Why is it hard to meditate with your eyes open?

[black_math49]

Pure observation of chatter in the mind and feelings is nearly impossible for me with my eyes open. Why is that? Do you feel a difference between the two?

I get many insights while meditating at home with my eyes closed, and sometimes I enter samadhi, but when I go to the shop where I work I don't want to look weird by meditating with my eyes closed.

[Cammy]

I feel the same. Comments should be interesting to hear....

[Claymoree]

I never thought of it as hard, what is hard is to mediate while you have to interact with world and people around.

Maybe try to meditate at home while you have your eyes open, or while you are doing your daily stuff at home and none is disturbing you. 

Edited October 28, 2020 by Claymoree

[Inliytened1]

@black_math49 for me it is the opposite.  So I only meditate eyes open.   So i think it will just be different for different people.  There is no right way or wrong way.  

[black_math49]

7 minutes ago, Claymoree said:

Maybe try to meditate at home while you have your eyes open, or while you are doing your daily stuff at home and none is disturbing you. 

Ok, I will switch my closed eyes meditation with open eyes meditation at home.

[black_math49]

Just now, Inliytened1 said:

@black_math49 for me it is the opposite.  I only meditate eyes open.   So i think it will just be different for different people.

Right, Does it have something to do with habit? Because I heard people say meditation is the opposite of habit in which we step out of thought and memory.

[Inliytened1]

@black_math49 it could be whatever allows you to connect with Being or Actuality better.  You do wanna quiet the monkey mind down but eyes open allows me to focus on an object and become conscious of the actuality of it - which can help to collapse the duality of the subject (you) and the object into pure actuality.  

[black_math49]

@Inliytened1 Interesting. I guess the issue with me then is that I always go "inward" if I may use that word. with thoughts and feelings. Thank you.

[RedLine]

open eyes - non dual meditation

closed eyes - concentration meditation

[black_math49]

2 minutes ago, RedLine said:

open eyes - non dual meditation

closed eyes - concentration meditation

Interesting, I thought it is the same. I better start doing nondual meditation, Although there is no doer 

[Inliytened1]

3 minutes ago, black_math49 said:

@Inliytened1 Interesting. I guess the issue with me then is that I always go "inward" if I may use that word. with thoughts and feelings. Thank you.

Yeah you are saying you tend to get lost in thoughts with eyes open.  Try the do nothing method in which you go meta on those thoughts - acknowledge the thought and let it go.  Try not having any thoughts...Bring your awareness back to awareness itself.  Its actually pretty hard to go even a few seconds without any thoughts . But just watch them float by

 

[black_math49]

@Inliytened1 Ok, I will try it at home first, Thank you 

[Danioover9000]

@black_math49

2 hours ago, black_math49 said:

Pure observation of chatter in the mind and feelings is nearly impossible for me with my eyes open. Why is that? Do you feel a difference between the two?

I get many insights while meditating at home with my eyes closed, and sometimes I enter samadhi, but when I go to the shop where I work I don't want to look weird by meditating with my eyes closed.

   Leo has a video on mindfulness meditation using labels. I think that's a good start for you if you want to meditate eyes open.

[black_math49]

3 minutes ago, Danioover9000 said:

 

   Leo has a video on mindfulness meditation using labels. I think that's a good start for you if you want to meditate eyes open.

Great idea, I have watched the video some time ago, But it is been a while since I practiced mindfulness applying see/hear on objects around me. Thank you 

[Heart of Space]

There's just more for the mind to react to.

[Javfly33]

Because there's a recurring belief between meditators and truth seekers that the world that can be seen with the eyes is the "illusion" so the place you are supposed to reach with meditation "must be another place which is not this one".

Funny how actually things are uh ?

[Gesundheit]

Actually you can experience slight visual hallucinations if you meditate with your eyes open. The trick is to focus on one object, and one object only, and keep staring at it for as much as possible. At some point you will notice color changes and movements and even patterns will start to appear out of nowhere. Best objects for this kind of meditation are mosaic or any object with a bunch of colors and different details. It's really hard to stare at solid-colored objects. The key to this practice is to create stillness on the outside (vision) until it gets reflected on the inside. So if you move your eyeballs it won't be stillness and it won't work.

[tsuki]

Because it is easier to keep chatting when you have things to chat about .

[Frenk]

Meditating with my eyes open makes me feel like im going insane

Being present is much more pleasant to me

[Jacobsrw]

11 hours ago, black_math49 said:

Pure observation of chatter in the mind and feelings is nearly impossible for me with my eyes open. Why is that? Do you feel a difference between the two?

I get many insights while meditating at home with my eyes closed, and sometimes I enter samadhi, but when I go to the shop where I work I don't want to look weird by meditating with my eyes closed.

Opposite for me personally. I can mediate deeper with eyes open.

I find it’s because there is more sensory stimuli for the mind to be preoccupied with opposed to when eyes are closed, whereby it needs to compensate for the apparent visual blankness. However, I don’t find observing stimuli to be distracting but rather soothing and illuminating. 

I use a staring technique I term Concentration Stillness and experience far deeper meditation while doing this. 

Edited October 29, 2020 by Jacobsrw