‘After meditation this morning, we’ll be delving into eye energy transfer with the lovely Brad, and this afternoon you’ll have a visualisation workshop followed by yoga.’
Is he embarrassed about what he said? Is he just going to avoid me, like a child?
‘Have a great day, everyone, I’ll see you this afternoon.’
I get up and watch as Will rises from his chair and keeps his head down, focused on getting to the meditation room without having to make eye contact with me. This is so weird. I get that he’s probably feeling awkward, but this is ridiculous. I walk behind everyone else and decide that if this is the way he wants to deal with it, it’s no skin off my nose.
I sit beside Meg at meditation, while Will takes the solo mat at the front of the class, the one Meg usually occupies.
I can see her staring at Will, and then at me. Finally, it all becomes too much for her.
‘I know it’s none of my business, but what’s going on with you and Will?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You’re usually joined at the hip and now he’s there and you’re here. You didn’t sit together at the morning meeting either.’
Calm down, Sherlock.
I place my hands on my thighs and close my eyes as the meditation music begins.
‘Will can sit where he likes,’ I respond. ‘There’s nothing going on.’
I hear her mumble ‘hmm’ as the class begins. She waits a full fifteen minutes before she’s unable to bite her tongue any longer.
‘I’ll read your cards at lunch,’ she insists. ‘Might shed some light.’
‘I don’t need—’
‘Quiet please. Focus.’
I clamp my jaws shut and try to focus, but I can’t. Not only is Will cutting me off but I’m also going to have to sit with Meg as she holds up the Three of Spoons or the Queen of Crabs and makes up a narrative to suit herself. Today is going to be a long one.
After an unsuccessful meditation, we arrive back at the main room to find Brad sitting on a chair at the front of the class with a video camera in front of him. Behind him, the words EYE ENERGY TRANSFER are displayed brightly on the screen. Before we can sit, Anna announces that she’s placed name cards on the chairs, and we should sit accordingly. After a short search for my name, I soon discover that I’m sitting beside Will.
‘From observing y’all over the past few days, we’ve paired you with the people we feel you’re most at ease with. This is important for reasons we will explain shortly. I’ll leave you with Brad now.’
I almost laugh. At ease with? Presently, I don’t think Will has ever felt more uncomfortable with anyone in his entire life and I’m not far behind.
‘You’ve heard the saying that the eyes are the windows to the soul? Well, this is true. They are a powerful energy source and an entry point for absorbing the energy around us. If we need to block out the outside world during meditation, we close our eyes. What we see will influence how we feel. For example, if we hear about a bad thing happening, we’ll feel discomfort. However, if we witness it happening, the emotions are far more powerful. We also give out vast amounts of energy through our eyes and we can influence other people. Ever notice how catching someone’s eye can make you feel a range of emotions. How seeing someone cry can make you do the same? In this way we can project, through the eyes, a huge amount of love and peace and calm. When one soul catches another, it’s a hugely powerful experience. Now, it’s just as easy to absorb any negative emotions, as it is positive, which is why I won’t be doing this directly with you.’
Ha! He’s scared of picking up our negativity germs. Quite right too; having to lock eyes with Tim would ruin Brad’s jolly outlook forever.
‘I’m going to look into the camera, which gives me the opportunity to make contact with you all at the same time. Afterwards, I want you to turn to your partner and do the same.’
Will glances at me and rubs his chin. This is going to be painful.
Brad switches on the camera and his big perfect face is projected onto the screen behind.
‘Now, as we’re here to focus on love, I’m going to vibrate from that place. Let’s begin.’
Soft music plays as Brad places his hands in a prayer pose and looks at us all through the lens of his camera. We look at the screen and focus on him as he just contently gazes. If it wasn’t for the fact that he’s so visually delightful, this would be far more boring than it is. With the occasional blink, he never loses focus. Is there nothing Brad can’t do? Yoga guru, meditation expert, professional starer. However, around the minute mark, something changes in me. It almost feels like my heart swells, and I can’t take my eyes off him. Part of me wants to yell that it’s working but I sit there, staring back, revelling in the delight that I’m currently experiencing. At three minutes he smiles and ends the session.
‘Well done, everyone. I hope that you felt the love I sent to you all,’ he says, looking pleased with himself. ‘Now it’s your turn. I should warn you that this will be trickier than what we’ve just completed. This will feel more personal and more uncomfortable. Around thirty seconds in, you’ll want to look away, but please stay with it for the full three minutes. Feeling awkward is natural, but once that passes and you connect – truly connect – with another human being, it’s worth the discomfort. Please turn your chairs to face each other and begin.’
Will and I comply. I can tell he’s annoyed that his plan to avoid me has been scuppered, but to his credit, he doesn’t scowl too much. Instead, he visibly steels himself before he stares at me.
The uneasiness is real. We both look away several times before eventually holding our gaze and once we do, his eyes soften. Then his gaze wanders slightly towards my mouth, and my neck and mine mirrors it. My heart, once swollen from Brad’s joy stare, is now beating out of my chest as my own eyes leave his and trace their way down his torso. Eye energy has now become eye undressing, and my entire body responds. I shift position in my seat and try to regain composure, but I’m soon biting my lip and breathing like a pervert.
