Heart Meditation: An Introduction to Gnostic Heart Meditation by Dr. Seyed M. Azmayesh

Author:Dr. Seyed M. Azmayesh [Azmayesh, Dr. Seyed M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mehraby
Published: 2014-05-25T04:00:00+00:00

"Whatever you find in this world,

if it is outside of yourself,

it does not exist.

Whatever you search for,

search for it inside yourself,

for everything you look for,

lies hidden within you."

Jelaleddin Rumi, Mowlana (13th century)

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[7] Some of these rhythms can be heard on the website dedicated to this book: www.heartmeditation.eu

7. Imaging - the active creation of inner images

Medicine of the 18th century used to apply imaging systematically for therapeutical purposes. In the Near East doctors and healers used to tell carefully composed stories full of metaphors to their patients, in order to encourage self-knowledge and to motivate the patient to heal. In meditation we also deal with the ability to actively create inner images.

Once we have achieved the ability to direct our attention towards our heartbeat for a certain amount of time without any interruption, it’s time to apply further elements of meditation. Like the previous step, this exercise is about concentration, but it varies slightly from being aware of the heartbeat.

If we block out the outer world for a moment, we can easily notice that inner images of past events, for example humans interacting, landscapes, buildings and so on, pop up before our inner eyes. We can create these images by our own will when we decide to remember this or that, or we can create pictures we haven't seen before. We are able to observe the exact shape of a stone or a plant, and then we can remember it either by coincidence, or we can re-create its image on purpose at a later time.

We can apply the same principle with our inner organs. We observe the shape of the heart for example and remember its shape and later its place in the human body.

Thus whilst meditating we sit in a quiet corner of our room and observe our heartbeat. In the meantime, we focus on the mental image of our heart while paying attention towards our heartbeat. We try to keep up the image as long as possible and when we lose it we re-create it and keep it a new.

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