We'll begin this exercise with eyes open,
So just finding a comfortable place to sit where you won't be disturbed for a while.
And once you're settled,
Find a spot in front of you as a focus for your vision.
Resting your eyes on that spot and keeping them there,
I want you to just tune in to the quality of your gaze.
So often when we look at things,
We are reading them,
Analyzing them,
Decoding them.
Our gaze is sharp.
Our focus is strong.
We might even be able to feel it in the eyes,
A sort of penetrating feeling,
A sharpness.
However your gaze is feeling,
I want you to just soften it,
Relaxing it just a bit,
So that what's in front of you becomes just visual information,
Not something that you need to interpret at this point.
Gradually widening your gaze so that you can take in more and more around the periphery of this point that you've chosen to focus on.
Remember,
Keeping eyes still,
You are widening your focus,
Softening it,
Opening up so that above and below and side to side more and more of your visual field is part of your awareness.
Instead of thinking in terms of objects or labels,
Allow yourself to think in terms of light and shadow,
Color and texture.
Keeping eyes still,
Perhaps you can bring in even more sensory information,
The temperature of the air,
Your clothes on your skin,
The weight of your body,
Sinking into an embodiment of this moment,
Of this place,
And then closing your eyes.
Letting the after image of what you were looking at dance across your eyelids perhaps,
And noticing how the rest of your senses get louder once the visual information is gone.
Just being curious about how it feels to be in this place,
What it smells like to be in this place,
How your body feels in space,
And even the quality of your thoughts.
Is the mind settling or thoughts still racing?
We're not here to judge either situation.
We're just here to witness what is.
Now I want you to bring your attention to a point in your head right between your eyes.
Just focusing all of your awareness on this place in between your eyes and exploring it.
Thinking of the physical matter that makes up the space,
Perhaps the bone,
The tissue,
Blood,
But also thinking about the space.
What are the empty spaces inside us?
Thinking of the three-dimensional area above your airway inside the bridge of your nose.
Imagining that as you breathe,
The inside of your nose and the area all around your eyes is filling with air.
Picture that space,
The non-matter in which your skin and bone and other tissues exist.
Thinking that each cell is made up of space.
Each atom contains millions of times more space than matter,
And so do you.
Even though we think of ourselves as solid,
We are also space.
Sit with that openness and just watch how your body responds to it.
Is it comforting?
Is it expansive?
Is it frightening?
Just track sensations.
Try not to get lost in them,
But acknowledge them for what they are.
And if you're feeling any sensations of discomfort in the body,
Just try to send loving awareness to that part of your body.
And of course,
If you need to shift your seat,
Do so.
Looking back to this sense of space,
Picture that space as it fills all of your head,
Neck,
And upper body,
Extending outward in every direction.
Imagining how the space within you interacts with the space outside of you.
Think about the space as it is part of all objects.
The table we sit at,
The walls that surround us,
The Earth itself,
The stars and even the galaxy.
Tuning in to this wondrous space between your eyes and how it mirrors the vastness of the universe.
You are not separate from it,
But one.
Feel the sensations of your body and mind as they function,
But also feel into the entire vast stillness where you dwell.
The emptiness that connects your own inner space with all things.
Loving waking,
Loving waking.
Let's exhale about six more times.
Letting the tone of the bowl bring you back into your body,
Into this space,
Into this room,
And slowly waking up your consciousness,
Perhaps wiggling fingers and toes,
Stretching as it feels comfortable,
And come back to your day,
Perhaps keeping some of that calmness and stillness of space within you.
