Eyes that See…

lizaaitken

Everything that is made beautiful and fair and lovely is made for the eye of one who sees ~ Rumi


We are told that eyes are the windows to the soul and I think that’s about right, our eyes are the gateways for our souls to look out at the beauty in the world, connect with nature and others. Our eyes give away quite a bit about us, they show the emotions that other parts of the body can’t such as happiness, fear and sadness. I think our eyes communicate in some ways as much as our mouths. Where we can speak falsehoods our eyes speak only the truth.

Have you tried looking into someones eyes, really looking and holding that gaze without turning away. If you can do this, you might just see their soul. It’s difficult as we are taught to be guarded, programmed to look away after a moment or two but to really connect we need to look a little deeper. I wonder why we turn away or feel uncomfortable when somebody holds our gaze, are we secretly afraid of being found out, being seen as naked or vulnerable maybe?

What about a Sufi Greeting, ancient Sufi’s believed the only way to truly know another is to connect at soul level.  This involves two people in silence approaching each other with open palms,  in love and trust and connecting through the eyes. Holding the gaze until their souls connect. There’s lots written about how to complete the process on the internet and in books so I won’t repeat it here, but it is very powerful. I’ve tried this a few times with close friends, the first time nervous and giggling, but found amazing results. I have seen faces change, recognised people from another place and time and felt overwhelmed with emotions I can’t describe. It seems like I have conversed in silence somehow.

I wonder why we don’t we live more like this, hold eye contact and connect to others in trust and love. Many of us practice various teachings in workshops, read books on spirituality, meditate and practice yoga but rarely bring it fully into our lives. We know we might appear odd and conform to society’s norms. But what if, as I believe, society has it wrong?

I’m not expecting we all walk in to a shop and practice it with the sales assistant, or in the bank with the cashier but I think it is something we could do more often with those we love, really connecting at soul level, what do you think, I think true friends should be able to look at each other. When your out and about today, watch how many people don’t actually look out of their eyes, how many people avert their gaze, look away, it’s fascinating. Having worked in services with people, care and therapy, I find it amazing how many people don’t.actually look at each other!

I think we should be more aware of what we see and how we are seen. I’d be very interested in your thoughts if you give the Sufi Greeting a go, let me know how you get on, what you see and feel even if it is just with the cat.

Anyway here’s to looking at you kid 😉

lizalizaskysaregrey©2017

 

Published by lizaaitken

Mother, daughter, sister, cat owner/slave. Thoughtful about life and trying to make it worthwhile.

19 thoughts on “Eyes that See…”

  1. I love this insight [!]
    When I was a boy I was way too shy to look people in the eyes. Because of this, when I grew up and gained confidence I made a point to connect with people more, eye-to-eye — which often produced positive results.
    I’m going to give the Sufi Greeting some thought. Thankyou for the information. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Yeah a skilled liar can look you in the eyes as if the truth and say all sorts… Do you think when they say while looking you in the eyes ‘look Im looking you in the eyes’ that may be a red flag for a lie?

        Like

      2. Well you would probably have to look back at them to tell, when people do this I think they trust in the fact that you won’t look. I think if someone has to say this then the trust has probably already gone.

        Like

  5. Great post. When I used to be a rep I was always one to look anyone I was selling to straight in the eyes. I had to tone it down with a few people because this obviously made them uncomfortable…. they probably were thinking something that they shouldn’t have been 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I am going to give this a go! I used to be direct with my gaze as a younger person but became discouraged when a teacher of mine became uncomfortable and told me to stop. I felt embarrassed and thought there was something wrong with me. We really need to be careful with our young people during those self-discovery years. Anywho, I will try this😌

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment