A monk sitting with a straight back and closed eyes is the image that most people have when they think of meditation. Nevertheless, is it possible to practice meditation while keeping your eyes open? It has the advantage that it is simpler to avoid sleepiness and make the transition to mindfulness during daily activities. Discover more about meditating while keeping your eyes open by continuing to read.
What Is Meditation
Meditation is the practice of deliberately and non-judgmentally focusing your attention on one thing at a time.
This can come in a variety of shapes: You can use meditation to concentrate on your breath, physical sensations, external sights, and sounds, or a mantra (i.e., words repeated silently).
Why Meditate With Open Eyes
There are two main goals for open eyes in these kinds of meditation.
First, one of the hindrances to attaining deeper states of meditation is the dullness of the mind that sets in once one is advanced enough. Shutting your eyes can make the situation worse. The opposite of what we as beginners receive is therefore given here as the antidote.
Second, by keeping the eyes open, you can see the space likeness of the mind. You will come to perceive the outside world as the inside if you continue doing it long enough. Or, to put it another way, you will notice that the space expands inside from the outside.
You realize then that our minds have this enormous, ethereal quality. This is a form of insight because once you realize it, you can also notice it in other types of meditation.
Benefits Of Open-eyed Meditation
Open-eyed meditation has a number of advantages, including:
You Won’t Feel As Tired
Your body ought to be energized after meditation. Opening your eyes will jolt your senses back to life if it seems like you might nod off during this practice. This benefit is most effective for people who meditate right before rising or falling asleep each day.
You Can Be Self-confident
How often have you been a passenger with nothing to do? When was the last time you waited in a protracted line at the checkout counter? You could meditate while keeping your eyes open in either scenario. People won’t be able to tell what you’re doing, and you’ll have a chance to adjust to a shifting environment.
You Can Improve Your Concentration
You can sharpen your focus by meditating while keeping your eyes open. The environment will contain a variety of stimuli, so in order to maintain focus on one object, your mind must block out all other distractions. You can avoid the presumptions that frequently taint our perceptions by simply observing it without judgment or analysis.
You Will Have Less Stress
The amount of internal stress can be significantly reduced with just 20 minutes of meditation per day. You could dedicate this time if you have a 15-minute break at work. You may notice changes in your life including increased gratitude, better sleep, and more energy after practicing for about seven days straight.
How To Practice Open Eye Meditation
Open eye meditation, as the name suggests, calls for keeping your eyes open while you’re in a state of meditation.
Many people may find this to be in conflict with how they normally conduct themselves; after all, the purpose of closing your eyes during meditation is to reduce any distractions.
Open eye meditation is probably one of the most powerful types of meditation out there, and this is what many people don’t realize.
You are more likely to be interrupted when you meditate and are exposed to your surroundings. To get it right, though, you’ll ultimately need to have a stronger sense of focus.
So how do you perform open-eye meditation? If you are used to practicing meditation, switching to open-eye meditation will be simple.
The main idea is the same, but you don’t practice with your eyes closed; you just keep them open.
The secret is to concentrate on a single area.
Many people would agree that it doesn’t seem at all simple to meditate while keeping your eyes open. There is definitely a learning curve that you will encounter, but with time and practice, you find that focusing is much simpler.
Beginners may discover that by concentrating on something visually rather than drifting off into daydreams while their eyes are closed in meditation, they can develop their meditation more quickly.
So, here’s what you can do to make practicing open-eye meditation simpler.
When your eyes are open, choose one thing to concentrate on and keep looking at it.
Select a tree, houseplant, candle, or other natural objects from nature. Simply fix your gaze on the ground or a few feet in front of you if you don’t really have any objects nearby that you can focus on.
As your focus sharpens, you should also recall something in your body. This could be the sensation in your feet, your breathing, the beat of your heart, or something else entirely.
When your eyes are open, you should work on honing your abilities as “the watcher.” Do this with your eyes open; doing it with your eyes closed makes it difficult.
You should close your eyes and try to focus on something if you find that you are easily distracted. After that, open your eyes when you notice that your concentration has returned.
You must practice open-eye meditation throughout the day if you want to become an expert at it.
Try it out while you are exercising, listening to someone speak, or even just walking around your house. Open eye meditation can be done for as little as a few seconds at a time, and you can do it at any time of the day.
Final Thoughts
Meditation can be an internal process where you start to mindfully and nonjudgmentally notice your thoughts and feelings. Can you practice meditation with your eyes open? Yes, open-eyed meditation may be what you need if you’re looking for a way to increase your productivity and focus throughout the day or if you’re having trouble with stress or anxiety.