Practical Meditation: How Transformation Happens
The meditation that I would like to share with you is very simple. And due to its simplicity, it can be practiced in many places at any time.
Learn a Practical Meditation
By Tony Samara
My intention is to work with an aspect of ourselves that is quite complex to understand, simply because it can not be understood through the normal channels of perception; the senses and the mind. This part of ourselves is a very nice part of ourselves but it can be a little bit tricky. And I call this the heart.
I’m not of course talking about the emotional heart or the heart that feels the ups and downs of whatever is going on in life, but more the essence of the heart which is the deeper feelings that one has, the deeper knowing of situations, the deeper aspects of who you are. All this energy, all this consciousness, I believe to be based deeply in the heart.
So to help with this, my first suggestion is to come back to a space where the heart has the ability to communicate to you in a way that is much more subtle than the obvious. You know we are always looking on the outside, we are always looking for the signs, we are always looking for the strong aspects on the outside to understand what the heart is actually trying to say, but usually, we put too much energy on the externals to allow that internal aspect of ourselves to really speak. And one of the best ways to allow this to happen is meditation.
I would like to share with you a meditation that brings back this consciousness that we have lost in our civilization, that we have lost as we have developed more and more into a society where everything is fast and everything is about impact rather than actually coming back home to oneself, coming back to the essence. To do this, It is important to bring back this sense of relaxation in the body. A lot of questions asked in the world today revolve around the heart. You know the morals of good and bad, and the situations that we have to deal with as life tests each individual to be impeccable in their behavior, to come back to the heart and to act out from that space which is not just right, but you know is right.
The meditation that I would like to share with you is very simple. And due to its simplicity, it can be practiced in many places at any time. There is no right or wrong, this time or that time for this meditation and it can take a few moments. It’s very easy.
So I would like you to just take a few moments to practice this. What you do is, if possible, if you are not driving or if you are not doing something where you need to have your eyes open, close your eyes, just because by closing your eyes what happens is that the senses relax a little bit more. Good to sit up, good to have your back straight so that you’re really focused on the conscious aspect of this meditation.
So as you sit up and close your eyes, taking a few moments to breathe in, the in-breath is very important. So don’t just breathe in, in an automatic way, in a mechanical way. This is part of our attention moving always to the external aspects, even the breath then becomes external to you. So when you breathe in, what you are doing is you are bringing everything around you a little bit closer to you. So basically you are saying to yourself ”I allow my heart to feel more intimate with life. I allow my heart to be more vulnerable to the waves that come and go, that life is always creating around me, with no fear.”
So as you breathe in, it’s impossible to feel fear. If you take a deep in-breath what you are doing is allowing the fear to move out of that space that occupies feelings. If you breathe in deeply what you are breathing in is a life force that is very vibrant. Breathe in deeply and then just simply, as you breathe out, let go, breathe out, let go, and imagine that all those aspects of life that are swirling around in your mind, or that are occupying the space of the heart or that are occupying you, or stressing or creating tension for you, imagine, imagination is very powerful, imagine that through the out-breath, is moving out from your body, out from you feelings, out from your mind. It requires a little bit of discipline to do this because it’s so easy to drift back into another thought, another feeling, another situation, another idea, another dream.
Rather than do this, just have the intention so clear that all that will happen now is that you are letting go and becoming a channel. Becoming an open vessel for the divine aspect that is inside of your heart. So let go of the mundane, no matter how important it is, no matter how practical those issues are that need to be dealt with. Give your heart a moment to deeply relax, to really come back to itself so that you are doing nothing, all you are doing is breathing in deeply again.
And, as you breathe in deeply, not trying to change anything, not trying to change the thoughts or the feelings, simply allowing the vibrancy of the in-breath to fill your body, see when you do this, as you are doing now, what is happening is that you are helping the body move to a higher vibration, to a higher state of being.
And this is the only possible way to change any situation around you. That is to move beyond it, not to be attached, not to be caught up, not to be stuck or limited by whatever life is throwing at you. But rather to completely let go as you breathe in, to completely let go of everything except the gratitude of being alive, because that’s all that counts, is this moment. And this moment is your in-breath.
As you breathe in, everything else is of no importance because after the in-breath there is a moment between the in-breath and the out-breath where you can be still. And in that stillness there is an open space, there is a feeling that goes beyond human feelings. There is a deep, divine feeling that begins to bubble up from the depths into this wonderful being that is you. The human aspect that is you. And you begin to feel better.
This is how transformation happens. You transform through joy and happiness. So as this beautiful vibrancy begins to become more your reality, then things begin to shift, begin to change. And wisdom comes to you in a very strong way then those other senses, those more subtle senses are open. This is how we open the other senses. And they begin to allow the energy of the divine to flow through all the glands of the body, all the organs of the body, including the mind and the heart and allow those aspects of yourself, to realize, as you are feeling this gratitude and aliveness in this moment, to realize what is really important and what is simply karma, what is simply an action that takes you nowhere.
When we know that time is precious, when we know that life is precious, we utilize this gift in a very special way. We don’t waste it, we don’t create limitations around it. And that is the out-breath. We let go of whatever stops this feeling.
Now that you begin to have this feeling, take a few moments to bring your consciousness back to the area of the heart, the heart energy point. Feel this in the chest and realize that you are not alone, that by doing this action you are connecting to many, many conscious beings around you who at this moment are celebrating the divine, and you have just been invited to this celebration.
So what else can you do with this meditation? When you breathe in and you breathe out and you feel good, and there is happiness inside of your heart; you celebrate and you invite more people to this wonderful space that is ever-expanding, that is beyond the limitations of mind, cannot be understood through the mind it is beyond the limitations of negative emotions, of selfishness, of feeling insecure, lack of self-esteem, all those human aspects that are important but that take us nowhere, let them go.
As you move to a space of celebration, take a few moments to bring this awareness, even if it is just in the imaginary world, take a few moments to bring this awareness into your whole being. The whole physiology of your body begins to change.
This meditation took a few moments, and it changes much more than you may realize.
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This article was originally published 2 July 2013
About the Author
People from all over the world visit Tony Samara to take spiritual guidance and experience being in his presence. His main countries of activity are in Europe yet with the assistance of the Internet is attracting a Global audience through frequent online interviews and live satsangs. His function is as a Spiritual Teacher who encourages all to lead their lives actively in a noble way in order to realize the evolution of human consciousness.
Tony Samara, author of ‘Shaman’s Wisdom,’ ‘From the Heart,’ ‘Different Yet the Same,’ and ‘Deeper than Words’, is a mirror of what is possible, a shining reminder of the continuous possibility of being human.
To learn more about Tony and his work, visit: TonySamara.org
