This practice is best done sitting or lying down so that you can comfortably look up at the sky for a while I find lying on a sun lounger is best.
Once you're settled.
Fix your gaze on a spot in the sky.
And without moving your eyes around too much.
Begin to tune into your peripheral vision.
Become aware of everything that you can see with a kind of wide-open attention.
This is definitely the best way of catching sight of a shooting star.
Most of the time they're very quick.
And more often than not,
It'll be out of the corner of your eye.
Looking for shooting stars teaches us about the fleeting nature of life and of the futility of wanting or grasping.
They're always unexpected and totally unpredictable.
So there's no point in wishing or wanting them to be there.
All we can do is put ourselves squarely in the path of opportunity.
And that's what you're doing right now.
Looking up.
On a clear night.
With this wide open gaze.
A shooting star,
Or meteor,
Is created by a meteoroid,
A small rocky fragment about the size of the stone,
As it sears through the Earth's atmosphere and burns up.
At certain times of the year you can see a whole shower of them.
Because as the earth goes round in its orbit around the sun Sometimes it passes through the dusty leftovers of the tail of a comet,
Or the path of an asteroid.
Then you get many little stones and rocky fragments.
Hitting the atmosphere.
And creating shooting stars.
At the peak of a meteor shower,
You might see maybe one or two shooting stars per minute.
So be patient.
And keep your eyes peeled.
Occasionally you see a shooting star that streaks right across the sky leaving a visible smoke trail If you see one,
Notice that little feeling of thrill and wonder that shivers through your body.
Make a wish if you want.
I always have a sense of gratitude that I was able to see such a spectacular and yet so fleeting event.
