Meditation exercise 1. - The Spiritual Heart

The spiritual heart is an energy centre located in the middle of the chest region. It is said to be the source of infinite vastness, oneness, happiness and universal love. The spiritual heart is the realm of the soul, the source of our purest and highest existence, that portion of God that connects us to the Creator and to all matter within His creation.

Sri Chinmoy writes -

"The spiritual heart knows how to identify itself with the Highest, with the utmost. When the heart wants to identify itself with something, it uses the feeling of love and oneness. The heart gets joy from the things that are simple and beautiful. Meditation in the spiritual heart is the quickest, surest and most fulfilling path for spiritual progress and for the ultimate goal of meditation, self-realisation. In this meditation we focus all of our attention on the heart, diving to ever-deeper levels of harmony, poise and wisdom. You cannot see your spiritual heart, but you can focus all of your attention into it. The power of your concentration enters into this region opening your awareness to its highest realities. This takes you away from the limitations of the finite mind, opening you to the vastness and silence of the infinite Self".

Quietly concentrate on your incoming and outgoing breath maintaining your focus on a peaceful inner silence. Now direct your awareness to the centre of your chest, to your spiritual heart, concentrating on its calmness and tranquility. Now imagine that you are sitting alone on the soft sand of an isolated beach. It is just before sunrise and you are gazing out across the calm and still ocean. There is a gentle breeze blowing and the only sound you can hear is the rhythm of the small waves as they tumble onto the beach. Each new wave washes away any fears, anxieties or frustrations, flooding your awareness with freshness and vitality. With each breath draw the silence-beauty of this still morning deep into your spiritual heart, expanding its peaceful and positive reality.