Insight Meditation 15

CAUTION: Development of skill in this technique involves intentionally triggering unpleasant feeling tone, in this way meditation can become very real. Be cautious and only do this with guidance from a skilled teacher and/or appropriate training in softening, samadhi and insight.

The MIDL Method of Relaxing the Eyelids is the subtle skill of relaxing your eyelids and eyes to directly bring about deep relaxation within your mind. There is a direct correlation between the alertness of the eyes & eyelids and hyper-vigilance of the fight / flight response.

When in a hyper alert state due anxiety or trauma the eyes open wider searching for danger. Relaxing the eyelids and intensity of 'looking' has the effect of temporarily turning off this fight / flight response and allowing the mind to find safety within the experience of Stillness.

During this process deep healing can occur. Observe effect on your mind with the gradual relaxing of your eyelids. Take interest in how your body conditions your mind and how your mind conditions your body. Observe how this softening door affects the intellectual functioning of the mind.

Meditation Instructions:

1. Take your meditation posture.
2. Ground your awareness within the experience of your body as it sits. 
3. Intentionally relax your eyelids, allow them to droop. Open slightly and allow them to relax again. 
4. Observe the effect that relaxing your eyelids has on your body, breathing and mind.
5. Slowly relaxing and opening your eyelids. Pay attention to the feeling of heaviness, allowing your eyelids to droop. As your eyelids become heavier gradually lesson how wide your open your eyelids until you cannot open them anymore.
6. Observe your mind drop into still awareness and the function of your mind come to a stop.

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Application During Meditation:

1.  Take your meditation posture.
2. Ground your awareness within the experience of your body as it sits. 
3.  Caution: Bring a difficult memory to mind and observe within your body, breathing and mind. 
4. Observe any tension with your mind, the response within your body and the acceleration of the thinking process.
5. Notice its unpleasantness, sense of unease (vedana) as a flavour or taste of the physical response.
6. Intentionally relax your eyelids, allow them to droop. Open slightly and allow them to relax again. 
7. Observe the effect that relaxing your eyelids has on your body, breathing and mind. 
8. Settle the resistance of your mind by slowly relaxing and opening your eyelids. Pay attention to the feeling of heaviness, allowing your eyelids to droop. As your eyelids become heavier gradually lesson how wide your open your eyelids until you cannot open them anymore.
9. Observe your mind drop into still awareness and the function of your mind come to a stop.
10. Repeat this process, learn to observe the physical response to the difficult memory (kaya) as a reflection of your mind (citta). Learn to separate out the feeling tone (vedana) and observe what happens when you soften your relationship towards the underlying vedana. 

• Observe the effect that relaxing your eyelids has on the mind.
• Observe the effect that relaxing your eyelids has on thinking.
• Observe how thinking dissolves with this mindful non-participation. 

You are ready to progress to Insight 16: Relaxing Frontal Lobes when:

• You understand the relationship between relaxing your eyelids and the experience of relaxation of effort & calming within your mind.

• SoundCloud: Guided Meditation.
• Insight Timer App: Guided Meditation.