Eye-gazing can quickly shift your view on life
Staring into someone's eyes is considered rude in polite society yet it’s a simple process that brings you into the present moment where it's all happening
In a cavernous, industrial space with exposed bricks, high ceilings and empty sockets where windows once were, Michael Lewis and Kirsten Hugo lay out a circle of colourful mats and cloths on the concrete floor. It’s noon on a Sunday, and it’s the first eye-gazing event in SA. Lewis leads us in a short meditation, and then we turn to the person next to us to start. We’ll be moving around and changing partners. A silence descends as participants do what is considered rude in polite society — stare into each others’ eyes. I’m in front of Lewis. I don’t know where to look: my eyes keep darting from his left to his right eye and I imagine I must look shifty. He whispers to me to concentrate on just one eye at a time and so I do. I look into his right eye for a while, then his left, and back again. When you’ve had enough you bow your hands in the Namaste gesture and indicate your thanks. I don’t know how long I look at him, it’s hard to measure time in this situation. My next experience i...
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