We are now merging our heart with the fourth dimension,
The dimension of God as love,
Dimension that is represented by Thursday and by the heart chakra.
In our encounter with this dimension we need to reflect on the state of our heart,
The condition of our heart,
Whether it is divided,
Conflicted or it is all-inclusive,
Whether we choose to break boundaries or remain emotionally separate.
So today it is the time to let our heart center absorb all division,
Resolve emotional conflicts with ourselves and with the world,
Choose trust and faith and purify our motivations.
And the meditation we'll practice today is the Tone Glance,
The Buddhist meditation in which we transform suffering into light through our heart.
So as we're sitting quietly bring your mind home,
Then meditate deeply on compassion,
The nature of compassion.
Invoke the presence of all the Buddhas,
Bodhisattvas and enlightened beings so that through their inspiration and blessing compassion may be born in your heart.
Begin by setting your intention to invite suffering in and to remain present with it.
Envision yourself in a safe space.
You will be taking in feelings such as grief,
Anger and anxiety.
It is important that you feel comfortable where you are.
Of course if anything comes up that you don't feel able to handle,
You may simply return to your breath or take a more relaxed approach to the practice.
Bring your awareness to your breath and as you inhale begin visualizing pollution entering your body,
Smoke,
Dark clouds or just a general feeling of obstruction and darkness.
In a state of open awareness this negativity will have nowhere to stick in your body.
You can also imagine your body as made of a light substance,
Thus allowing it to be processed and transformed.
And as you exhale imagine that you are breathing out bright,
Pure,
Nourishing air just as if your body were a plant receiving pollution and sending out clearing energy.
Now imagine in front of you as vividly and poignantly as possible someone you care for who is experiencing emotional discomfort or suffering.
Try to imagine every aspect of the person's pain and distress.
Allow their suffering to open your heart to compassion.
Feel the wish to relieve the person of all suffering physical,
Mental,
Emotional,
Situational.
You may even make a wish such as may you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Then imagine that all of their suffering manifests together and gathers into a great mass of hot,
Black,
Grimy smoke or a dark,
Heavy cloud surrounding them.
Now move your awareness to your heart area and breathe in deeply imagining yourself inhaling those dark,
Heavy,
Uncomfortable,
Cloudy feelings directly into your heart.
Visualize that this mass of black smoke dissolves with your in-breath into the very core of your heart and there it destroys completely all traces of self-centeredness purifying also all your negative karma.
It is as if in an instant both that cloud of misery and your self-centeredness mutually extinguish each other leaving no trace of other behind.
Imagine now that your self-centeredness has been destroyed that the heart of your enlightened mind is fully revealed.
As you breathe out from the heart area imagine that your heart is a source of bright,
Warm,
Compassionate light and that you are breathing that light into the person who is suffering and dark feelings are disappearing without a trace into the light of your heart and our clouds are transforming into a bright,
Warm light at the center of your heart alleviating the person suffering.
Next try extending your compassion to a stranger or a general population such as a particular community or in impoverished country that may be experiencing dark,
Heavy feelings at this moment.
As you did for your loved one imagine inhaling cloudy,
Dark feelings away from those people and into your own heart.
As the dark feelings settle into your heart imagine that they are disappearing without a trace into the light of your compassionate heart.
You may have a compassionate wish such as may you have happiness along with visualization of anything that might bring the person or persons relative happiness and transcendent joy.
Visualize that this person or persons in front of you become happier and healthier with each breath.
Now we'll continue the process of sending and receiving but this time extend your compassion to someone you find it difficult to associate with or even a so-called enemy.
Again imagine inhaling cloudy,
Dark feelings away from this person or people and into your own heart.
And as the dark feelings settle into your heart imagine that they are disappearing without a trace into the light of your compassionate heart.
You can imagine this person or people being enveloped by the calm and comforting light that you are breathing out from your heart.
Now as you continue with this cycle of inhaling and exhaling suffering and relief begin to visualize suffering beyond any individual person.
You might expand specially outward from your body people who live around in your neighborhood,
In your city and so on.
And really visualize the black smoke of suffering as it is gathering over people's heads,
Animals,
Plants.
You are taking it in transforming it in your enlightened heart a universal part of the buddha.
It is your very own heart.
Allow the size of the group to gradually expand until you are taking in suffering from all directions.
Be with the planetary suffering,
The world suffering,
Breathing the miseries of all humans,
Animals and plants on this planet.
Let your heart be a vehicle of transformation allowing all darkness and negativity that exists anywhere past,
Present and future to become absorbed in your heart then transformed in the light of your compassionate heart.
And you can imagine how the planet with every exhale is being enveloped by calm and comforting light.
The rays of this brilliant cooling light of peace,
Joy,
Happiness and ultimate well-being also purifying the planet's and humanity's negative karma.
Have a firm conviction that all of this negative karma can be purified.
Breathe out healing and relief in all directions.
Now you may return to resting in open awareness.
Follow the breath and on the exhale release any tension that may have arisen during the meditation.
Relax and let go arriving in the present moment.
