Magic Eye: An Exercise for Practicing Getting Out of Your Own Way
When the 3D images book Magic Eye came out in the 1990s, they instantly became a wildly successful novelty. The eventual series of books featured autostereogram images that initially looked two-dimensional, but when gazed upon in a certain way, revealed hidden three-dimensional images.
The book was a source of wonder for some, and frustration for others. Besides being fun, looking at these 2D images in the way that allows you to notice the hidden 3D images turns out to be a potentially useful experience for practicing personal mastery principles such as:
Getting out of your own way
Non-attachment to outcomes
Tapping into flow states
And why would you want to be able to do those things? We cannot achieve self-mastery if we routinely interfere with our own best judgement by operate from scarcity, overthink obvious actions, and hold ourselves back due to irrational fears. While this page isn’t the solution to those issues, my attempt is to simply share an exercise that might offer you a spark of insight in the right direction.
The following pages are six examples of autostereogram Magic Eye images. 3D glasses are NOT necessary. Consider these general instructions:
Relax your gaze
Soften your focus
Allow the plane of focus to shift naturally where it needs to go
Don’t “try” to see the hidden image
Allow the hidden image to appear
If you struggle to see the hidden 3D images, trying harder only makes them less likely to appear. Be patient. Allow the eyes to shift focus naturally until they find the hidden images. When you relax into the exercise and drop the emotional attachment to “getting it right” you are more likely to see the hidden scenes.
When an Olympic gymnast executes a complex sequence, they do not “think” or “try”… they let go and allow the body to express itself. This ability of letting go of straining is a powerful tool in personal mastery pursuits. The Magic Eye exercised framed here is simply a tool for discovering this for yourself… potentially :-)
Application to the real world:
My mindfulness teacher says this is a tool sometimes used to teach people how to apply mindfulness to enhance professional performance. He describes this as “a micro-experience of letting go of trying, getting out of your head and getting out of your own way.” It’s an example of the paradox that when we force something, it can be less likely to happen.
The ability to allow (rather than force) is a key ingredient of personal mastery. Skillful and appropriate application of this principle leads to more access to our accumulated wisdom, trained abilities, and high-performing flow states.
Important Notes:
This is just one element of “getting out of your own way.” We block our own abilities and wisdom in different ways, such as through limiting beliefs, ingrained stories, and disempowering emotional impulses. This exercise only (potentially) gives a glimpse into what it’s like when you stop trying too hard and allow your abilities to shine through.
Don’t be hard on yourself if you struggle to see the 3D images. Many people can’t see them, and it’s not a sign of failure. It could just be the mechanical functioning of your vision.
The images are best viewed on a desktop or laptop with a good sized screen.
Have fun!