Guided meditation on the spiritual heart



Today we offer an audio recording of a guided meditation from our friend Bhuvah of the Auckland Sri Chinmoy Centre published on The first exercise includes relaxation and flower meditation. The second exercise features a meditation on the spiritual heart. These exercises are similar to the many exercises that we teach during our regular classes.

What is a good meditation?

From the book “Meditation: Man-Perfection in God-Satisfaction” by Sri Chinmoy



There is also another way that you can know. If you are actually entering into a higher plane, you will feel that your body is becoming very light. Although you don’t have wings, you will almost feel that you can ﬂy. In fact, when you have reached a very high world, you will actually see a bird inside you that can easily ﬂy just as real birds do.

When it is your imagination, you will get a very sweet feeling for a few minutes; then immediately dark or frustrating thoughts will come into you. You will say, “I studied so hard, but I did not do well in my examination,” or “I worked so hard in the office today, but I could not please my boss.” These negative forces in the form of frustration will immediately come in. Or doubt will enter, and you may say, “How can I meditate so well when yesterday I did so many wrong things? How can God be pleased with me? How can I be having a high meditation?” But if it is really a high meditation, you will feel that your whole existence, like a divine bird, is soaring high, higher, highest. While you are having this feeling there will be no sad thoughts, no frustrating thoughts and no doubts. You will be flying in the sky of delight where all is joy, peace and bliss.


Concentration on a candle flame

An important steps towards being able to meditate is the ability to focus. In concentration we aim all of our thoughts at a single object. The object can be external, such as a candle flame, black dot or a flower. It can also be internal, such as our breath or our heart-beat. Or it can be one thought in our mind, such as an imagery of a blazing sun or a vast ocean. Concentration enables to be present, to be there with the object of our concentration. It also enables us to identify with the qualities of the object we focus on. For example, when we concentrate on a imagery of peaceful and vast ocean, after a few minutes of this exercise we may feel more peaceful. Most importantly, concentration pacifies the constant chatter of our thoughts and creates an internal space to open to our inner heart and to our soul which we seek in our meditation.

Here is a simple concentration exercise that many people found to be effective.

burning_candle1. Find a quiet space where you can practice this exercise and place a candle there.

2. Take a few deep breaths. Relax.

3. Bring your vision to the candle flame. Start by focusing on the entire candle flame. As the exercise progresses you may wish to focus on even a smaller point, such as the tip of the candle flame.

4. Imagine as if there was a magnifying glass in front of you and that glass took all of your scattered thoughts and brought them to the candle flame.

5. If you feel too tense, almost to the point of getting a headache, relax a bit. Breathe. You can imagine that instead from your head the power of your concentration comes from your heart. Imagine that when you breath out your breath goes from your heart into the candle flame and when you breathe in your breath goes back from the candle flame into your heart. Establish a gentle, yet focused heart-identification with the candle flame.

6. If you notice that you lost your focus and your mind wondered off elsewhere simply bring your attention back to the candle flame. Do not be annoyed at yourself when this happens. Be patient. In the beginning, this can happen several times during a single exercise. As you practice regularly and you get better at the exercise, the number times this happens decreases and your moments of uninterrupted focus extend.

7. To finish the exercise, take a few deep breaths. Take a few moments to internalize the exercise before you go on with your other activities.

Initially, practice the exercise just for a few minutes. As you improve, you can extent the duration of the exercise. Remember, it is the quality of your exercise that matters, not how long you sit there. Practice with inspiration and diligence.

Breathing Exercise

Meditation on the Heart



from 101 Meditation Techniques by Sri Chinmoy

Breathing exercise

Simple Meditation Exercise – Breathing


In the beginning, we can practice this exercise for 5 minutes. But, we should try to lengthen the time we meditate from 5 minutes to 10 and then 15 minutes. However, there are no prizes for sitting in a chair for a long time. What matters is not the length of time we meditate, but, how sincere and soulful our meditation is. Don’t analyze your meditation with the mind, but try to enter into the flow of a new experience. If you can maintain real inner silence for just 5 minutes, you will feel a new consciousness dawning in you.

Nine tips for meditation practice



2. Preparation.

  • If possible shower and wear clean clothes before meditating.








Silent Teaching – upcoming workshops and lectures in September and October

In September and October we will be holding a series of meditation workshops and lectures entitled “Silent Teaching”. The title is an apt description of meditation practice, our inner journey and spiritual teachers.


Meditation is the inner language, and the teacher teaches meditation through silence. It would not be easy for your professor to teach through silence, and for the student also it would not be easy to learn through silence. But a spiritual teacher will meditate for five minutes in silence and during his meditation he will offer peace, light and bliss. He can instruct you to meditate either by giving you specific instructions or through his silent gaze. But most of the time the spiritual teacher teaches through silence, because that way is most effective.

– Sri Chinmoy

To practice silence you can try the following exercise:

– Sri Chinmoy, Meditation: God Speaks And I Listen, Part 1, Agni Press, 1974.