EYES OF THE TECHNICIAN
There are many kinds of eyes. The first kind that I will be exploring with you are the Eyes of the Technician. These eyes see in many different way month, I will briefly introduce one new way of seeing in my e-zine and provide an exercise to practice Seeing with New Eyes. These will then be added here.
Although this is only an introduction to the work, regular practice will help you manifest changes in your life.
Lesson 1 - Walking Eyes
Our feet are really extensions of our eyes, allowing us to explore and experience the space around us from many different vantage points. This may sound self evident, or even simplistic, but have you tried it?
How we walk greatly influences what we see:
- walking slowly allows more opportunity to observe and notice
- walking in circles allows us to re-examine familiar territory
- walking on our knees lets us see the world the way a young child would
- walking backward is a way of looking at our immediate past
- walking on our hands might reveal how the world appears 'up-side-down'
- walking just for the sake of walking releases us from being stuck in observing from a single vantage point
What other kinds of walking can you think of? What movements would help you break free of your normal ways of seeing? We have a lot of fun with "Walking Eyes" in my Seeing With New Eyes workshops, practicing and demonstrating our new walking styles! They are hilarious to observe but more importantly, some of them really work - one woman invented the "waltz-walk" as a way of continually changing her direction as she viewed the world around her. By dancing, she literally found a new rhythm for herself that helped her stay focused and more absorbed in her surroundings.
Practice: The Fox Stance
I learned this way of walking from James Endredy in his book Earthwalks for Body and Spirit. As a photographer, the fox stance has helped me enormously to slow down, observe carefully, and to increase my awareness to a 360 degree circumference. This is how it goes.
Visualize being a fox, whose very life depends on his observational skills; feel his intensity, alertness, wariness, and stillness. Then:
- take 5 steps very slowly
- stop and pivot on one foot, like a basketball player
- swivel right around so that you can see behind you and in every direction, extending your arms for balance
- observe every detail of your surroundings, taking in as much as you can
- continue slowly for another 5 steps, then stop and repeat the fox stance
Notice particularly what aspects of your surroundings have changed from your seeing at the last position. I guarantee that if you seriously try this you will teach yourself how to "see with your feet". Five minutes a day for the next week and you can master the art of Walking Eyes. This is a way to incorporate - to literally take the world into your body -- and actually affect your DNA. You will notice your senses more alert, sharp, focused. And have fun with it!
