September 17: Inner Task Week Four – SEEING THE UNSEEN
Last week, we attempted to see things as they are on their own, by intentionally softening our vision, by physically relaxing our eyes. You may have experienced many things in this task, e.g., the unrecognized tension that we carry in our seeing faculty, the ease or difficulty there may be in attempting to soften the gaze, and/or perhaps a new energy sense that we can discover in the very action of seeing in a more relaxed posture. Whatever you may or may not have experienced, all of this is tied to the frame of vision. The frame of our vision is important, as we discovered in the seeing in dimension task. This week we will focus again on the frame of our vision, and employ an intentionality of the unnoticed.
As we go through our daily routines, our eyes rest intentionally and most times perhaps unintentionally on many different environments. Depending upon our lifestyle or life circumstances, our frame of vision may range from very simple to very diverse. It could be simply our house and yard, or even a single room in the residence in which we abide. It could be a workspace wherein we spend long hours, or even in front of a computer for large bits of time. It could just as well be a combination of some or all of these or other ones not mentioned. The task this week is to intentionally become aware of these environments and take stock of what we are not focused on. Specifically, we are intentionally inviting our attention to rest upon something within our frame of vision within our environment that we would not ordinarily notice. It’s paying attention to what may go many times unnoticed – Seeing the unseen!
In order to do this, you will have to employ some of the prior tasks that we have had, especially last week’s task of softening the eyes and seeing as is. The key is to allow yourself to relax the intentionality of your eyes, as we have done before, but this time in doing so, the physical focus of your sight should go to something you would not normally look at within your frame of vision. And note, that the environment does not have to be one that we would normally consider to be pleasing. In fact, it may be even more helpful or challenging to pick an environment that you would not find necessarily preferable or at least one that you would normally hurry through as quickly as possible. Pick a variety of ‘frames’ within your environment.
The key is that we are moving or adjusting the attention within the frame. Again, use common sense in the environments and daily engagements that choose to employ this inner task, so that you would not be jeopardizing yourself or others by shifting your visual attention in a critical engagement. Allow whatever it is ‘present itself’ to you and meet this formerly unnoticed piece of your vision frame invite and even confront you…
As I pick up the keys to the car and house, open the front door, exit the house, place the key in the door lock and lock the door, I pause. I notice the frame of my vision and the intentionality that my vision is employing with this environment (leaving the house and locking the door). I soften my eyes and then let them be averted away from my original focus on the activity of locking the door with the key. I look down to the left of the landing of the front door passageway of the house, just to the left of the welcome floor mat, there is a small bug scurrying toward the railing of the landing. I intentionally and softly focus on the bug…
This is the task for the week:
- Pick an environment if you like; however, letting your normal day’s activities choose the environment for you may be bring out different arisings.
- Intentionally freeze the frame, so to speak, and let your eyes soften and move to something within your frame of vision that you were not focusing on at the time you froze your frame. (Note that this doesn’t mean that you have to stop what you are doing in whatever activity you are in. Remember this is an inner task)
- Intentionally notice whatever it is that you choose to look at. Observe it softly without association if possible.
- Pay attention to what if anything arises in each particular instance that you do this task and also notice if there is a cumulative affect after having performed the task many times in different environments. What is going on within you? How is the energy? Is it different?
We are attempting to see the unseen!
Inner Task Series by Thomas Telhiard
Thomas Telhiard posted this Inner Task Series to the Wisdom School Community on Facebook from August 27 – October 15, 2021