While many of us find it difficult to even open our heart,
I will dare to say that opening the heart is actually quite easier than maintaining the heart open over the long run.
And this is the purpose of the meditation that I want to teach you how to perform today.
It's quite easy to achieve a singular state of high consciousness,
High effervescence or an opening of the heart,
But it is a different thing to maintain this.
When our heart opens,
Quite often we feel like there is an explosion of fire inside of our chest.
The purpose of the meditation of today is to stoke this fire and keep the heart open even when the heart is at rest.
If we only learn how to love when our heart is blazing with fire,
Then what will become of us in those moments when we want to sit quietly?
Will our heart close?
And so,
In this meditation,
We are going to stoke what is normally left after a fire burns – the embers.
This meditation is known as blowing on the embers of the heart.
It is a modern take on a Sufi meditation.
In Sufism,
The heart is often described as a lamp,
Flame or ember,
Symbolic of the light of divine love and wisdom that resides within every individual.
This symbolism is rooted in the spiritual understanding that the heart is the center of a person's soul and the primary vessel through which one connects with God that is described as being made of pure love.
One of the key metaphors for the heart in Sufism comes from the Qur'anic verse of light,
24-35,
Where the heart is likened to a lamp within a niche that illuminates when filled with divine presence.
This light,
Described as light upon light,
Represents the soul's potential to reflect divine beauty and wisdom when purified and nurtured.
The lamp in this verse symbolizes the heart as a sanctuary of divine light which can be kindled through meditative practices,
Such as zikr,
Remembrance of God,
And muraqabah,
Contemplation.
The aim is to transform the heart into a glowing lamp that can guide the soul toward union with the divine.
In Sufi mysticism,
The heart is also seen as a flame or ember that represents the burning love for God.
This metaphor is especially powerful in the context of longing and the passionate desire for union with the divine.
For example,
In the teachings of Rumi and other Sufi poets,
The flame of the heart is a consuming force that burns away the ego and illuminates the path of divine love.
As the embryonic fire in the heart dims through neglect or emotional wounds,
Meditative practices like blowing on the embers of the heart are used to rekindle this divine flame,
Restoring warmth and light to the soul.
The heart as an ember or flame can also be found in the allegories of Majnun and Laila,
Where Majnun's love for Laila becomes an all-consuming fire.
This story is an allegory for the Sufi path,
Where the seeker,
Majnun,
Is driven by an inner flame of divine love that transforms and purifies the heart,
Ultimately leading to union with God.
The burning love and longing reflected in these stories symbolize the intense spiritual yearning that fuels the mystic's journey.
While these symbols are rooted in early Sufi traditions,
Modern Sufi teachers and practitioners continue to use the metaphor of the heart as a flame or ember in contemporary meditative practices.
The meditation practice of blowing on the embers of the heart is a modern adaptation,
But it draws heavily on these ancient Sufi concepts of nurturing the heart's light,
Using breath and visualization to fan the flame of divine love and reawaken the heart's capacity for compassion,
Forgiveness,
And connection to the divine.
This dynamic image of the heart as a lamp,
Flame,
Or ember reflects the Sufi belief that love is transformative,
And it's through purifying and illuminating the heart that one can experience the profound spiritual states of divine union and peace.
This technique of blowing on the embers of the heart enable us to rekindle and reawaken our love,
Even when we feel that it has passed away from us.
It's a wonderful practice that can help you maintain and sustain your love over longer periods without burning out completely.
You can practice this meditation on a daily basis.
You can do it for several minutes,
But I recommend to really follow the recording and to do it for at least 10 to 15.
I hope you found this instructive,
And I welcome you to the meditation of blowing on the embers of the heart.
Welcome to the meditation of the embers of the heart.
I invite you to sit in a comfortable sitting position,
Keeping your spine erect,
Your body relaxed and comfortable.
Take a deep breath,
And as you let it go,
Let go of all the anxieties of the day.
Allow your mind to drop into the heart.
Let go of all the thoughts and feel that your center of weight is falling from your head into the center of your chest.
Normally,
You will feel that you take a deep inhale spontaneously,
And the exhale helps you guide the mind into the chest.
With the awareness of the chest,
Become aware of the sensations in the chest.
Normally,
After we have an expansion of the heart,
There will be a remnant feeling.
On the other hand,
If you've had your heart broken or are filled with sorrow and sadness,
You may feel pain and discomfort in the chest.
Whatever the sensation is,
Let it be.
The embers of the heart are always warm,
Even if they are covered by other pains.
Even if you feel nothing,
They are there,
Just waiting to be reignited.
If you've ever started a campfire,
You probably know that one of the ways to enliven the fire is to blow upon the embers.
But this blowing needs to be very gentle.
If you blow too much air at a small fire,
You will put it out.
It needs to be slow and gentle.
And so I want to invite you to notice your breathing now,
The breath as it comes in and out through the nostrils.
But rather than pay attention to the breath moving in the nostrils,
I want you to focus on the sensation of the air entering into the center of your chest.
Notice that as the breath is passing through your chest,
It enhances the sensation in the center of your chest.
Try to feel that there is a sensation of warmth in the center of your chest.
Even if you have pain or other sensations,
Try to look that underneath them there is some kind of warmth.
You can even imagine that there is an ember.
It might be very dark now,
But every time that you breathe into it,
As you inhale and as you exhale,
The air rushes and caresses the surface of this ember.
And as it does that,
It becomes redder,
Hotter.
Focus on this heat that is being generated in your chest.
The breath may go lower in the body than the chest.
This is partly why,
Even in the exhale,
The ember becomes warmer and warmer.
As we inhale,
The air rushes across the surface of this ember,
The ember of the heart.
And as we exhale,
The air again passes upon the surface of this ember.
Notice that the breathing becomes shallow and slow.
Notice the sensation that is generated in your chest.
You may even feel at times that it is uncomfortable.
But with time,
You will come to love this sensation in the heart.
The heart is awakening.
Your heart is awakening.
Notice the heat generated by this ember.
It's almost that there are two sensations in the chest.
The ember itself that is being blown on,
And the irradiating heat that is filling your chest,
Arising from the ever-warming ember.
Notice now the emotional quality of this heat.
What word would you use to describe this sensation?
Pain.
Sadness.
Longing.
Compassion.
Love.
Peace.
Satisfaction.
Contentment.
Joy.
These are just some examples of the emotions that arise from the heart.
Allow yourself to find the right word to describe your sensation and keep blowing on the embers of the heart.
The sensations may change or become intensified.
And the name that you feel is most fitting to describe them may change as well.
What feels like sadness may become longing and then love,
Or any other emotion.
We will pause here for today.
But if you want,
You may continue this meditation for another 5 or 10 minutes.
You will notice that when you become profound in this meditation,
You may actually feel like there is a small fire burning in your chest.
You may even smell smoke or taste smoke inside of your body.
These are all great signs of success.
Keep blowing on the embers of the heart,
Slowly increasing in love day by day.
Until our next meeting,
Namaste.
