Hmmm....I went for an EMDR session myself today and was thinking about this thread so experimented with keeping my eyes open some of the time.

It WAS easier to stay present, and something else that surprises me is that I was able to see things more clearly with my eyes open (I guess that usually would not be surprising...LOL....I just mean I had more visual imagery with my eyes open).

It also seemed like the quality of what I saw, in terms of it being helpful vs. simply revisitting the past, was better with my eyes opened.

I'm going to have to try this again next time. It was kind of neat and was a whole different process going on behind the scenes as I processed the material I was targetting.

It's giving me something to think about for sure, and thinking maybe I will suggest to clients to keep their eyes open.