The saying 'the eyes are the windows to the soul' has not been lost with more than 60 people experiencing human connection at an eye-gazing event in Brisbane.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
A crowd flocked to West End's Orleigh Park on Saturday to sit down and spend time staring at another stranger's eyes as part of a global revolution hosted by The Human Connection Movement.
Attendees were briefed on the rules of boundaries and safety before sitting down and staring into each other's eyes for as long or short amount of time as they could without speaking.
Brisbane event organiser Charis Hinton-Bayre was pleased with the turnout and said she joined the movement to help go outside their comfort zone.
"I remember when I first went to an event, I was really quite nervous and wasn’t sure what to expect or how uncomfortable I would feel but ended up enjoying the experience," she said.
"I wanted to test my comfort zone and felt isolated at the time and the event was a good way to approach both things.
"You leave feeling happy, connected and very seen when looking into each other eyes."
THCM founder Igor Kreyman said he began the free eye-gazing events began almost three years in Sydney.
"I’m an actor so I found the exercise itself really liberating and refreshing because it helps you get in touch with your own body and it helps grow a connection with the other person," he said.
"I decided to host the first event and it just grew from there and now we're seeing eye-gazing events and our workshops being held across Australia and about 15 countries around the world."
Mr Kreyman said the events, which provided a safe space and opportunity to meet "biological desires", would attract from as little as 20 people to hundreds at a time.
"Technology has been expanding quite rapidly and we're often spending so much time with our phones, especially on social media but we're getting lost in the trance of looking at other people's lives," he said.
"Even though it's there to be enjoyed, it's affecting interpersonal development and our ability to have meaningful and authentic connections.
"I believe the longevity of our lives is based on the quality of human connection we experience ... we often don't have a place where we can be fully seen, valued, heard and understood."
Mr Kreyman said the beauty of the exercise was that people were going beyond words and physical appearance.
"People are connecting silently and feeling a lot more empathy and compassion and more connected to their own physical body and not feeling alone," he said.
Brisbane resident Sophie Grice said she enjoyed regularly attending.
"I love connecting with people and learning about them through this experience," she said.
First timer Emily Nicholls said she knew it would be a safe space without judgement.
"I wanted to experience something and this is about letting someone without using words and being in touch with how you feel."
There were plans the next event would be held soon.
