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Visual distortions

KikujiroKikujiro
edited June 2010 in Meditation
Whenever I sit and practice with my eyes open, I'm getting some odd stuff happening in my vision. I'll get wave like lights crossing my vision, overall at times light seems to dip quite a bit. I'm also getting shape distortion, for example my thangka will start to look like it's stretching diagonally.

I'm not too worried yet, but out of interest is this common? I have a feeling it's just caused by me keeping my eyes still for a change but I don't really know.

Comments

  • aMattaMatt Veteran
    edited June 2010
    This kind of thing happens to me too. I am pretty sure its from the chemicals in the rods and cones sitting still, there are some weird signals being broadcast to the optic nerve.

    With warmth,

    Matt
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited June 2010
    Yes, I'm advised it's normal by my optician.
    Nobody quite knows why, but if you fixate on one point, visually, one part of your eye/vision is 'exercised' but the remaining parts are idle....therefore distensions in those muscles and parts of the eye give the impression of your vision doing whacky things.
    The moment you blink and exercise the whole eye, it stops, because the whole is working in unison again.
  • patbbpatbb Veteran
    edited June 2010
    why do you meditate with your eyes open?

    isn't this just distracting?
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited June 2010
    The pictures of the Buddha meditating are all with eyes open. Sometimes focussing on a candle-flame in a darkened room, is a method.
    Some do it with eyes open, some closed. it doesn't matter.

    All the monks at my local monastery meditate with eyes open, but relaxed. They seem to focus on a point between about 1 and 2 metres away in front of them, on the floor.
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited June 2010
    patbb wrote: »
    why do you meditate with your eyes open?

    isn't this just distracting?


    When you meditate with the eyes open there can initially be a tension, a sense of I'm in here looking at that spot on the floor over there.

    If you stay with it, keeping strict posture (stillness), the head, eyes, and body (ie seer) and the floor, meditation room, and sensory environment (ie seen) will eventually equally become objects of awareness. Once this opens out and stabilizes, awareness is centreless, edgeless, tensionless, and singular. Thoughts will settle out, and "True nature" to use a Zen term, will clarify. With continued practice this becomes your base of further practice, that being the long haul of uprooting greed, hatred and delusion.

    That initial opening out is without self and is free of suffering, but the habit energy of greed hatred and delusion does not up and vanish, so practice goes on.
  • andarizaandariza
    edited June 2010
    haha when i become really relax its like my field of vision starts to get really pointed, millions of dots peripherically and i can only see in a clear way the object in the center of my vision. I was usually meditating eye closed but lately iv been feeling the need to open them.
  • lightwithinlightwithin Veteran
    edited June 2010
    patbb wrote: »
    why do you meditate with your eyes open?

    isn't this just distracting?

    The book I learned meditation from (Zen meditation), says to keep your eyes open, because you are not trying to shut the world and reality out, but instead, let them come in and be aware of your surroundings while you sit.

    I was "taught" to keep the eyelids relaxed and the eyes half closed, then focus on a point about three feet ahead of you on the floor. It is encouraged to meditate facing a wall (not too close of course), so that distractions are minimized. You keep your eyes relaxed and not exactly focused on a single point, but instead focused in a general and bigger area.

    I'm aware there are many other types of meditation which call for eyes closed and some people like this better. To each his/her own.

    About the original question, I get the same visual weirdness too. I have to blink often to keep my perception clear so that I don't get overly distracted by the blurriness and general weirdness in my eyes.

    It's a relief to hear that many of you out there go through the same thing.
  • ManiMani Veteran
    edited June 2010
    If this becomes a distraction to your meditation practice, perhaps you might try closing your eyes. Either way, it is best to just try and ignore any of these "sensations" that arise.
  • shenpennangwashenpennangwa
    edited June 2010
    Its totally normal.
    It will lessen with practice or at the very least become less of a "whoa, what the heck is going on" sort of thing.
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