Respected Mam / Sir, in your meditation techniques, you said that we should gaze upward with our eyes. Does this mean uplifting the eyes the way people do during self-hypnotism?
—Mandira.shah, India
Dear Mandira,
I am not familiar with what people do during self-hypnotism, but here is a brief description of how Paramhansa Yogananda taught to uplift the gaze for meditation:
Extend one arm out in front of you with the thumb sticking up, thumbnail at eye level. Gaze at the thumbnail. Next, keep your chin level and continue to gaze at the thumbnail as you raise the hand until the thumbnail is even with the crown of your head. Now close your eyes and relax your arm down, but continue to keep your eyes turned upward, as though still gazing at the thumbnail out in front of you and slightly above horizontal.
Better still is to have the eyes only half closed with the gaze turned in that upward direction. However, if that causes your eyelids to flutter (as it will if your mind is active), then close the eyelids completely.
Blessings,
Gyandev
