GOING ON THE LOOKOUT

At first, i couldn't understand how animals used their panoramic vision, because as soon as i tried to be aware of something at the side, my focus always went automatically to that point.

So i fixed my eyes on a point straight in front, and then directed my attention to a point on the periphery, at about 30° up on one side. I immediately realised i could see points on the peripheries at 30° up on both sides simultaneously, still physically focusing on a boring focal point in front.

And it was interesting: it often changed my mood, even after just 30 seconds – so i wanted to do it more and find out what was happening.

Slowly, over a period of around three weeks, i chose different angles and looked over all the points of the compass.

Then one day i realised that if i looked at a blank space in the sky, i could see the whole oval shape of my field of vision with multiple things moving inside it.

It was amazing, a whole new world opened up. It's a totally different way of using the eyes... a completely different perspective on life.

It's a feeling of the direct sensory connection with everything which is happening all at the same time. It's panoramic.

It's not surprising that at times it feels like oneness. It's the whole picture, and it's wholesome.

First, if you wear rimmed glasses, take them off, with blurred vision you will still be able to see panoramically.

We need to develop trust in our panoramic awareness. Otherwise, as soon as something moves or starts flashing we habitually focus directly on it.

To overcome this habitual response, fix your eyes on a boring, neutral, and motionless focal point straight ahead, a mark on a post or the corner of a building, anything which isn't interesting and doesn't move – focus on it, but be aware of, and on the lookout for everything else.

Then find a blank featureless wall, or a large monotonous area of sky, any area which has no focal point – look directly at it, but concentrate on everything else. Pay special attention to the peripheries.

Look at everything you can see, and see everything you're looking at. Wait until it all becomes the oval shape of your field of vision, then look at the whole picture. Maybe you will see lots of things moving, just notice them all, but never look at them. Keep looking at the whole picture without focusing on anything specific.

The feeling is that instead of looking at the world like a T.V. screen, it feels as though i'm right up inside the screen. The normal feeling of a subject looking at an object is considerably different. Panoramic awareness is a 'being with' what i'm seeing, instead of looking at it.

Occasionally we have this intense experience of pleasure and fulfilment, when looking into the distance over the ocean, at the stars, or with a panoramic landscape. At those times, we're not focusing on anything specific, it opens our senses in a special way, and we're just amazed at everything.

By using our eyes in this panoramic way, we can find a degree of this amazement, without having anything awesome or beautiful to sense.

Please continue with Listening: The Simple Sense of Now

Back to Chapter One : The Animal Teachings
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