Posted in Beginner's Guides, DG Blog
One of my favorite things to do when trying to ‘get out of my mind’, is to scry. Scrying is an ancient practice that helps us to see with our ‘second sight’ or our ‘third eye.’ I think of it as seeing with my soul. In this post, however, I don’t mean scrying in the traditional sense – though I enjoy this as well. What I’m talking about here is kind of like everyday scrying for beginners, if you will. This does not require specific tools or a ritualized setup. Rather, it is meant to be done on the fly, whenever the moment grabs you. Best of all, it requires no prior knowledge or experience.
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Do you remember the Magic Eye books that came out in the 90’s? They used what are called autostereograms, to allow people to see a 3D image while focusing on a two-dimensional pattern. In order to see the hidden image, your eyes must diverge slightly. When you converge your eyes, you go cross-eyed (like when you try to see your own nose), but diversion occurs when looking into the distance and trying to fixate on a point in infinity. This is often what people mean when they tell you to “soften your gaze.”
I find myself doing this during the Holidays. I sit on the couch late at night, with all the electricity off except for the little white twinkle-lights on our tree. The first time I remember doing this, I was just staring at the lights and the tree, thinking about how much I appreciated them, and the childlike and magical feelings that they brought into my home. After a while, unintentionally, I began to relax and slowly, I noticed that as I softened my gaze, the lights morphed into stars. Beautiful, shrinking and expanding rainbow stars of light. Now, depending on how long I do this, I’ve found that I can actually see different shapes and colors, and for whatever reason, this is so soothing to me that I will often slip into a sort of trance-like or deeply meditative state with my eyes still open.
Similarly, in the Summertime, when the Sun shines through the windows, refracting at different angles than during the rest of the year, I get lost in all the different glistenings around my home. Of course, this goes double when you’re here at the Shop! Here, there are so many crystals, glittering treasures, and window decorations, that once the golden hour hits, you feel like you’ve stumbled into faeryland!
Yesterday afternoon, I found myself doing just that. I was behind the register, and noticed that our “Leaded-Crystal-Swarovski-Rainbow-Makers” were swaying in the sunlight – and like I am apparently prone to do, I got lost in another realm. Even more-so because of the facets on the orbs, and the sacred geometry that was dancing and shifting in and out of focus. I don’t quite have the words for the strange tingle that comes down through my Crown and resonates through my entire body as I pause in my day and gaze upon this ‘science’ that I know goes far beyond what we can ever comprehend. What I do know, is that Rainbows heal us. There’s something about witnessing the full spectrum of what our human eye can see, in just one small glimpse – it’s Magic.
It occurred to me that this little habit of mine might be of some interest or value to others. So, I’ve written all of this to say, that while many people find traditional scrying difficult when they first begin – it feels intimidating, or even in some way a little dark for them – what I would offer, if this is true for you, is to come and play in the light. Whether you choose twinkle lights, crystalline rainbows, or glistening morning dew drops, take five or ten minutes sometime this weekend to just breathe and gaze. See what you learn during the process.
Remember that for every practice there is an alternative. For every goal, there is a different path to achieve it. This is true for relaxation and for spiritual practices as well. If you find that meditation, scrying, (anything really) makes you anxious ~ try something different. Try something new. Do it your way. Most importantly, remember to notice the magic all around you.
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Many people meditate in order that a third eye may open. For that they feel they should close their two physical eyes. They thereby become blind to the world… We can never close our eyes to the world in the name of spirituality.
~Mata Amritanandamayi
