Ever heard of the saying "eyes are the windows of the soul"? Whether you agree with it or not, there's some deep neurological insight in that saying. Eyes are how we get the majority of our information and stimulation by seeking, filtering out and focusing on what we find the most appealing. If you observe the eye movements of other people, you will easily find out what they crave, what they're thinking and even if they like you or not.
In 2019, I went to get my driver's license, which involved attending a road safety class with about two dozen other people. I had the chance to have a private conversation with the road safety instructor, who lit up a cigarette and told me through puffs that he's been doing this for decades, giving him the uncanny ability to look a person in the eye and know instantly where they're at mentally and emotionally.
I learned road safety principles from him but also got wind of the notion that not all people are created equal, especially when it comes to brain activity. For some people, life is a daze and they come with ready-made brain software that operates using exclusively default settings, so to speak. This aligned with what I had read some years prior in a book by Ouspensky titled "In Search of the Miraculous", which outlined the idea of some people being asleep or effectively dead inside.
What the abovementioned book posits is that different stimuli take hold of the person's body throughout the day, manifesting as cravings, impulses or random thoughts and actions. If the person does not actively dedicate itself to pruning all the random stimuli from his environment, the result is a person that takes one step left, one step right; one step forward, one step backwards, ending up in the exact same spot as in the beginning but having the illusion of progress and movement.
To me, Ouspensky's book was just a glimpse of something much more interesting and foreboding, that being the idea of mechanical people that live, breathe, speak, talk and perform all the other expected functions with little or no deviation or personal input. I strongly felt the same as a kid, that people around me acted like robots, sometimes wondering if it would be possible to mathematically predict what a person is about to do. Purely mathematical means of predicting a person's action never came to fruition but when I heard the eye movement idea from my instructor, blocks fell into place and created an overarching structure that finally made sense.
If you've ever seen a person's eyes wander off into the distance, that might be a sign of disinterest in the environment and a general feeling of Weltschmerz. The same applies to looking at the ground, which basically means that the brain has given up looking for signs of danger. We should be constantly observing how our environment changes in order to adjust our behavior and plans with minimal effort and distress. When something messes with this observation function in our brain, we get a withdrawn, dejected and whiny person, which I can fully identify myself with.
In my case, poor eyesight combined with constant headaches made me withdrawn, awkward and way too anxious; wearing glasses fixed most of these problems. A separate part of the issue was learning anew how to look at the world as an impartial and mildly interested observer. I used to have a very aggressive, fixated approach to looking at things but changing the focus of my attention from random stimuli to beautiful vistas in a minimally distressing manner helped me set course for a new life, one possibly populated by non-robotic people or just someone who won't judge me for what happened to me beyond my control.
Eyes are not only important to look through; they're also crucial when you're being looked at. I have the case of dilated pupils for whatever reason (genetic, injury-related or stress perhaps?), causing all sorts of people to accuse me of being high all the time. Sadly, when you're being treated like this for any period of time, you'll tend to act out, especially if you're unaware of what's going on, which only cemented the suspicions. Once you do realize, it's time for some eyerolling and just looking away.
I discovered a great sense of pleasure and superiority in showing my despisal towards these same judgmental people through minor eye movements when I encounter them. In this way, there's no drama or disturbance, but simply aversion of the eyes and a sigh followed by a headshake and a smirk. Just like that, I've rediscovered a sense of nuance I was missing my entire life, realizing that eyes signal to others what we think of them.
In other words, if someone doesn't like you, that someone will avoid looking at you and vice versa. I ultimately upgraded this idea and now walk in public without as much as looking at anyone, bypassing them like they're not even there unless we absolutely have to make eye contact, in which case I act friendly and courteous. If you want a sense of superiority, try this out and you'll feel a million times better than everyone else.
Now that you know and understand the principle of eyes being the main inlet for stimuli, you can use it to your benefit. What would you like to learn or know about? Look for those things and immerse yourself in them. Want to learn programming? Saturate your field of view with programming-related materials and you'll soon dream in code, which funnily enough actual programmers say happens to them. If you feel you're being overstimulated, anxious, antsy, angry and depressed, that's because you're looking at the wrong thing that is constantly riling you up.
My personal experience is probably an extreme example of what happens when someone judges you by the eyes, but also illustrates the notion of robotic people doing robotic things. Like everything else that's happened to me, I'm grateful for the chance to learn these things in person and share it with everyone who might be interested. Keep your eyes straight, observe the eyes of others and don't reveal that you're a thinking, sensible person or you too might feel the wrath of judgment.