Trāṭaka - The Practice of Still Gaze (part two)

Continuing part one, the previous post.

About 50 pupils gathered around a candle. 3 ohm chanting opened the ritual, then we focused 20 minutes long into the light of the candle. It's actually not that bad as it sounds. As far as I can recall, I didn't have the need to blink, as it was dark around the tiny, candle. The whole hall became silent, and calm. Each of us were deep into our inner world, gazing the dancing, soft, shiny, happy independend light. I was a bit concerned that I won't be able to vanish the memory of the candle from my eyes, but fortunately it didn't have to. When I closed my eyes, I could see nothing, just the pure, calming darkness. The voice of the insturcor sneaked into my chilling thoughts: "Imagine, you are walking in the Himalayas early in the morning, when the sun just rising. Imagine that you look around and life is just about to start for the day, and you are there to see it from the very beginning. Look at the dew on the grass. Take a deep breathe. Feel that your mostly beloved is standing on your side. You can feel his palm on your forehead." This story was so relaxing, I felt thankful and touched so much that my eyes were almost in tears. 

After this excercise we closed our eyes, sat up, covered our eyes with our hands, and opened them into our palms, saw the darkness. After a few breathes we were totally relaxed and could continue our day. However this relaxation rejuvinated each of us. So thank you Deepa (our beautiful instructor), Namaste (meaning: I can see the God in you/have a good day.)