Horizon Eyes

Thales of Miletus loved to look up in the sky each day and discover new curiosities. Among the sparkling lights of the night sky, he would look for patterns of a grand organized field of creation.Once he was so engrossed in his nightly star gazing while walking in a field that he tripped and stumbled down into a well. Thales was rescued by a woman who teased him as a fool who was so much in his head that he wasn’t grounded enough on the earth to take care of himself. For his own safety she encouraged him to keep his eyes down on the main road that everyone else follows. The implication of her comments is that contemplating far-out ideas and thinking outside the norm can be dangerous.
Keeping our eyes focused downward on the mainstream path right in front of us instead of looking up to a bigger view might feel safer, but what do we miss seeing in taking this perspective? Yes, the established path is so comfortable and regular that we could seemingly walk it in our sleep, but what opportunities do we miss by not looking up at an open sky of future possibilities?

In the Bowspring method, one of our essential postural practices is Horizon Eyes, in which when the head is balanced on the neck when standing or sitting, and the eyes are centered in their sockets looking straight out on the horizon. With Horizon Eyes we can see both the earth and the sky simultaneously. Instead of only focusing upward and into the future or only narrowly focusing on the past, Horizon Eyes represents an all-encompassing view that considers both the vast possibilities of the future and all of the lessons of the past. We recognize where we are in this moment; we remember the path that we traveled to get to the present; and we know where we are going ahead of us. It is a holistic vision that honors the past while at the same time looking for a better way ahead.

When we only look down and move in line with the mainstream cultural flow, then we are oblivious to many problems ahead on the current trajectory. Also, by unquestioningly following the status quo, we are not considering all the other possible better ways ahead that could lead to greater freedom, health and happiness. Conversely, when we only look up at the stars and dream of the future without thought of our present circumstances, then it is an equally unsustainable path.

To have the greatest development toward health, harmony, and happiness not only for ourselves but for the greater good of the collective, we must look out and recognize that we need to change our course to alleviate current problems and to avoid future ones. At the same time, we must look back to remember where we have come from, so we can bring into the future what has previously served us well. We can drop everything which is now seen as unhealthy, imbalanced, or unsustainable for the future. Look both back into the past and forward into the future to best serve the present moment is the holistic vision of Horizon Eyes.

Thales was one of the 7 Greek Wise Men who lived around 600 BC, most famous for the axiom at the gate of temple of Delphi to “know thyself”.