There are many meditation techniques to reach to the state of meditation. You can move towards meditation from any direction. The direction is not important, what really matters is that you should reach to the state of inner silence and stillness. You can use any faculty to go deep in meditation like listening, talking, touch, smell or even seeing.
Everybody is unique and different. so one meditation technique cannot suit everybody. Thats why there are so many different meditation techniques. One of the oldest book of meditation is “vigyan bhairav tantra” and the book covers 108 form of meditation technique as told by lord shiva to goddess parvati.
The key thing in meditation is to find the meditation technique which suits you and then stick to it. More you practice the technique, more you will go deep in meditation. Never compare yourself with others. As meditation experiences and progress, varies from person to person. e.g. for some people it is easier to witness thoughts and for some it is easier to witness body movements. Some people are more imaginative and some are more logical in their approach. For some people the technique of seeing meditatively will work easily and for some it might not. So depending upon your nature you have to choose your meditation practice.
How to see things meditatively:
1. Don’t choose one object and block others in your sight
When you see things then your attention is focused on one central object and rest of the objects are ignored in your vision. Same happens with other faculties also like hearing, taste, touch etc. When you hear someone talking then you pay total attention to the other person and unconsciously ignores other noises or sounds in the background.
All this selective seeing or hearing is done by the mind. It is said that more than 90% of information is ignored or discarded because of mind interference. Whenever you see anything, you see it from the perspective of the mind. Mind brings its own conditioning in between and colors the object in different light. You see anything and immediately your mind makes a opinion about it.
Seeing things meditatively means, don’t choose any object and instead see the whole canvas. Give it a try and you will feel the difference. When you see without choosing any object then you come to your center. Moreover no need to bring words in between the experience. e.g. when you see a sunrise or sunset then immediately mind starts making opinion like how beautiful it is. No need to verbalize the experience. Just watch the sunset without describing it in words. Let mind does not come between you and the sunrise. You don’t need a commentator to experience reality. You have to confront reality first hand and not via your mind.
It is easier said than done. Because the moment we see anything, mind gives it a name. e.g this is an house or a tree or this person is good or bad and so on. It takes long practice and patience to see things directly without bringing mind in between.
2. Stay Centered
When you see something then the whole attention and energy goes to the object. You forget yourself while seeing the object or in other words you lose touch with your inner center. Seeing is an automatic process like listening or breathing. You don’t have to put any effort to see things. So remember your center all the time and let the seeing happen on its own.
This is another form of watching the watcher. Its a arrow pointing at the both the object and the subject. When you do this then your attention is on the object as well as on your inner center. You don’t lose energy this way. Otherwise your energy is dissipated when you see things without in touch with yourself. So in this practice, don’t worry about seeing. Instead put all your attention in remembering your inner center. Don’t lose touch of your inner center. If you lose connection with your inner center then mind has taken full control of your thinking and seeing process. You have become unaware or unconscious. You have to remember your center to stay conscious and aware.
So a meditative person is always in touch with his center. No matter what he does. It could be walking, talking, hearing, eating and so on. He does everything with mindfulness or from the inner center.
All said, practicing this requires a full dedication to the meditation practice. If one is living a very hectic lifestyle where you have to struggle for earning your daily meal then it is not easy to practice such advanced techniques.
3. Look at the bigger picture
Its more about how your perceive things or situations. When something goes wrong in life then we get upset. We feel bad about the incident. A meditative person always looks at the bigger picture. He knows nothing is permanent in life and nothing belongs to you. One day you have to lose everything. So why fret about things which you are any how going to lose one day. Moreover he also knows the fact that five years down the line this incident won’t make a difference in my life. So why spoil my present moment for something which is not permanent and seems trivial after five years down the line.
4. Equanimity for every experience
A meditative person is in sync with the existence. He accepts things as they come. He does not choose things or judge experiences as good or bad. He does not force his liking on how things should be. His vision is not narrowed but inclusive of everything. He accepts the duality of life with equanimity. If success does not excites him then failure also does not make a difference to him. So as a meditator try to practice equanimity in all situations. Be choiceless and accept totally whatever life has to offer to you.