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psychicexplorer
USA
35 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 19 2011 : 9:15:25 PM
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| I believe deep meditation says to do so with eyes closed. I was wondering if it is good or bad or even acceptable to do deep meditation with eyes open like they tend to do in zen and some other meditations. |
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machart
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Feb 19 2011 : 10:53:57 PM
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| I don't think there are any hard and fast rules...sometimes I gaze at the nose tip...most of the times my eyes are closed in sambhavi mudra. Whatever feels right for you is probably the best method to follow. |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Feb 20 2011 : 08:29:15 AM
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The instructions in deep meditation says to close our eyes.
The main reason being, in meditation we are shutting off our senses as far as possible, so that we can go inward in silence. The easiest senses to shut off are taste (don't eat anything during meditation ) and sight. We can close our eyes and shut off visual distractions from our external world. The rest of the senses, hearing, smell, touch we shut off by treating them as distractions and going back to the mantra every time we realize we are focused on one of those.
However, if you feel more comfortable doing meditation with eyes open, then that is fine I think. But then that would be one more distraction you would have to worry about. |
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technoyogi
Canada
158 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2015 : 01:39:37 AM
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I did a search to find this kind of thread after seeing some videos of Pramahansa Yoganananda where I saw him go into spontaneous Sambhavi mudra with eyes open. And the picture of Babaji in Autobiography of a Yogi shows him in the lotus posture meditating with eyes open, also in sambhavi mudra...
Definitely the DM instructions say to meditate with eyes closed, yet if you are doing sambhavi mudra I suppose you might be rolling the eyes up enough so that there is no more visual stimulation anyway, so would it become a moot point? |
Edited by - technoyogi on Apr 04 2015 02:48:29 AM |
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technoyogi
Canada
158 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2015 : 02:55:38 AM
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Found this lesson which gives a great explanation of what I was seeing. This site is simply amazing! 
http://www.aypsite.org/212.html |
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Prem
Canada
90 Posts |
Posted - Apr 06 2015 : 4:30:51 PM
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That is a great explanation! Thank you. Incidentally I keep eyes closed but I do feel my eyes going up and down behind closed lids as I practice. For me eyes open would be way too distracting.  |
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Dogboy
USA
2294 Posts |
Posted - Apr 06 2015 : 7:01:42 PM
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| I've been keeping my eyelids open a crack, just enough to enliven the darkness with trickles of light but not enough to "see" anything (I do this in asana class too). Pratyahara is an amazing as is; this is merely another spice in the stew. |
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AYPforum
351 Posts |
Posted - Apr 26 2015 : 07:53:35 AM
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| Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement |
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Blanche
USA
873 Posts |
Posted - May 08 2015 : 2:57:21 PM
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Usually one starts to meditate with the eyes closed, to avoid visual distractions. You might get to a point when you can go in deep meditation with your eyes open. I have seen people getting in deep meditation with their eyes open, and even while they were talking, in the middle of a conversation!  Practice makes perfect. |
Edited by - Blanche on May 08 2015 3:50:58 PM |
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Meditation - eyes open or eyes closed
