The Diamond Heart Meditation

Many people report seeing lights in the head during meditation. These lights in the head may appear in various colors to different people. This is for me a constant experience during meditation. Many great sages have spoken of an energy that lies within the heart. I call it the Diamond Heart and have made it the focus of  my own meditations . (Many yogis have used the Diamond Heart in both his lectures and writings. but there is a persistent vision of the Blue Dot or Blue Sphere that has historic context as well as many modern day experiences to support both its profundity and absolute reality; and Muktananda’s experience alone is enough to prove it’s existence.  I never agreed with everything  written and said about the man. However, it can not be ignored that he was, despite his foibles, one of the greatest meditation teachers of the past century.)

The diamond itself is the tiniest sheath that surrounds the Self. the sages explained the subtleties of the method which would allow a meditation student, one who is willing to put in the time to cultivate the right preparation and practice, to regularly experience the Diamond Heart in their meditation. I have experienced the Diamond Heart myself using this method and want to share the simplicity of the technique I have used to clearly see, hear and experience the final sheath during meditation. 

Before we discuss learning the technique, I want to preface the technique with explaining how you should already be meditating regularly. You should have already cultivated a steady practice that includes both mindfulness and inner visualization methods. You can start by reading through these instructions several times before beginning to use them. Become very familiar with them. They need to be clear in your mind while you are meditating to make use of the subtle details of this method during your inner journey. 

(If you are not familiar with breath retention (kumbaka) I advise you should seek out expert instruction from a qualified teacher. Allow yourself time (at a least 3 months of steady practice) to become familiar with the retention of the breath before continuing with this meditation method. The use of breath retention is important for awakening the Shushumna nadi, without this awakening the blue pearl will be nothing more than a visualization exercise. This is an advanced technique and the preliminaries are an important step before attempting this. )

Find your meditation seat and begin your pranayama practice with nadi shodanam. If you are already familiar with alternate nostril breathing with kumbaka feel free to use what is familiar. My personal nadi shodanam method is in thru the right, retain, out thru the left, in through the left, retain, out thru the right, in thru the right, retain, etc…You may find it beneficial (especially in the beginning) to maintain a steady count during the inhale, retention and the exhale. For example, inhale to an 8 count, retain for 8 and then exhale for 8. At the bottom of the exhale keep the pause to the count and continue into the next inhale. 

Focus your attention on the ajna chakra. Remember that good breathing should be deep, smooth, steady, and quiet. I prefer to use time rather than count each breath, but that is up to you. I generally time my breathing for 6 minutes or about 50 breaths (the actual number of breaths is very subjective, which is why I recommend the timer).

After nadi shodanam, our next pranayam is shushumna awakening breathing. The breath should remain steady, the length of inhalation and exhalation staying the same as the previous exercise,  cease retention of the breath and allow the breath to move in and out through both nostrils evenly. Focus the attention on the junction of the nostrils above the upper lip. Concentrate on equalizing the flow of air through both sides so the flow becomes smooth and  even. You may count breaths or use a timer, this practice should be maintained for 5 minutes. This method is a key to attaining  single pointedness. Using an 8 count on both the inhale and exhale I have found that about 20 provides the ideal number of cycles. 

This makes your breath practice last about 11 minutes, the breath has worked its magic oxygenating (and calming) the system. 

Now, we turn our inner vision towards the heart chakra. Visualize a small diamond gem, about the size of a sesame seed, within the heart chakra at mid-sternum and slightly to the left. Keep the breath smooth and steady at all times. The gem may appear as clear and sparkling or it may have color, there is no need to focus on any color or clarity of the gem, just accept it into your awareness. Once you have a clear picture of it in your mind the gem may want to move to different areas of the body. Let it. Allow your attention to patiently follow it’s movement through the body until it comes to rest. 

Once it stops, consciously move the gem back into the shushumna nadi if it has moved away from the central channel. In your mind’s eye invite the motion up through the central channel into the center of the head. If you are familiar with mantra meditation, then you may recognize this as the point where the mantra arises. I have found that this point to be analogous to the height of the eyes and located in a level line back to the middle of the head. 

[SIDE NOTE: Envisioning the gem in the center of the head you may notice that the gem itself forms into the root of the Sahasrara Chakra. I came to realize that it also is at the central point between the front and rear of the Ajna Chakra as well. Understandably, the point where the Diamond Heart naturally resides, is the central locus of human consciousness. The Susumna terminates into the junction with the Sahasrara Chakra. Energy comes in through the Crown and radiates out of the Ajna Chakra through a pair of trumpet shaped tubes, the bells of the trumpets are the front and back of the chakra  (these energetic tubes make up the chakral body itself ). 

You may experience the chakras in this area differently and that’s ok. This description is based on my own internal visionary experience, and my own explanation of my own inner sight  that was revealed to me. Your own vision is equally valid. There is no need to doubt what you yourself are experiencing.]

Focus your full attention on the diamond gem. Watch its scintillating vibration/pulsation. 

If you lose your concentration and the diamond vanishes, simply return to envisioning the gem at mid-sternum and slightly to the left. 

Relinquish control to your Higher Self. Know that the Heart Diamond is that.

Let go of all effort. Simply observe.

Let it guide you, fill you, take you where it wants you to be. 

Maintain steadiness in your breath. 

