Focus your gaze and your mind will follow

The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but they also assume a much less poetic role as your brain’s navigator - pointing you in the right direction and bringing you back when you veer off course. In any sport, where you focus your eyes makes a difference in your performance. Sure, you can successfully complete a no-look pass on occasion, but you better not rely on that.

In yoga, we call this focus drishti. It’s most often referred to as the placement of the eyes on an abstract point in each pose. It can also be the object of one’s attention in pranayama, or breathing techniques. But, as is the case with every yoga concept, drishti is so much more than where you direct your eyes. It’s our vision, our world view, and the way we see ourselves in relation to the universe. 

Our lives flow directly out of how we view the world. So, it behooves us to pay attention to what we choose to focus on. When we ruminate over problems and see every challenge as a roadblock instead of an opportunity, then our brain filters out positive experiences and selectively attends to negative or difficult stimuli. Where we direct our gaze communicates to our brain which type of information is salient and which type can be ignored. In a very real sense, we create our reality by resting our gaze in a particular direction. 

Of course, if something is happening in our peripheral vision that is shiny and bright, then we might redirect our focus. One measure of mental strength is our ability to bring our attention back to our original focal point; the one that may not provide instant gratification, but will better serve our highest good.

When we peer beneath the surface, we can appreciate how this works. Let’s assume you have a vision for where you want to go. You do something aligned with that vision and a certain percentage of your neurons fire - the ones that are involved with that experience. The more you focus on that experience and engage with it, the stronger the connections between your neurons become. You are making it easier for your brain to complete tasks that are in alignment with that vision because “neurons that fire together, wire together”.

So, I encourage you to spend some time thinking about your vision. Let your gaze rest softly upon that point in the future and tell your brain to prioritize anything in alignment with that vision. See it and then let your brain get to work.