Soul-Gazing
PURPOSE: This simple and powerful technique can cut through illusion and open the heart, allowing you to see the Divine in yourself and others. When done regular you can transform your understanding of who you are. Prolonged gazing can induce trance and accelerate your awakening. lt can also increase bonding between people.
PREPARATION : Eye gazing can be done with partner or as a so o practice Infront of a mirror. If you are working with a partner, adjust your bodies to be as close as you comfortably can, while
looking into each other’s eyes. Drop into deep belly breaths and feet what is going on in your body, heart, and sexual center. Ask your ego to step aside for the duration of the ritual.
PROCESS: Start by softening your gaze. This is not a staring contest. Look into each other’s left eye. The left side of the body is considered to be the receptive side. It is okay to change eyes, if and when you feel called to. Just relax, breathe, and allow the experience to unfold. Notice what arises without judging it. Be open and curious, like a child.
If you feel resistance, see if you can allow it to melt. How does it feel to be seen? How does it feel to look deeply into another person? Afterward, discuss your experience with your partner.
VARIATIONS: Once skilled at gazing from the soul, you may advance to gazing upon a partner’s genitals. Or you may use a mirror to gaze upon your own sex organs. Yoni/lingam gazing can melt years of body shame and allow us to experience reverence and awe for the human form. Not only are we the embodiment of the Divine, but our sex organs are also portals where spirit comes into form.
Start by preparing a sacred space where you will have no interruptions. Find a comfortable position in which your body can relax for at least 1S minutes. Begin slowly with a namaste to recognize the Divine in yourself and your partner. Observe all of the details; see if you can sense or feel the energetic essence of the sex center. What arises in you as you witness or feel yourself being witnessed? Notice your internal experience without attaching any meaning to it. Afterward, you may want to share with your partner. Or if you’re alone, you can journal, draw, paint, or write poetry.
NOTES: You can do this practice for as long as you want. I suggest that the first time you begin with S minutes of eye gazing. Then close your eyes, go inside yourself, and reconnect internally for a few minutes. When you are ready, open your eyes and begin again. Extend the gazing time as you get more comfortable with the process. Soul gazing for an extended period can take you to new levels of connection. By extending to 30 to 60 minutes, you may find yourself in an altered state. Soul gazing is naturally trance inducing. As your inner eye opens, it may have hallucinogenic effects. You may see aspects of your own face or your ancestors’ faces projected onto the face in front of you. Your sense of time and space may melt. Or you may have other sensory experiences such as smelling phantom scents or hearing voices.
SOURCE: Sex Shamans by Kamala Devi McClure
RESOURCES: Crystal Dawn Morris writes in detail about this practice on www.ISTA.life.
Photo by: Mark Arends, BEYOND Temple of Deep Delight