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by Swami
Kriyananda , from The
Art and Science of Raja Yoga
"When the energy is directed upward to the brain, outward,
worldly tendencies disappear as a matter of course."
— Swami Kriyananda, God Is For Everyone |
Anything that
you can do to increase the upward flow of energy in your body when
you meditate will facilitate your efforts... For your attention
IS your energy. That is to say, your measure of concentration depends
entirely on how much energy you can direct in the process. Divine
awakening depends upon channeling all of your energy upward,
and focusing it at the point between the eyebrows. That is what
Jesus meant when he said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy strength."
The first battle, however, is to generate only enough of an upward
flow to break free of the downward, gravitational pull of matter.
To accomplish this end, three things are necessary:
- avoidance
of those actions and states of consciousness which pull the energy
downward;
- upward, devotional
aspiration;
- techniques
specifically directed toward raising the energy in the body.
To free your
energy from the downward pull of matter, avoid especially anything
that dulls the mind, as well as anything that increases its identification
with the senses. Laziness, over-sleep, mental vagueness or lack
of interest, boredom, even selfishness, hatred, or pride (which
narrow one's perceptions), must be cured by daily mental injections
of keen interest and enthusiasm, kindness, forgiveness, and self-forgetfulness
in doing things for others.
It is important
also to be self-controlled, identified less and less with the senses,
and more and more with the soul within. For though one experiences
pleasure through the senses, and therefore, through them, awareness
of a certain kind, it is a fact of life that the more one looks
to those pleasures to stimulate his awareness, the more, in the
long run, it becomes dulled.
Devotional aspiration
can be awakened by chanting, service (or, in meditation, an attitude
of service), surrender to the Lord, and contemplation of those divine
qualities which awaken in one the remembrance of Him.
As for techniques
that help one to raise the inner energy, it may, in a sense, be said
that all the techniques of yoga have this for their aim. But
here is a specific and simple exercise that will help you:
Sit
upright in any comfortable meditation pose. Inhale slowly and deeply,
and feel that your breath is acting as a magnet to draw the energy
up from the lower part of the body to the point between the eyebrows.
Concentrate breath and energy at that point to a mental count of
12. Exhale. Then repeat the process, concentrating at the Christ
center a little longer (25 counts, if you can do so comfortably);
focus your entire being at that point. Exhale.
Again inhale,
concentrating still longer (40 counts, if this is not too long for
comfort).
Forget the breath and the body, and think only of focusing your
energy and awareness ever more deeply at the Christ center, the
seat of divine awareness within you.
Read Take
a Long-Term View of Your Meditation Practice for more ideas
and inspiration on preventive meditation medicine.
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