Your Transforming Heart

[Xan]

YOUR TRANSFORMING HEART

This meditation is based on an ancient Tibetan practice known as Tonglen, and has been used by many generations and traditions to cultivate bodhichitta, or compassion.

Once the steps have been practiced it becomes very simple. It can be used as a way to open and heal one's own heart, for developing the ability of living from the heart rather than the head, for dissolving feelings of separation and isolation, and for giving unconditionally to others, specifically or globally. This is the true nature of Love Itself.

The outer, emotional heart may give pain as well as pleasure, true, but as one becomes more aware one accepts the pain as a blessing, an opportunity. The quality of the pain naturally starts changing because you are no longer resisting it. Then it is no longer pain; it is a fire that will cleanse and deepen you.

It is a transmutation, a transformation process, in which the old will go and the new will arrive; in which the mind will disappear and the inner, spiritual heart will function wholly. Then your life becomes a blessing.

TRANSFORMING HEART MEDITATION

This gift is from Atisha, a second century Tibetan teacher

When you breathe in, imagine you are breathing in the miseries of the people in the world - all the hardness, all the negativity and abuse, all the non-love that exists anywhere. Breathe it in and let it be absorbed in your Heart.

The so-called positive thinkers of the West say just the opposite but they don't know what they are saying. They say, when you breathe out throw out all your misery and negativity; and when you breathe in take in joy, positivity, happiness, cheerfulness. Atisha's powerful method is just the opposite.

When you inhale, breathe in all the misery and suffering of all the beings of the world.
When you exhale, breathe out all the joy you have ---
all the unconditional love, all the peace, all the silence.

You will be surprised at what happens. The moment you take in the sufferings of the world they are no longer sufferings. The Inner Heart immediately transforms the energy. The spiritual Heart is a transforming force. Drink in misery and it is transformed into blissfulness... then pour it out.

Breathe out and pour yourself into existence.
This is the method of compassion:
Drink in suffering and pour out blessings.

Compassion is being a transforming force in existence - transforming the ugly into the beautiful, kissing the frog and transforming it into a prince, transforming pain into healing, darkness into light.

If you find any hindrance in the meditation, notice if you are holding on to expectations and release through heart breathing

Once you have learned that your Heart can do this magic, this miracle of giving, you will like to do it more and more.

Begin with yourself.
Breathe your pain, your suffering, your conflicts and knots into your own pure inner Heart.
Then breathe out from your Heart into all parts of yourself.


Keep going... and notice your increasing lightness.

- adapted from Osho, “The Book of Wisdom”


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“If you can experience it - this is of tremendous importance - then start absorbing it. Don't throw it away. It is such a valuable energy; don't throw it away. Absorb it, drink it, accept it, welcome it, feel grateful to it. And say to yourself, 'This time I'm not going to avoid it, this time I'm not going to reject it, this time I'm not going to throw it away. This time I will drink it and receive it as a guest. This time I will digest it.'

“It may take a few days for your to be able to digest it, but the day it happens you have stumbled upon a door which will take you really far. A new journey has started in your life, you are moving into a new kind of being.....

“But start with your own self. Make a small experiment with your own pains, sufferings and miseries. The moment you accept the pain with no reject anywhere, its energy and its quality changes. It is no longer pain.

“And once you have found the key, then you can share it with the whole existence. Then you can take all the suffering of all the world, or all the worlds.

“Ride on the incoming breath and your small heart becomes bigger than the whole universe, then you know what miracles it can do. And pour out your blessings. It is the same energy passing through your heart that becomes bliss, that becomes blessing. Then let blessings go riding on the outgoing breath to all the nooks and corners of existence."



- from Osho, quoted in "Relaxing Into Clear Seeing" by Arjuna Nick Ardagh



blessings
Xan

[Miss Hepburn]

Funny, I never read this, wow.

[Tobi]

I'm glad that you found this Miss H.
I always thought Xan had a lot to contribute. It's a pity she left.

I found Xan inspiring too.

I started doing this a couple of months ago when I decided to really start doing the work and do something about myself and my situation.
I had a weekend to myself. Which was needed. All by myself. I could do anything my heart desired (within financial limits lol) yet finance does not compare to the richness you can feel in heart and spirit (to me anyway).
I could go on walks alone to be with my thoughts and air and clear them. I could take baths for as long as I want surrounded by candles and aroma oils. I could meditate as many times during the days as I wanted without interruption.
I needed this time out for myself. As a part and a start to recovery and healing.
The first thing I did during the day was go on a forest walk and on my way to the forest track I did what Xan has posted above. I focused on my breath and breathed in all the pains, despair, hurts...everything I could think of and breathed out joy, bliss, happiness, love, contentment. I did this over and over until I got to the track of the forest. I then went off track into a real bushy area amongst tall beautiful tree's and sat on the forest floor and meditated. to just BE and be one with all that is around me and in me.
In the distance I could hear a man singing with an acoustic guitar. As the forest was in parts It seemed in one part over the river (more park like) there must have been some kind of event going on. The sync in it was the lyrics I was hearing as I was on that forest floor. The lyrics were the songs of 'You are always on my mind' by Elvis and 'I'll stand by you' by The Pretenders.
Some how there was comfort in knowing in some way I was being given the message that I am not alone.

Anyway, sorry to go on..But yes this heart meditation has so far made a big impact in my life and ever since that weekend I have continued to go further in this and am recognizing that even what I deemed as bad times have been blessings and lessons. It encourages more gratitude.

I want to bump this up. I hope some of you may give this a try and keep going at it and find for yourself what differences you discover. Breathing has been such a great way to center myself when I may be feeling jumbled or intense. To just sit down and take deep breaths in and exhale relaxing my body with it, letting go of what may have me 'wound' up in the mind.
This heart transforming meditation is also an amazing experience. A least for me I have found this to be so.

This is one of the best pieces I have read on meditation in a long time and makes so much sense to me. I never saw the value of "breathing out" into the world all of the negative, there is just way too much out there now.

Going to give it a try. Thanks for bringing this to my attention by bumping it up.

Thanks for sharing this.

[Miss Hepburn]

I may see Xan today...I will be looking for her at a Braco gathering.
If I do I will let you all know...without breaking any Forum rules.

[in progress]

Say hi for me! Have a good time.

[Emmalevine]

Please say hi from me too.