Awakening the Heart in Meditation

And as the energy flows out of this opening, the opening expands, and as it expands, more shakti (divine energy) flows out of this center. You begin to radiate this energy from the center of your chest.

When you experience this, you feel absolutely content, in want of nothing. You feel unconditional love in a way that is beyond all emotion. It is often referred to as the first level of self realization.

Often people mistake the awakening of the heart as simply an emotional experience. Perhaps emotion may be there at times, but this experience of unconditional love is completely beyond emotion. It leaves you completely fulfilled, completely at peace.
The sense of “me” with all of its problems and worries is no longer important. You are still there, yet there is no sense of conflict. You expand beyond the sense of separateness into your true nature of unconditional peace.

Here is a technique based on Japa (the silent repetition of divine name) that is very effective to awaken the heart and help move you into self realizataion:

While you sit upright, silently repeat the name of a Saint, Guru or God of your choice while gently breathing through your nose into your chest letting your chest slightly expand as you do. Repeat the name once on the inhale and once on the exhale. Or if you prefer, repeat “I am” once on the inhale and once on the exhale.

Start with your hands and fingertips touching in front of your chest, as though you are in prayer. And as you inhale, silently repeat the name you have chosen, allowing the breath to move down into your chest and solar plexus and then exhale the breath repeating the name again.

So if you have chosen “Ramakrishna” silently repeat “Ramakrishna” on the inhale and “Ramakrishna” on the exhale, breathing deeply into your chest and solar plexus.

After a few minutes, place your hands flat on top of each other on your back just below your neck so that your elbows are pointing upward, expanding your chest. Repeat with the inhale and exhale as before, feeling the prana expand in your chest.

After a few minutes, let your arms and hands rest comfortably on your lap and with your eyes closed continue to repeat the name on the inhale and exhale allowing the breath to move into your chest and solar plexus allowing yourself to sink into deep meditation.

If you practice this technique you will begin to experience a sense of peace and love that will grow and expand into the awakening of your heart.

The most important factor in heart awakening is Shaktipat/Deeksha. Shaktipat awakens your heart from the inside out effortlessly. It is the divine energy/shakti we spoke about before, the underlying energy of peace at the essence of everything. And this underlying current of peace awakens you into your natural state of peace.

Before you could only receive Shaktipat/deeksha through an enlightened guru but now you can also receive Shaktipat through sound. There are CDs where Shaktipat/Deeksha has been recorded on special sound equipment and turned into music. So simply by listening to some beautiful meditation music, you receive Shakti and heart awakening begins to happen.

You can listen to free samples of this "shaktipat music" by clicking on the CDs below.

You can actually feel heart awakening almost physically. It is quite noticeable. From the center of your chest, you feel an opening.

Many who practice meditation on a daily basis can confess that they have felt a pain in the solar plexus or the center of the chest. This is the subtle energy/shakti moving against blocks in this area of the body. The pain can often feel like it is endless and along with this pain there is the feeling that you are separate from everything.

But when your heart really begins to awaken, you begin to move through this pain until it goes away and instead there is a feeling of an opening. It is very blissful, very calming.

It feels like there is a hole that is opening up at the center of your chest and out of that opening flows divine energy. This may be felt as unconditional peace, love or joy.

Awakening The Heart in Meditation