acuity even train you to pick up more and more details from an
image. For instance, a drawing of several objects is presented to
you. A limited time of a few seconds is allotted to scan it. And
then you are supposed to list as many objects as your mind was
able to retain consciously. All this is related to what could be called
the ‘mental mode of vision’, vision from the ordinary mental
consciousness. As discussed before, this layer is precisely the part
of yourself which is blind to spiritual worlds. In order to become
able to see auras and spiritual beings, it is necessary to switch off
this mental mode of vision.
For this purpose, there is one secret: instead of looking at any of
the details of the image, become aware of the fact of seeing.
Usually, with the mental mode of vision, you would be busy
looking at the image and finding out whether its content is round
or square, green or yellow, pretty or ugly, and so on. But now,
with the non-mental mode of vision, you are doing something
completely different. You drop any interest in the components of
the image. Instead, you become aware of the fact of seeing. In
order to see, you stop looking. You shift your attention from the
object of perception to the process of perceiving. Instead of
watching the object, you start watching the action of seeing, the
fact of seeing or ‘seeingness’.
To summarise practice 5.4
This first level of eye contact consists of two parts, implemented
simultaneously while sitting in front of a friend or a mirror:
- absolute motionlessness with a tight focus in the eye, blinking
as little as possible - awareness of the fact of seeing, or ‘seeingness’, instead of
looking.
Duration of the eye contact practice: start with 3 to 5 minutes.
Increase gradually up to 15 minutes or more. To end the practice,
follow the steps indicated in the next section (5.5).
If seeingness is a problem...
Throughout this book we will refer to a triple process of vision,
of which part 1 is the motionlessness in the eye, and part 2 is
seeingness. The third part has to do with the heart and will be
introduced in section 5.13. If you find it difficult to relate to
seeingness, please remember the following points: