Why do we meditate with our eyes open?

Why do we meditate with our eyes open?

Good morning, lovely people. Yes, I mean you. And you and you.

This morning, I’m going to talk about one aspect of the meditation technique: the eyes, which remain open–and then we’ll sit for about 10 minutes together. You can listen to this little talk (about 5 minutes) and then go right into your practice or, if you don’t have time, listen to one now and the other later. I made the talk and the practice in two files so you’d have some flexibility about how to use them.

And, btw: I’m still figuring out how to bring you meditation instruction and thoughts about the practice in these emails. I’m thinking that maybe everyday, M-F is too frequent, a bit much to absorb. So I’m going to cut back this week to just a few times and see how that goes. If you have any feedback, lay it on me. I want to offer these instructions and insights in the most useful way, so please don’t hesitate.

Regarding the eyes: people often wonder why they’re kept open during practice, saying that it’s just too distracting or that it’s easier to become peaceful with the eyes closed. Duly noted! And if the point of meditation was to minimize distraction and feel peaceful, this would be a problem. But the idea (of this practice, in any case) is neither. Instead, it is to find a sense of steadiness in the midst of all distractions and to cultivate acceptance of any and all mind states: including peacefulness, but also extending to irritation, ecstasy, sadness, dullness, silliness, sharpness, and so on. If we try to cut out all mind states but one, we miss the glorious wakeful brilliance of things as they are, of ourselves. So when you practice, keep your eyes open and the gaze soft. Feel what it feels like to open to your world, to sit with it all, and to relax. This is an extremely dignified thing to do.

Today’s meditation instruction: