The Incredible Mind Altering Meditation of Sky Gazing and How To Do It

Another important thing to understand is that the heavenly nature of your mind is always there, permanent. All other mental states come and go. This is why enlightenment is possible. If disturbing and negative states are permanent or fundamental to the mind, they cannot be removed. But because all negative states are impermanent and do not constitute an essential nature of the mind, they can be removed. This is great news.

Sky-gazing is part of the Dzogchen tradition which is considered the highest spiritual path within Tibetan Buddhism and is kept secret and given only to the most devout students, but as one meditation master has said in these times of strong materialism, chaos and disturbing emotions there must be an equally powerful practice that can counteract these negative forces, and staring at the sky is a practice that can do just that.

Before I explain how to do it, I’d like to discuss the psychology of why it is so powerful. My Buddhist teacher always emphasized that the mind is clear like water and that whatever you focus on, colors clarify consciousness. Consciousness is naturally clear and pure, but becomes clouded and colored by focusing our attention on negative thoughts and disturbing emotions. Just as water clouds, our mind becomes the same as what we focus on. When we focus on anger, our mind becomes anger; when we focus on our ego, our mind becomes the ego. In this way, what you concentrate on is like heart and your mind is like water; once they blend together, they become almost inseparable. This is where looking at the sky comes into play. By gazing at the clear sky you can experience the purity of consciousness without it being colored by thoughts and emotions. This is an amazing discovery, which you can realize yourself, it does not require faith, it requires practice.

Your consciousness becomes clear and open, like the sky, and this becomes an access point for the clear and bright spontaneous consciousness of the natural state itself.

The key to the natural state is that it is both empty, without boundaries like the sky, but also clear and conscious, the realization of these two inseparable things, emptiness and consciousness, as your true nature is your enlightened nature which is not created because it is always there – it must be discovered.

This meditation, unlike others, has the eyes wide open and this is also a great way to train because it excludes nothing, but opens up to all things. This can have a profound effect on the mind to keep the eyes open while in a meditative state. A great Dzogchen master Jamgon Kontrul Rinpoche explains:

“The present consciousness is empty, open and luminous; not a concrete substance, but not nothing either. Empty, yet completely aware, clear and aware.”

Open, naked, enormous and all-encompassing. A moment of timeless unity in which all things seem so alive and yet so incredibly insignificant.

As I said, Dzogchen, or maintaining the natural state of non-conceptual consciousness, is literally the highest and most advanced practice in all of Tibetan Buddhism. It is something that can bring you to full awakening enlightenment within a few years and is also called Tibetan Zen because of its similarities to the cutting simplicity of Zen Buddhism. The enlightened Master Jamgon Kontrul Rinpoche says this about the meditation tradition:

“…. the core of all practices is contained here, simply by maintaining the radiant nature of this present consciousness. If you look elsewhere for something better, a Buddha superior to this present consciousness, you are fooling yourself.”

How to look at the sky

Method 1:

1. Find a high spot with a good view of an expansive clear sky. (You can also lie on your back outside and try)
2. Sit comfortably and calm your mind for a few moments with long, deep, slow breaths.
3. With good posture, tilt your head slightly upward and look with a noble disposition without distraction or dullness at the clear, vast blue sky (best on non-cloudy days).
4. Let go of all thoughts, let them pass like clouds and encourage your consciousness to slowly merge into the vast blue sky
5. Notice how inner thoughts evaporate into your inner sky, like consciousness like clouds evaporating into the sky.
6. Recognize that this open and expansive experience is actually the most fundamental and natural state of your being.
7. Maintain this recognition of an open and expansive state as long as possible and return to it when you become distracted.

Method 2.
1. Find a high spot with a good view of an expansive clear sky. (You can also lie on your back outside and try)
2. Sit comfortably and calm your mind for a few moments with long, deep, slow breaths.
3. With good posture, tilt your head slightly upward and look with a noble disposition without distraction or dullness at the clear, vast blue sky (best on non-cloudy days).
4. Concentrate completely on breathing in and out without getting distracted or boring.
5. Follow the exhalation with your awareness and notice or imagine how it dissolves into the air in front of you.
6. Follow the inhalation with your consciousness and notice or imagine how it dissolves into the inner space of your air as consciousness.
7. Continue to follow the breath in and out, noticing it repeatedly dissolving into the outer and inner space.
8. Notice and fully recognize that the outer heaven is exactly the same as the inner heavenly mind and allow yourself to dwell in this non-dual realization without distraction and without dullness. The inner space is one with the outer space.

REMARK:

Although this meditation is meant to be done in a high place, it can also now be done on your computer. There is always space for you to merge with and recognize as your true and authentic natural state. Even the space between you and the computer can be used to shift your attention from objects to clearing open space. Try it now.

Chad Foreman is the founder of The Way of Meditation and has been teaching meditation since 2003, determined to bring authentic meditation practices into the lives of millions of people in the modern world. Chad is a former Buddhist monk who lived in a retreat hut for six years and studied and practiced meditation full-time. He now has over twenty years of experience teaching meditation. Chad likes regularly
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