LOOKOUT GAMES AND EXPERIMENTS
The important information is in Going On The Lookout and Warm Up Exercises and Ideal Situations.
This page is secondary. This page has become a rather disorganised library of less important ideas,
Extra Exercises
There are many different degrees and qualities of panoramic vision, just as there are with focused vision. These exercises are useful to strengthen the sensation once you know it. They are good to play around with once you can do it, but i think they may confuse the beginner.At present, i suggest a variety of short exercises. Do each of these exercises once repeat whichever is fun; and in between times, try the 'pure school' method again.
1. Stretch out your arms to the sides, turn your hands inwards, and wiggle your fingers, then slowly move them upward, then down – trace out and recognise the shape of your field of vision, the whole oval shape.
2. Locate 4, 5, or 6 focal points around the periphery. Look straight ahead and go round the peripheral points one after the other, build them up until you can be conscious of them all at the same time.
Lamps and candles and their reflections in windows are optimal peripheral focal points, find two or three sources of light and then add two or three more pin-point objects.
If you want to do a meditation with candles – instead of staring at one candle, experiment with two on both sides, or four on the diagonals.
3. Put your hands together, as in prayer, and hold them up in front of your eyes; you will get a feeling of how it is to see without any central focus point... (seeing like an insect).
4. If you are indoors, or there's no wind outside.
Find a blank sheet of A4, fold it in half (for some stability), and hold it 4'' or 10cms. away from your eyes. Focus your eyes on it, but concentrate on and look at the interesting things happening all around it.
Move it farther away, step by step, until it's a relaxed arm's length away. Keep focusing on it, but concentrating on everything happening all around it.
'Gong like' Exercises
There are a number of 'Gong like' exercises which i find stimulate panoramic seeing. This may be useful if you already know the exercises. However learning the exercises in order to learn panoramic sensing is a complex detour.
The main problem is that almost all teachers do these exercises with their eyes shut!
Chi Gong – 8 Brocades
Focusing on the Peripheries
The 5th exercise of the 8 Brocades is remarkable, it is called "The Wise Owl Gazes Backwards". It is equally remarkable that most teachers do it with the eyes closed.To look as far as you can see, you must look, as the name of the exercise implies, like an owl does – with the eyes wide open! – the only YouTube videos which i can find showing this even vaguely are
Qigong Ba Duan Jin - 8 Brokate 0.50 to 2.00 and Wise Owl Looks Behind
In the context of actually focusing on the peripheries: i found Paul McCartney's Yoga Exercises for Your Eyes (2.36 mins) interesting.
Falun Gong
Falun Dafa exercise no 3 is good, but even Master Li does it with his eyes closed. I obviously learnt wrong, because i do it with my eyes open – and i'm rather happy that throughout my life, i have so consistently learnt things wrong.
Exercise Three
These two movements are the basis of Exercise Three. I think the one using opposite hand movements is better.
Exercise Two is also good, but very similar to my Exercise 1. above.
Last time i looked online for the very good, practical, and clear videos, which i learnt with, they were no longer there. They were replaced with a poetical mystical nonsense text which i could not understand... If you are interested and find any good Falun Dafa videos online, please tell me.
Other Ideas
It's the opposite of screwing up the eyes and staring. Maybe it's good to just physically open your eyes as wide as they will go. But then start noticing all the things you can see round the periphery in order to keep your eyes wide open.
Disrupt and confuse your habitual focusing. Wave your hands around chaotically infront of your eyes for a few seconds, then look at the peripheries.
Humans are familiar with the passive use of panoramic seeing when we gaze vacantly into space. This is only a limited central area of the field, but if you find yourself gazing into space, vacantly, try and hold on to the feeling (maybe by listening) and "wake-up".
I have heard of people using panoramic vision in a limited central area when relaxed cycling. This seems semi-subliminal, almost like when daydreaming, and it seems to happen with some people naturally and it all helps, so i've no objection to doing it, when there are no obstacles or people to have accidents with. It would be irresponsible to practice using it intensely when cycling. It would be dangerous to practice when driving.
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