Meditation # 1: The Cave of the Heart
“The Cave of the Heart” meditation practice comes from Sutra 1:36 from Patanjali’s yoga sutras. Sutra 1.36 says “Vi shoka va jyotismati” which tells us to concentrate on the luminous state in the heart which is beyond all sorrow.
The Cave Of The Heart Meditation Practice
First petal and flame:
OM śarvāya namaḥ
Salutations to Sharva – the divine in the form of the earth element (prithivi) ~ I bow to the earth element
Second petal and flame:
OM bhavāya namaḥ
Salutations to Bhava – the divine in the form of the water element (apas) ~ I bow to the water element
Third petal and flame:
OM rudrāya namaḥ
Salutations to Rudra – the divine in the form of the fire element (agni) ~ I bow to the fire element
Fourth petal and flame:
OM ugrāya namaḥ
Salutations to Ugra – the divine in the form of the air element (vayu) ~ I bow to the air element.
Fifth petal and the flame shining on it:
OM bhimāya namaḥ
Salutations to Bhima – the divine in the form of the ether element (akasha) ~ I bow to the ether element
Sixth petal and flame:
OM paśupataye namaḥ
Salutations to Pashupati, lord of animals, who manifests in the form of individuality.
Seventh petal and the flame shining on it:
OM mahadevāya namaḥ
Salutations to Mahadeva, the great lord in the form of lunar energy.
Eighth petal and the flame shining on it:
OM iśānāya namaḥ
Salutations to Ishana, the divine in the form of solar energy.
Bring your awareness to the central flame and let all the flames merge into this flame at the heart centre
OM sāṅopāṅāya sāyudhāya savāhanāya saparivārāya namaḥ
Salutations to all the limbs and sublimbs of the Divine Beings to the whole divine family, and to all living beings. I bow to all Divine Beings and honour each existence, including my own through the lens of compassion.
May my existence composed of earth, water, fire, air, ether, individual consciousness, lunar and solar energy become one with the Universal Consciousness.
After meditating on the 8 petaled lotus:
Focus at the heart centre with a mantra that resonates with you or a prayer of healing or gratitude for as long as you wish.
To end the meditation:
Take 3 deep breaths through your nose and bow your head to your heart centre in gratitude for your existence.
The Cave Of The Heart Meditation Practice
- Please come into a comfortable seated position with your spine straight. Palms are resting on your knees facing upwards, ready to receive.
- Begin to tune into the natural flow of your breath: the inhale and the exhale.
- As you become more aware of your breath, you will find your breath will begin to drop in further. The breath is through the nose.
- Eyes are closed and begin to focus on your 3rd eye: the space between your eyebrows, the seat of intuition.
- Now begin to tune into your heart centre with each breath. Visualize the opening of a cave which leads you to your scared beating heart.
- In the centre of your heart blooms a beautiful white 8- petalled lotus. On each of the eight petals, there is a flame.
- Direct your attention to each flame in turn, in a clockwise direction.
First petal and flame:
OM śarvāya namaḥ
Salutations to Sharva – the divine in the form of the earth element (prithivi) ~ I bow to the earth element
Second petal and flame:
OM bhavāya namaḥ
Salutations to Bhava – the divine in the form of the water element (apas) ~ I bow to the water element
Third petal and flame:
OM rudrāya namaḥ
Salutations to Rudra – the divine in the form of the fire element (agni) ~ I bow to the fire element
Fourth petal and flame:
OM ugrāya namaḥ
Salutations to Ugra – the divine in the form of the air element (vayu) ~ I bow to the air element.
Fifth petal and the flame shining on it:
OM bhimāya namaḥ
Salutations to Bhima – the divine in the form of the ether element (akasha) ~ I bow to the ether element
Sixth petal and flame:
OM paśupataye namaḥ
Salutations to Pashupati, lord of animals, who manifests in the form of individuality.
Seventh petal and the flame shining on it:
OM mahadevāya namaḥ
Salutations to Mahadeva, the great lord in the form of lunar energy.
Eighth petal and the flame shining on it:
OM iśānāya namaḥ
Salutations to Ishana, the divine in the form of solar energy.
Bring your awareness to the central flame and let all the flames merge into this flame at the heart centre
OM sāṅopāṅāya sāyudhāya savāhanāya saparivārāya namaḥ
Salutations to all the limbs and sublimbs of the Divine Beings to the whole divine family, and to all living beings. I bow to all Divine Beings and honour each existence, including my own through the lens of compassion.
May my existence composed of earth, water, fire, air, ether, individual consciousness, lunar and solar energy become one with the Universal Consciousness.
After meditating on the 8 petaled lotus:
Focus at the heart centre with a mantra that resonates with you or a prayer of healing or gratitude for as long as you wish.
To end the meditation:
Take 3 deep breaths through your nose and bow your head to your heart centre in gratitude for your existence.
Meditation # 2: “The Essence of Self” meditation by the spiritual teacher, Sadhguru
“If you are alone on this planet, what would you want for yourself? Ask yourself this question and see where It takes you. Sit alone for 5 minutes and see what your life would be like if you were absolutely alone in this world, if there were nobody or nothing to compare yourself with, what would you truly long for? What would really matter to you if there were no external appreciation or critique? If you do this everyday, you will become aligned with the longings of the life that you are, rather then the accumulated Karmic mess that you believe you are”
~ Sadhguru
~ Sadhguru