The Art of Seeing
I AM determined to See : A Gentle Creative Practice
"Your decision to See is all that Vision requires." – Jemme *
What is Seeing? Seeing is the ability to observe from a neutral state, eventually gaining a larger sense of awareness. Witnessing without judgment, allowing what is in front of you to simply be. When observation occurs from this state - you are able to hold space for empathy, new interpretations, and a sense of possibility. When a trained Designer sees from this state - they become Curious, they begin to look at the object, landscape or scenario with questions rather than predictions. “What is the purpose of this? How was this made? How did this come to be? What is missing?” They might not try and answer these questions right away - there is not need to. It’s the Act of Seeing that is important. It’s in the Seeing, where shifts occur.
By acknowledging that you See, you are by default, recognizing that you do not see.
I AM determined to See.
Determined to connect more deeply and have the ability to become inspired at any time –
Try the following exercise as a way to practice the Art of Seeing. It might feel a bit odd, even too simple - that’s okay. It’s more powerful than you could imagine.
(Allow 2-5 minutes only for this exercise)
The Practice:
First – Bring awareness to yourself. Sit or stand, lean… loud/quiet… the position does not matter.
Closer your eyes calmly. Breathe gently. Now, open your eyes and look outlook. Say to yourself, “I AM determined to See.” Gently, calmly look around. It’s okay if you focus on one thing and it’s also okay if you look at many things. As you look around, take another breath and say to yourself again “I AM determined to See.”
Notice if judgements arise for the things you are looking at. If strong opinions or criticism arise, that’s okay - simply let them go by offering yourself another gentle exhale (as if blowing your strong points of view away with your breath.) Continue to look around.
Notice if you are bored, notice if you’re agitated, notice if you’re doing just fine, notice if you see something new.
Next, close your eyes once more, think about what you’ve just seen, and then open your eyes again – is everything the same? Did something change? Is there something now present, that you didn’t notice before? Have you gained curiosity for what you are Seeing?
Take only a few seconds more to observe, and then move on with your day/evening.
_______
Repeat this Practice with positive intent at least 2x within a day for fast results. Don't stress if you miss an opportunity to practice Seeing - you can do this Anytime.
The Results:
What you notice will be New - you will discover something that was seemingly not there, you will notice a texture, a surface, a word, a color - all of these elements are visual cues, some hold obvious meaning and some are not so obvious. The point of this exercise is to keep an awareness that there is always more to see.
Activate this approach to seeing beyond the material realm of objects, posters, structures and begin to apply your Determination to See to any situation, person or event that you encounter. This can be very helpful when find yourself upset. When you are determined to See, you begin to see what is not so obvious - you let your anger or hurt take a pause. You develop the ability to see situations differently.
This perspective shift Seeing is activating is a key part to your Designer within - you are beginning to seeing through your design-eye which will guide you to make decisions and solve problems from a higher place of Creativity, rather than a blind position of judgment or lack of information.
Remind yourself that you want to see, by saying once more: I AM Determined to See.
___
We'd love to know what you begin to See. Tag or DM anytime @designu.studio
