What is it that can be so confronting to gaze into another persons eyes for a long period of time? The eyes are said to be the windows to our soul. To really stop and just look into someone's eyes for longer than just a quick moment can open you up to vulnerability, with no where to hide.

I have done an exercise before where you are asked to stand in front of another person and just look, just stare into their eyes and just be there. It's interesting to watch how a group of people deal with this. Some people giggle, others fidget, create distraction, feel the need to talk, and sometimes cry. After a while though of settling into it and just being in front of someone, fully bare, a great stillness appears.

I've just been to a yoga festival which included lots of conscious dancing, by that I mean not under the influence of any drug or drink. The dances are often guided and there are lots of moments of connection where you dance with people and look into their eyes.

It's not easy at first, especially when you are dancing with a tent full of strangers. There is something deeply emotional and touching about looking into someone's eyes for a long time, really seeing them for who they are with their barriers dropped.

After a while it starts to peel away your barriers. The level of connection with others increases. Your heart starts to feel more open.

We can spend so much of life hiding our true selves from others, comparing ourselves, putting on different faces in different situations. There is something incredibly freeing about allowing yourself to stand open in front of another and look into their soul.

We are all connected, we all share similar fears, we all want love and we are all from the same Source. It's just our bodies that separate us.

So perhaps long eye gazing doesn't feel right for you just yet but experiment with it, see if you can hold the gaze just a little longer, hold your hugs for just a bit more and just be open to showing the world who you really are. Your true self with out all the barriers. You are amazing.

Much love

Louise x