Meditate on the Heart

Meditate on the Heart

by Deepak Chopra

The purpose of this exercise is to give you the experience of making your  heart pure enough to witness spirit. Pure here doesn’t mean good and virtuous;  it means free from impurity, with no value judgment intended. In the words of  William Blake, we are cleansing the doors of perception.

Sit comfortably in a quiet room by yourself, choosing a time when you feel  settled and unhurried. Early morning is best, since your mind will be alert and  fresh. Close your eyes and focus your attention on the middle of your chest,  where your heart is. (Your spiritual heart lies directly behind your  breastbone.)

Be aware of your heart as a space. Don’t try to hear your heartbeat or any  other sound you think a heart makes as it pumps blood. The heart center you want  to find is a point of awareness where feelings enter. In its pure form it is  empty, pervaded by weightlessness, absence of care, peace, and a subtle light.  This light may appear as white, gold, pale pink, or blue. But again, don’t  strain to find a light of any kind. You are not trying to sense the purity of  the heart center right now; all you need to feel is whatever is there.

Letting your attention rest easily there, breathe gently and sense your  breath going into your heart center. Here you may want to visualize a soft  pastel light, or a coolness pervading the chest. Let the breath go in and out,  and as it does, ask your heart to speak to you. Don’t phrase this as an order;  just have the faint intention that you want your heart to express itself.

For the next five or 10 minutes, sit and listen. Your heart will begin to  release emotions, memories, wishes, fears, and dreams long stored there, and as  it does, you will find yourself paying attention.

Paying attention to your heart is the object of this meditation.

You will notice as you continue this exercise that three things are naturally  coming together: Meditation, purification and attention. You are learning to be  with your heart in order to heed its spiritual meaning—this is  meditation. You are letting repressed material come up to be  released—this is purification. You are listening to your heart  without judgment or manipulation—this is attention.