Inner Balance and Joy

How do we meditate on the heart?

• Sit in a natural meditation posture, either lotus position or comfortably on a chair. Do not lay down, as you may get too comfortable and fall asleep.
• Gently connect with your heart.
• Feel the “source of light” present in your heart. Do this in a simple and natural way without forcing your mind. Have the thought that your attention is being attracted to this light.
• Do not try to see light or use your imagination to create light. This is a mere supposition that light is present.
• If thoughts arise, be briefly aware of the thought and then gently connect back with the suggestion of the source of light in your heart.

Suggestions for morning meditation

• Meditate in the morning before your day’s activities begin. The world is calm and quiet at this time, especially if you can rise before dawn for your meditation.
• Sit in the same place, at the same time and in the same position each morning, as that will help establish regularity.
• Start with 15 minutes and gradually build up to 20, 30 minutes or more, up to 60 minutes. You can keep an alarm nearby if necessary.
• Write in a journal or diary after your meditation to record your thoughts and experiences. This will help train your mind to develop inner sensitivity.

It’s important to clear the way to rediscover the heart. There’s a technique in the Heartfulness approach that does this and it’s called rejuvenation. This technique is practiced at the end of the day and it removes any heaviness that may have accumulated throughout the day so as to create space and lightness in the heart. You will feel the difference when you meditate the next morning.

How do you do the Evening Rejuvenation practice?

• When your daily work is over and you reach home, take some time to reset yourself. Set aside 15 to 30 minutes of quiet time by yourself and prepare to remove all the stress and heaviness from the day.
• Sit in a comfortable position, as you do for meditation.
• Close your eyes and suggest to yourself that all the complexities and impurities you have accumulated during the day are going out of your system, exiting in the form of smoke and vapor. Think that the smoke or vapor is leaving from the back of the head and your back down to your tailbone. In its place, think that a subtle current is entering you from the front.
• This is an active mental process. You are fully aware of what is happening and you let go of everything. There is no need to remember the happenings of the day—just remove them like you would remove dirt from your body when taking a shower, or from the floor when sweeping a room. Everything that creates a disturbance in your inner balance can be washed or swept away.
• Try not to slip into meditation. If you do, gently open your eyes and start the process again. If you catch yourself drifting away with your thoughts, bring your attention back to the process of cleaning.