“Trāṭaka”
The Basics of Seeing
Trāṭaka Exersice 1
So, Look at someone standing, and notice what you “instantly” notice about them. What are your eyes instantly drawn to? Do your eyes stay there or move around? After a minute of this, could you say that this looking had any therapeutic quality to it? For most of us, probably not, so organizing you're looking habits, or dristhi is the the most valuable place start our practice.
Now bring your eyes back to the first impulsive place you looked, and hold them there for some time. Resist the impulse to move your eyes so they can just Rest there quietly. Take a minute in this gazing meditation called Trataka.
Now, without taking your eyes off that bullseye, widen your focus, to take in this person’s overall outer shape with your periferal vision, and rest there for a minute. Notice your thoughts about what you see (old habits die hard, yeah?). Again, just stay with the trataka long enough for the thoughts bouncing around inside your head to slowwwww down. (BTW, steady Breathing helps ;-) Only when you can shift and settle your dristhi like this will it be posible for you to evaluate what you see in a different way then you are habitually programmed to, and actually use this amazong tool of seeing for therapeutic endevors.
If you Practice these two Tratakas, narrow and broad focus, on a few people each day, you will gradually slide directly past the old ways of looking at people, into this new deeper way very quickly...
"Guaranteed"
Then, you can begin feeling a deeper meaning and power looking at people, something that your old emotional mind/eye programming clouds over. A skill you can use to see and understand peoples posture and movement. This most important skill of therapeutic posture evaluation is easy to Practice anytime you're around others but discretion is helpful..... so they don't catch you, and apply their habit of thinking that you're
"Checkin Em Out"
(A future article ;-)
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