive and relaxed way.
And perhaps imagining yourself speaking from that same open and relaxed way of being.
Words just emerging from the depths.
And so we're rehearsing right now for bringing this calmer,
More open way of being to our daily interactions.
And now,
You can imagine perhaps,
Walking down the street,
Your gaze lightly focused in front of you,
Remaining open to everything that's arising in your visual field,
Right up to the periphery of your awareness.
Your mind calm and open as you feel the movements of the body taking place within this field of calm awareness.
So once again,
We're rehearsing for bringing this way of being into our interactions with the world.
And just letting go of that rehearsal now.
Letting your attention return more fully to the 360 degree sensory reality surrounding you,
The light,
Sounds,
Space that are presenting themselves to you in this moment.
And if you wish,
You can begin to move the body now,
Easing away any tensions that might have crept in as you were sitting still.
And staying in touch with this open field of awareness as we return to activities in the world.
