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Navel-gazing is the contemplation of one'snavel as an aid tomeditation.[1] The wordomphaloskepsis derives from theAncient Greek wordsὀμφᾰλός (omphalós,lit. 'navel') andσκέψῐς (sképsis,lit. 'viewing, examination, speculation').[1]
Actual use of the practice as an aid to contemplation of basic principles of the cosmos andhuman nature is found in the practice ofyoga orHinduism and sometimes in theEastern Orthodox Church.[2] In yoga, the navel is the site of themanipura (also called nabhi)chakra, which yogis consider "a powerful chakra of the body".[3][self-published source][4] The monks ofMount Athos, Greece, were described asOmphalopsychians by J.G. Millingen, writing in the 1830s, who says they "...pretended or fancied that they experienced celestial joys when gazing on their umbilical region, in converse with the Deity".[5]
Phrases such as "contemplating one's navel" or "navel-gazing" are frequently used, usually injocular fashion, to refer to self-absorbed pursuits.[6]
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