SKY GAZING

What you perceive, you participate in. Sky Gazing is a practice of looking up at the infinite sky. Find a place that has a wonderful, wide-open view of the sky. If you do this at night and you see stars, look in the spaces between the stars. See how far beyond you can see. If you practice this during the day, look beyond the clouds, in the open spaces between clouds. Make sure not to look near the sun. Look in another direction so that the intensity of the light is less of a factor.

There is a saying in dancing: "The dancer becomes the dance." In dancing so well, the person who is dancing disappears into the dance. Using that notion, the observer can disappear into the infinite. With Sky Gazing, the observer becomes one with space, with the openness and the nothingness.

This is an excellent practice. It is also ideal for people who over-personalize. We can unknowingly make ourselves the center of the universe, even if it is our own universe. When we use ourselves as the main reference point, which we can do quite often without thinking, we need to provide balance. Getting lost in the infinite helps tremendously. This is a different form of meditation. Whereas classical meditation has you stopping into the nothingness, Sky Gazing has you actively interacting with the nothingness as a means of becoming one with the nothingness.

Space is a great friend. Letting things breathe means giving things space. Looking up at space helps us shift the reference point to something bigger than ourselves. We give ourselves breath. We stop being the reference point. Being with "the great eternal" will give us a fighting chance to offset the conditioning of being self-focused. We can "be" far more objective.

Over-personalizing comes with blinders. We miss the obvious. Space helps put things in proper perspective. When it's not all about you, it's all about things greater than you, things that you can grow into when you give yourself a break.

Find a good place for Sky Gazing. Make certain you are comfortable. If you need a yoga mat or something else to lie on while looking up at the sky, use it. If a pillow under your head is ideal for getting lost in the openness, have one. Wear clothing that suits the situation, especially if tempertures are cooler or warmer. Try practicing for 30 minutes. If you need to do it for less time, okay. The point is to adopt this practice on some sort of frequency. Once per week is a good baseline. Doing it more often is certainly better than doing it infrequently.

If you cannot get outside, you can practice anywhere with your eyes closed. You can visualize it. Being outside is certainly more effective than visualizing it. Practicing this, however, is more effective than not doing it at all. If visualization is the best you can do, do it.

If this practice has its way with you, meaning it does what it is designed to do, getting up can be trippy. Consider Practical Integration. When you are ready to get up, do so slowly and gently. The idea is to keep as much of the experience with you as possible as you move on with your day.