1If open awareness sounds like too much, put it plainly: look at the background instead of the thing in front of it. That is the entire instruction.
People who bounce off contemplative language will happily follow a physical direction about where to point their eyes. Say background, say the space around them, say the wall behind their head. The same move works later on for how someone reads a situation rather than sees it, so it is worth setting the habit up in the eyes first, where it is easy to check.
Islamic evidence
Who reflect on the creation of the heavens and earth (Quran 3:191). Attention is turned to the widest thing available, which is roughly what looking at the background asks of the eyes.
“who remember God standing, sitting, and lying down, who reflect on the creation of the heavens and earth: ‘Our Lord! You have not created all this without purpose- You are far above that!- so protect us from the torment of the Fire”
Qur'an 3:191
Psychological evidence
Fitting the language to the person is not window dressing. In a randomised controlled trial with Latino adults who had both asthma and panic disorder, a culturally adapted programme combining cognitive behavioural therapy with heart rate variability biofeedback improved panic and asthma outcomes compared with music and relaxation therapy. The adaptation was part of the treatment. That was one trial in one population, so take it as a direction of travel.
Feldman JM, Matte L, Interian A, Lehrer PM, Lu SE, Scheckner B, Steinberg DM, Oken T, Kotay A, Sinha S, Shim C. (2016). Behaviour research and therapy · doi
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Why it works. A plain instruction about what to do with your eyes is something a person can actually carry out while angry.
Feedback
none yet2Anger pulls your attention towards whatever provoked it, the way a vacuum cleaner pulls at a curtain. Naming it that way makes it something happening to you rather than something wrong with you.
Rumination is an accurate word and a heavy one, and people who already feel judged tend to close up when it appears. A picture does the same job without the label. Once someone can say the pull is on again, they have something to act on, and there is nothing to defend themselves against.
Islamic evidence
You, soul at peace (Quran 89:27). A state is given a name so it can be spoken to, and naming what is pulling at you works the same way.
“‘[But] you, soul at peace”
Qur'an 89:27
Psychological evidence
Language helps people stay in the room, and it does not settle what will actually help them. A meta-analysis comparing cognitive therapy with relaxation training found the two were not interchangeable: relaxation did as well as cognitive therapy for generalised anxiety, while cognitive therapy was clearly better for panic. A good metaphor is worth having, and it is not a substitute for choosing a method that fits the problem.
Siev J, Chambless DL. (2007). Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · doi
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Why it works. Naming a process rather than a person gives someone something to work with instead of something to argue with.
Feedback
none yet3Open gazing and long unfocused staring do not suit everyone. If things start to feel unreal or far away, stop and look at something you can name.
This caution is usually left out, and it should not be. Practices that are open, unguided and without an anchor are the ones most often followed by feeling detached from yourself or from the room. Before offering this to someone, ask whether they ever feel unreal or outside themselves, and if they do, give them an anchored practice instead. Name three things you can see, feel your feet on the floor, hold something solid.
Islamic evidence
It is God who has given you a place of rest in your homes (Quran 16:80). Somewhere solid and known to come back to is treated as a real provision, and that is what an anchor is doing here.
“It is God who has given you a place of rest in your homes and from the skins of animals made you homes that you find light [to handle] when you travel and when you set up camp; furnishings and comfort for a while from their wool, fur, and hair”
Qur'an 16:80
Psychological evidence
A small controlled study of depersonalisation found blunted physical arousal in those affected, and that deliberately raising arousal through biofeedback reduced feelings of disembodiment and numbness. The direction of travel for these people is towards the body and towards more arousal, not away from it. The sample was small, and the practical point still stands: not everyone needs quietening, and open practices can take someone further out.
Schoenberg PL, Sierra M, David AS. (2012). Journal of trauma & dissociation : the official journal of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation (ISSD) · doi
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Why it works. Attention with nothing to rest on can drift away from the body altogether, which is the opposite of what you were after.
When not to. Screen for feeling unreal or detached before offering open gazing, and stop the practice if it appears during it.