"Have you ever sat very silently, not with your attention fixed on anything, not making an effort to concentrate, but
with the mind very quiet, really still? Then you hear everything, don't you? You hear the far off noises as well as those
that are nearer and those that are very close by, the immediate sounds - which means really that you are listening to everything.
Your mind is not confined to one narrow little channel. If you can listen in this way, listen with ease, without strain, you
will find an extraordinary change that comes without your volition, without you asking; and in that change there is great
beauty and depth of insight."
J.Krishnamurti This Matter of Culture, Chapter 4.
Nightwalking - Peripheral Awareness -Nelson Zink
"Nothing but changing our way of seeing
and understanding the world can produce real, meaningful, and lasting change."
..."When enough peoople change the way they
view things, then solutions become evident, often in ways we couldn't even imagine before we looked with new eyes."
Hartman (The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight)
"In the Japanese art of Aikido there is a practice called "soft eyes"
- it means to widen one's periphery to take in more of the world. If a stimulus is introduced to an unprepared person, his
eyes narrow and a flight/fight response takes over. If the same unexpected stimulus comes to someone with "soft eyes" the
natural reflex is transcended and a more authentic response takes its place - such as thinking a new thought.
to make a conscious effort to help myself and my students develop softer eyes when confronted with something new. I believe
it will allow all of us to have more authentic responses and 'think' more 'new' thoughts."
(Parker Palmer - The Courage
to Teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a Teacher's LIfe.)
"Central-Peripheral Awareness (CPA) is the ability to
keep focused centrally while being aware of essential information around. This is not the same as tunnel vision, where there
is no peripheral input. CPA is essential in almost every sport and in some, like boxing and motor racing, can be life-saving.
...A primary instruction in all sports is to keep one's head as still as possible. To this I would add another: move the
eyes minimally. Both rules save evergy and are likely to improve performance.
...for faster reactions, both head and eye
movements have to be kept to a minimum."
..."But be aware of everything in the room; see the shapes,
the colors, the people, and the furniture, everything without looking at it. Don't move your eyes."
"Soft eyes are much more than just a way of looking. Using soft eyes is like a new philosophy. It is a method of becoming
distinctly aware of what is going on around you, beneath you, inside of you. It includes feelings and hearing as well as seeing.
You are aware of the whole, not just separate parts."
(Sally Swift - Centered Riding)