I
The Mirror Work
The aim of this exercise is to hold a clear, stable mental image of an object with the eyes closed — and to hold it without it fading, shifting, or being replaced by another thought. The image should be sharp, correctly coloured, and still. When it fades or drifts, that is the end of one rep.
1. Study the object. Before closing your eyes, look at the object on screen carefully. Notice its colour, its edges, any shadows or highlights. Take as long as you need.
2. Close your eyes and build the image. With eyes closed, construct the object in your mind's eye exactly as you saw it. Do not rush. Place it in the centre of your inner field of vision.
3. Hold it. Keep the image present and stable. Do not let it shrink, blur, drift, or be replaced by another thought. The moment it disappears entirely — tap Image Faded.
4. Repeat. Each attempt is one rep. Begin again with the same or a different object. Over time, the image will stay longer.
In the beginning, the image may vanish within seconds. This is normal. The mind has not yet learned to hold a single thing. With daily practice the duration lengthens — first to thirty seconds, then to minutes. Bardon's standard for passing this exercise is a clear, stable image held for several minutes.
— Closing your eyes before you have studied the object thoroughly.
— Allowing the image to drift or animate — it should be perfectly still.
— Waiting too long to tap Image Faded when the image is gone — honesty in logging is essential to real progress.
— Switching objects too frequently. Staying with one object until you can hold it clearly builds deeper concentration than variety.
In open eyes mode, the object remains visible on screen. Instead of recreating it from memory, you focus all attention on holding the visual perception steady — no wandering, no inner commentary, just the object. The image will fade automatically. When it does, your concentration has lapsed.
"The student should not be discouraged if at first the image will not obey. It is the nature of the untrained mind to resist. Persistence — quiet, daily, unhurried persistence — is the only method."
— Franz Bardon, Initiation into Hermetics