Coaching practices for Zen Open Gaze Practice

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Zen Open Gaze Practice, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• When I meditate I close my eyes and sink into a private inner world, and then it never carries over into real life with my eyes open
• I’ve gotten steady gazing at an outer point and now I want to do it with my eyes closed, conjuring a small steady light between my brows from memory alone
• In the most intimate moments with my partner my eyes close or slide away on their own
• My attention is locked into this tight little tunnel
• Closing my eyes to meditate just hands my mind a blank screen to run wild on

Practices that may help

1. Practicing with eyes open and lowered
   Keep eyes softly open and cast downward — in Zen, the open eye is the practicing eye.
   Kinhin: Zen Walking Meditation
2. Jyoti dharana — holding the inner light
   Visualise a steady inner flame at the space between the eyebrows and rest attention there.
   Trataka: The Yoga Practice of Fixed-Gaze Meditation
3. Open Monitoring Meditation, Made Practical
   Open monitoring meditation (also called choiceless awareness or open presence) is the practice of resting in an expansive, receptive awareness without directing attention at any single object — observing whatever arises in experience without preferring or pursuing any of it. It complements focused-attention practices and is associated with different neural signatures in contemplative neuroscience. Direct outcome evidence is limited compared to focused-attention methods.
4. Eyes-open intimacy: contact without merger
   Practice making genuine eye contact during vulnerable or sexual moments as an act of self-disclosure rather than merger.
   Differentiation of Self: David Schnarch’s Framework for Passionate Marriage
5. Expanding to panoramic awareness
   Deliberately widen attention from its usual narrow focal point to include the full field of sensory experience simultaneously.
   Open Monitoring Meditation, Made Practical
6. Bahir trataka — external candle gaze
   Sit one metre from a candle and hold an unblinking gaze on the flame tip until tears form.
   Trataka: The Yoga Practice of Fixed-Gaze Meditation
7. Shikantaza (just sitting)
   Sit in open, objectless awareness — not focusing on anything, not following anything.
   Zen Practice (Zazen and Beyond)
8. Developing the preliminary sign (parikamma nimitta)
   Gaze at the kasina until you can see it clearly with eyes open and hold its image for a few seconds with eyes closed.
   Kasina Meditation: Concentration Through a Physical Object
9. Sequencing focused attention and open monitoring
   Use focused attention to settle the mind first, then release the object and shift to open monitoring — this is the standard contemplative sequence.
   Open Monitoring Meditation, Made Practical
10. Always abide by the three principles
    Maintain your vow, don’t show off, and practise impartially with everyone — not just the people you like.
    Lojong: Tibetan Mind Training

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