GAZING
MEDITATION
The practice
Gazing meditation involves looking at an external object, a candle, a flower, or even a dot on the wall, focusing on a fixed point to the exclusion of other external or internal distractions. The idea is to observe without words.
The Tradition
In Sansrkit, trataka means to look or to gaze. Yogis believe this practice energizes the ajna (third eye) chakra, associated with intuition and wisdom, as well as psychic abilities. Their aim is to allow the practitioner to view the past, present and future with equal clarity.
Buddhists often employ mandalas in their gazing meditation, though Hindus use mandalas as well (I’ve seen beautiful mandalas recreated daily outside many homes in India). The symmetrical shape of mandalas is meant to direct attention to the center point, absorbing the mind and ceasing chattering thoughts.
MY STORY
I spent many a fine hour gazing at the beautiful mandalas at New York City’s Tibet House. If you’d like to hear more about my various other quests, sign up below to be on the Advance Reader Team for Blissful Thinking: A Memoir of Surviving the Wellness Revolution.
MORE TO EXPLORE:
If you’d like to explore other practices, click the symbols below.
OTHER STYLES TO EXPLORE
Silent Meditation
Guided Meditation
Moving Meditation
Chanting Meditation
Short Moments
Want to read the BOOK THAT INSPIRED THIS SEARCH?
Never give up, especially on yourself.
What would you do if your partner ended your marriage over the phone? From another country?
Blissful Thinking is the raw and honest account of L.L. Kirchner's recovery, a quest that took her from university halls in the Persian Gulf to the streets of Manhattan to a sex cult in India.
The author was living in Qatar, separated from friends, family, and life as she’d known it when her marriage imploded. Feeling unable to move forward, she decided to take a time out in India. That time out turned into an odyssey that spanned years and crossed continents, zigzagging between silent meditation retreats, gurus, and finally a psychic in Florida.
If she applied herself, Kirchner was sure she could be rid of the flaws that had caused her ex-husband to leave in secret. But once she started looking, the list of her failings was a never-ending well.
Read along as Kirchner bravely and honestly tackles the search for radical honesty. And a second date.
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