By Brandon Alter:
The price of admission to a deeper experience of your life is on the other side of your eyelids. Not that this world isn’t full of beauty to be seen and appreciated, but I think we can get way too caught up in the appearance of things. We are over-dependent on our sight and as a result, some of our other sensitivities are atrophying. It’s amazing what you start to notice when you just close your eyes. All of a sudden you have access to the wisdom of your body and the majesty of your heart. Oftentimes closing our eyes allows us to experience the truth of a situation or a place—it gives us permission to feel into that which cannot be seen.
Energy is all around us, it composes us and unites us and yet it cannot be seen; the deeper truths of existence have to be felt to be believed. And if we are over-reliant on the world of sight, we are abandoning the world of feeling and, babies, THE WORLD OF FEELING IS WHERE ALL THE JUICY MAGIC IS! Your psychic gifts are waiting for you in the world of feeling. The rich medicine of your breath is waiting for you there as well. Even the profound gifts of your dreams are only available to you once you close your eyes.
The act of closing your eyes during the day is insanely powerful. Often times we only close our eyes to sleep; but to do so for other reasons returns you to yourself. It’s a simple little act that allows you to claim your innermost landscape as a place of refuge and reconnect you to your own truth. It’s a radical act of self liberation. Try closing your eyes today, just for a few moments or a few minutes, and notice what you feel, what you hear, what you smell and taste. It’s almost funny how quickly your other senses spring to life once the tyrant of your vision isn’t calling the shots. All of a sudden you notice the wind, or the birds singing all around you. All of a sudden you can smell lavender in the air. Sometimes I like to close my eyes just for a minute or two after hanging out with someone. It allows me to feel into my body and notice if that exchange gave me energy, took energy away, or remained neutral.
You’ll never be able to see an energy vampire (especially because they can be so charismatic), you can only sense one, oftentimes after the fact. And if you never close your eyes, you’ll always be easily glamoured. Or try closing your eyes in the presence of a loved one (a friend, a family member, a pet, a tree). Take two minutes to sit in silence together and you might be blown away at the depth of connection you experience without words or vision. The simple act of allowing yourself to sit in the energy of your beloved is next-level medicine, and all it will cost you is closing your eyes.
We are living in a time where we are rewarded for being distracted. Our phones, our TV’s and computers, the endless routine of email, radio advertisements, billboards, text threads with fifty unread messages—sometimes it can seem like the whole world is fighting for your attention.
The act of closing your eyes, of turning inwards, is almost revolutionary—it’s a counter-cultural stand against the insanity of consumerism.
You are hungry and you are thirsty and everything around you is promising to satiate your cravings, and yet it all leaves you somehow unsatisfied. Well, try tuning in before you reach out.
All the peace you yearn for, all the answers you seek, are waiting within you if only you would just close your eyes.