If you’ve been meditating for any time at all, then you’ve probably come across ideas surrounding the mysterious “third eye”. This third eye is said to be the portal to intuition and higher wisdom. It has a variety of understandings and meanings depending upon what cultural lens you view it through.
But, for the focus of this post, we’re going to focus on how the third eye relates to meditation, and how it works as more of a sense that you can develop to add a new layer of richness to your life.
Below you’ll learn what the third eye actually is, how to open it, and what kind of benefits will usually show up when you start to open your 3rd eye.
What is the Third Eye?
Now your third eye isn’t as much of an eye as it is a sense, light sight, smell, sound. The third eye can be described more so as an intuitive sense. The types of senses it picks up on are much different and far out.
It can be referred to as your third eye chakra. But all that aside, it’s the point between your eyebrows and slightly above. It has connections to all sorts of mystical states. Opening the third eye can even lead to enlightenment. With its close ties to perception even engaging in third eye meditation can lead to visionary states.
It also has connections to psychic states like telepathy, lucid dreaming, astral projection, and clairvoyance.
The third eye isn’t something that’s separate from you. It’s like you turn on a light in dark room for the first time.
Poet William Blake gets mighty close to describing a third eye awakening with this quote, “If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro’ narrow chinks of his cavern.”
This closing he refers to can be reversed through the process of opening your own third eye.
Understanding the Third Eye Chakra
If you’re familiar with chakras, then your 3rd eye chakra is actually your sixth chakra. It’s located just slightly above your eyebrows in the center of your forehead. This chakra has many names and is commonly referred to as the: third eye chakra, the Anja chakra, the brow chakra, the Bhru chakra, and the Dvorak Padma. The awakening of this chakra point is associated with pure enlightenment in some traditions.
This chakra center is associated with:
- Intuition
- Vision
- Increased perception of subtle energy
- Access to higher wisdom
- Increased creativity and inspiration
- Mystical states
The third eye can help us get in touch with the more subtle elements of reality. It goes beyond what we can purely “see” and allows us to tap into things that are far greater. By awakening this chakra we can give ourselves access to greater levels of perception.
However, whatever images or senses are obtained can be much more difficult to translate, since they are often associated with transcendental states which lack the words to describe. These visions will often appear to be more dreamlike, or cloudy.
The more comfortable you become with awakening your third eye the more benefits you’ll start to see trickle over into your daily life, which goes beyond any visions you might experience while meditating.
The Pineal Gland Third-Eye Connection
The third eye is connected to the pineal gland, which is a tiny gland in the center of your brain (between the left and right hemispheres), that is responsible for regulating your sleep and wake cycles. The pineal gland is also associated with perception and the experience of mystical and altered states.
With its close location to the nerve centers of your brain, it’s also related to the nerve centers of your brain and changes in actual perception.
Why You’ll Want to Open Your Third Eye
When your third eye is blocked or closed off, you’re cutting yourself off from a potent source of wisdom and guidance. It’s said to lead to states of confusion, pessimism, and uncertainty. By having a third eye awakening you connect yourself to a grander source of energy that lies beyond the physical world we’re often so wrapped up in.
Opening the third eye can lead to improved clarity, imagination, insight, and intuition on a daily basis. Plus, if you’re here for the more metaphysical side of things, then you’ll be better primed for things like lucid dreaming and astral projection.
Benefits to Opening Your Third Eye Chakra
So, what exactly happens when you open your third eye?
The third eye, even though it seems invisible, is just as readily available to us as our other senses. By awakening your third eye you’ll be able to access a deeper source of intuitive wisdom.
The third eye can be thought of as the passage to all things psychic: lucid dreaming, astral projection, telepathy, clairvoyance. The metaphysical aspects of reality are more a part of your life with your third eye awakening.
1. Reduction of Stress, Anxiety, Worry
Meditation as a whole, when practiced on a regular basis, will lead to decreased levels of stress, worry, and anxiety. Since your third eye is associated with elevated states of consciousness you’ll start to release any stress or anxiety you’ve been holding onto for years.
Your third eye helps to bring immense perspective into your life, which will go a long way towards improving your relationship to the things you “think” are stressing you out.
2. Improved Intuition
Third eye meditation will help you access the latent wisdom you’ve had inside of you all along. By learning out your stress and lowering your levels of reactivity you’ll be able to actually listen to your inner voice. Most traditional cultures consider our intuition to be the most useful forms of knowledge, in recent times this has been obscured, but through awakening your third eye you can develop this trait once more.
Your third eye can help you plug into greater aspects of reality, which will help you navigate the crazy and chaotic world we find ourselves in today.
