Mind Tools & Inspirations: Practice seeing
TRY THIS…
Close your eyes for a breath or two to clear your visual palette.
Then look around, allowing an object to attract your attention.
Keep your visual attention focused on that thing, appreciating what you see.
Relax and explore your visual experience of that thing.
Notice the colors.
The shapes.
The patterns.
The textures.
Areas of light and shadow.
Rest your attention on your visual experience.
Notice how spending time looking closely at that thing makes you feel.
If you have time, repeat the process with a different object.
As you go through your day remember to pause and take in some of the vivid visual world around you.
If you would like to be guided, play this short audio.
WHY DO THIS?
Your eyes are open most of the day—but how often do you take time to really see?
While doing the practice…
You quiet the usual goal-oriented nature of using sight to help you move in the world or identify and manipulate things.
You purposefully shift attention to perception—in this case using your eyes to actively see.
Spending time visually appreciating aspects of the world around you helps the world feel more awesome.
Doing this briefly shifts your mind away from doing and other forms of thinking.
Doing this simple practice develops attentional control and can be an appealing sensory activity in the midst of a busy life.
Carrie Heeter, PhD, RYS-200 is a meditation teacher, scientist, and writer. She is author of An Inside Look at Meditation: Experiences for Healing, Support, and Transformation, Professor Emeritus of Michigan State University’s Department of Media and Information, and founder of the MSU Serious Game Design graduate certificate program.
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