My description of the experience stops here, as my own experiences of the gem have been different each time I have done this meditation. What you experience is about your own inner journey. It is different for each individual. This inner journey is the highest resonance of You-ness that there can be, and is therefore uniquely your own. 

Allow yourself to remain open to what you may see. Reserve judgments. The impressions gained may not be readily accepted by the conscious mind, or provide clear analysis using the left brains logical ways of thinking. Understand that you are experiencing something transcendent. Something transcendental. Be open to it. You now have your hands on the doors to access the deepest parts of your own Self, you are now connected with your own Self. Stay with your practice. Shanti. 

(Source Material: Kundalini the Secret of Life - Swami Muktananda) 

Meditation, Breath, Diet and Stress: Healing Your mind while bringing your life into balance Part I

We all deal with stress. Some stress can be good for us, pushing us to set and achieve goals.  But largely stress makes us tense, fearful and jumbled. Working harder and faster at jobs we often don’t like to do the whole time pushing our minds to concentrate when we’d much rather be picking flowers or taking long walks in the countryside. Stress is part of our modern life. The australian aborigines, it is said, have no word for stress in their language! But, not so for us ‘modern’ types. While I’ve given no serious consideration to making a sudden life change and running off to live in the wild there are lessons that can be learned from ancient cultures on how to handle the pressures of life with more grace and calm. 

The ancient teachings of yoga and ayurvedic medicine give us a holistic approach to handling stress. How we breath, eat and think may all contribute to either high or lower stress levels. Learning how to perform these common, everyday activities in the correct way can provide long term relief from stress, and give us some conscious control over how we are feeling. When we learn how to eat, think and breathe (yes, breathe!) in ways that nourish and support the natural functioning of the body, stress relief comes as a side effect of upgrading our habits.   

First, we must learn to breath correctly. Breathing is something we do everyday, every second actually. We can’t get along without it, yet no one knows how to breath correctly without first getting some coaching to better understand the mechanics of how we breath and how our breath affects our moods, emotions and our ability to focus the mind. The lungs are two sacks that inflate with the contraction of the diaphragm. The diaphragm, which is shaped like an umbrella, pulls downwards on the lungs, elongating them, which reduces the air pressure inside the space (by increasing volume) and air from the outside rushes in (by diffusion) to fill the semi-vacuum created by the expansion. Next, the diaphragm relaxes (and returns upwards) which compresses the lungs and pushes the air out. While this activity is going on in the lungs, the heart will typically have beat 6 times. The average ratio between breath and heart rates is 1 to 6, that is, one breath for each six heart beats.  

Armed with a basic knowledge of how we breath we can learn how to breath correctly. That is, calmly and deeply. You might want to first lay down on the floor, or other firm surface. Place your hands on your stomach and breath in. Did your stomach rise or fall? If it rose you are breathing correctly, if it fell, that is, contracted down towards the floor, then your breathing is reversed. This is very common, we are taught as children to stick our chests out when we breath. But we should be allowing the abdomen to expand, the larger part of the lungs is located in the bottom of the lung, which expands into the abdomen when the diaphragm descends. 

A way to correct your breathing, if you are expanding on the exhale is to lie on your stomach in the yoga posture called: makarasana or crocodile pose. Begin by lying on your stomach, fold your arms underneath you to support your forehead. In this position focus your attention on expanding the abdomen as you slowly and steadily inhale. Really feel your stomach as it presses against the floor and then, as the diaphragm relaxes and you exhale, the weight of the body will cause the abdomen to contract. This is a good way to begin practice of diaphragmatic breathing and will train the breath to move smoothly in and out as the abdomen expands and contracts. 

In the next article we’ll talk about diet, begin our discussion of meditation and see how controlling stress using diet and the mind can help you handle the day to day pressures of life. 

Till then stay calm, breath deeply and remember: Steady practice brings reliable results. 

How you see yourself is how you see everything.

If your awareness shows you only the negativity within yourself, you will see only negativity in everything around you. If your awareness is positive you will see the  positive around you. Like sees like.

We have a natural affinity for seeing ourselves in others. A natural affinity towards compassion. When our perception is clouded. If we see only the dark within ourselves,  we then see only the the dark everywhere, in everyone and everything. We become blind to all else. Until we break free of our own limitation, we are caught inside a circle of darkness. We can not see outside the circle. What we see is what we reflect and what we reflect out reflects back to us, this is a cosmic law in action. If we are surrounded by our own dark self there is no mirror to reflect the light.

 We are limited (as part of our agreement to embody our-Self)  to seeing the world only through our own eyes.

How you see yourself is how you see everything.

Yoga means union, union of the individual with the Supreme. Yoga brings together the light and the dark. The sun and moon, left and right, yin and yang, internal and external. Makes all one. Joins together. Being, non-being, form and formless.

How you see yourself is how you see everything.

How can we see the world (and ourselves) through different eyes? There are only two ways, both arise from love.

Love of the inner teacher and the scriptures can show us the inner light, or devotion to an external teacher (guru: sk. def. One who leads from dark to light) and the scriptures open our eyes just wide enough to see the shining light within.

When we see the world as it is, in this moment, both the light and the dark, we are free. Light and Dark. It is us and not us. It is others and us as well. This encompasses everything.

How you see yourself is how you see everything.

(Sources: the Bhagavad Gita, Tao Te Ching, Tamil-Cube Sanskrit Dictionary)