3. Greater Levels of Clarity
Who wouldn’t want greater levels of clarity in life? If confusion and uncertainty are the norms in your life, then starting up the process of awakening your third eye is something you must do. Having an open 3rd eye is the equivalent of having an incredibly wise mentor right inside your own mind, helping guide you towards decisions that are in your best interest.
A clear mind is also a relaxed mind, meditation in itself will help to detach you from the incessant stream of thoughts most people live with. This space you’ll create will free you, so you can listen to the deeper parts of yourself.
4. Unlock Your Imagination
When you open your third eye you’ll start to notice your powers of imagination to increase. Since a lot of third eye meditations are geared towards visualization, you’ll start to notice an improvement in your imaginative abilities.
Your third eye is also connected to the astral realm, so you’ll be much more in touch with the infinite possibilities of reality. This connection can help you start to experience both your thoughts and reality as you did when you were a child—full of imagination, wonder, and play.
5. Improved Goal Resolution and Manifestation
If you’ve been struggling with manifesting the life you desire then awakening your third eye can help. By removing and letting negative thoughts go you get in touch with the deeper root of who you really are. With fewer strings and knots holding you back you’ll be that much more able to create the life of your dreams.
Plus, with your 3rd eye starting to open you’ll be better able to perceive your path to success and will be able to avoid the common missteps you’ve been taking.
Opening Your Third Eye
Okay, now for the fun part. Below you’ll learn how to open your mind eye chakra.
Having a third eye activation can be tumultuous for the uninitiated. It’s recommended to take it slow when it comes to the third eye meditations offered below. If you do struggle with the meditation below, it could be because you need to do more basic meditation techniques to calm the mind before diving in.
Learning how to open your third eye will take practice. The first time you do it it might feel a little uncomfortable, or you might feel pressure in your head. This is why it’s important to start small and grow your practice with time.
Below you’ll find a third eye meditation technique you can use on a regular basis. Remember, the more often you engage in third eye meditation the more results you’re going to see.
- Sit in a comfortable position that allows you body to relax.
- Close your eyes and begin to focus your attention on your inhale and exhale.
- Bring the focus of your attention inside your body and move that attention up to the point just above an in-between your eyebrows (your third eye point).
- Imagine a ball of energy at your third eye point that you send your breathe through.
- Focus your attention on this point for 10-20 minutes. If at any point you’re distracted just bring your attention back to this point.
One very important thing to mention is the necessity of remaining grounded. After you do this meditation it can be helpful to get back into your body by taking a walk or generally moving around while bringing your attention to various parts of your body.
Even More Ways to Open Your Third Eye
Getting in touch with your third eye doesn’t just have to happen on the meditation cushion. By playing around with some of the methods below you’ll start to embody different traits that an awakened third eye encourages.
One of the crucial aspects of awakening your third eye is building trust, you can do that by cultivating certain traits in yourself. That way when things start to arise in meditation you’ll take these much more seriously, instead of dismissing what is happening to you.
There are dozens of more creative methods that will help you get in touch with and awaken your third eye. Below we offer a few more creative methods that will help you open your third eye.
1. Cultivate Silence
The ability to be still and silent is a crucial aspect of awakening your third eye. Being truly present will allow you to better pay attention to sensations as they arise. Plus, you’ll avoid having your attention distracted when you’re focusing on the third eye point.
You can learn to cultivate inner silence by practicing a simple daily meditation routine. Even just ten minutes a day will help to lay the foundation.
2. Build a Better Relationship With Your Intuition
The third eye is home to insight and wisdom. One of the cornerstones of understanding this is trust. Which means you’ll want to get acquainted with your existing intuitive powers. The more you bring intuition into your daily life the better relationship you’ll build with your third eye.
Of course, regular meditation will help you deepen your intuition as you’ll be better equipped to find and listen to that subtle voice deep within you. But, there are other methods for defending this bond as well.
- Taking up a new hobby you’ve always wanted to do but felt silly
- Asking yourself what do I truly want to do? Then, go and do that thing
- Daily journaling to better understand yourself, your desires, and choices
- Sitting in daily contemplation and thinking about your life
- Getting into your body through a practice like yoga to better understand your body’s wisdom
3. Do Something Creative
Most creative activities rely upon your intuition. Creativity helps to nurture the opposite part of your mind, the non-rational side. Even doing something like sketching, drawing, writing poetry, or painting can help.
Whatever kind of art you feel like making, give yourself permission and go do it. The important thing is to not judge yourself and the end result. You’re building your creativity muscle, not trying to becoming the next Van Gough.
In Closing
Overall, opening your third eye chakra is a process. The more you engage in the simple meditation above while building a deeper relationship with third eye traits, the more benefits you’re going to see in your life.
Whether your goal is heightened intuition, astral travel, or even just decreased stressed learning how to open your third eye can help you get there.
Play around with the meditation above and see if you can awaken your third eye.