A Journal of Mystical Inclinations Toward the One

Practicum

June 15, 2006

Meditation on Conception

To begin our meditation on the theme of conception, I invite you to consider the following quote from Hazrat Inayat Khan:

Wide space, the womb of my heart
Conceive my thought,
I pray and give birth to my desire.

There is a profound teaching here about the relationship between the heart and the mind, the thought and the desire. The heart is where thoughts are conceived, and where desires are born. We often believe it is the mind which is the source of thought, but this quote suggests that the mind receives its direction from the heart. The purpose of the mind is to strategize -- if this is my desire, what is the best way to achieve it?

Within this quote is also a powerful revelation: the heart is not simply an organ in the chest, but it extends to the ‘wide space’ all around. The heart contains all feelings, all beings, all that exists.

To experience the conception that occurs within the heart, we must use the breath. The breath may be thought of as having three parts: the exhalation, the inhalation, and a holding of the breath. Each part of the breath can be used to bring out a different aspect of one’s heart.

For this meditation, let’s think of the breath as coming into the heart on the inhalation, and expanding outward from the heart on the exhalation. As we breathe in and out of the heart, we give the heart more energy through the conscious direction of our breath, through our concentration, our attention.

We want to ensure that the breath is as full and deep as possible, so we engage the abdominal muscles on the exhalation, pushing out all the breath, squeezing the lungs until they are empty. On the inhalation, we breathe into the belly, letting the breath expand and fill the belly, then rising into the chest, filling the body with breath, feeling it expand from the pelvis to the collarbone. We normally use about 20% of our lung capacity, never fully emptying the lungs, and hence, never fully inhaling.

To aid the concentration on the heart, we pay attention to the heartbeat. We want to bring the length of the exhalation into balance with the length of the inhalation, say 8 beats out, 8 beats in. It is good to experiment with the rhythm of the breath to find the best rhythm for your own heartbeat, although keeping the number even is generally good. If you cannot feel the heartbeat, place a hand on the chest, with the fingertips lightly touching the breastbone.

Once this rhythm is established, add a holding of the breath at the top of the inhalation, when the lungs are full of breath. (Do not hold after the exhalation) Hold the breath for 8 beats of the heart, or whatever length of time you are using for the inhalation.

Now on the holding of the breath, feel your heart, full of energy and breath. Consider that every thought, every feeling, is conceived within your heart. Allow your heart to speak to you, and pay close attention to what it says. Every image, every thought, every emotion is a message from the heart. When you go deep within the heart, something beautiful is conceived. As you exhale, use your breath to help it grow, and be born into your life. As you inhale, let the feeling expand to fill your whole being, assimilating it into every cell of your body.

This meditation is based on the book Living from the Heart, by Puran Khan Bair. See www.appliedmeditation.org for more information.

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Editor

Asatar Bair once tried to travel around the world in a hot air balloon, but was shot down by bow and arrow over the Galapagos. He escaped on the back of a giant turtle and has since lived a quiet life in San Francisco. Email him at asatar@saffronjournal.org.

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