The Fifth Component:

Heart Radiance Meditation

The Heart Radiance Meditation is also called “Resonant Tuning” because the coherent intention of “Grace and Love” and, amplified through the Heart Chakra, creates a resonant field around the body.

With a little practice, this resonant energy can be expanded to every member of your community, -- and far beyond, causing all life to fall into attunement with the guiding intention.

For your benefit, and so that you can validate the effects through your own experience, we have contributed “The Simplified Method,” below. Later, we intend to include a longer version, hopefully with audio-streaming. Meanwhile, we wish you Good Practicing!

HEART RADIANCE MEDITATION:

SIMPLIFIED METHOD

Three Steps to Opening Heart Radiance in Three Minutes

 Sit in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed, with your spine straight, feet flat on the floor, and the palms up, open and relaxed on top of the thighs.

Begin breathing a bit more deeply than normal, noticing the rise and fall of the belly and/or chest. Meanwhile, become aware of the Earth underneath you and the Cosmos above.

Develop an appreciative affection for these two great Natural Allies of our human being-ness. Then gradually get in touch with the energy of the molten core at the centre of Mother Earth.

 1. (Approx. 1 minute)

As you continue your slightly deeper breath, see and feel that each time you inhale you can absorb the warm and nurturing energies from the core of Mother Earth deep inside your whole being. On the full inhale, pause for a moment, then exhale and allow Earth’s energy to expand, saturating every cell and tissue.

--Continue with this pattern for a minute, or as long as desired.

 2. (Approx. 1 minute)

Continuing your slightly deeper breathing, shift your attention to get in touch with the Source of Universal energy, Divine Creator, God—whatever you may like to call it. See and feel it as a distinct, radiant sphere, like a brilliant sun, directly overhead.

On each inhale, absorb the radiant energy of Source down through the top of the head till you see and feel it filling the whole body. Fully inhaled, pause for a moment, then exhale and allow that radiance to expand, saturating every cell and tissue. --Continue with this pattern for a minute, or as long as desired.

3. (Approx. 1 minute)

Shift your attention once again, so that you can see and feel Earth and Cosmos simultaneously emitting radiant energetic ripples in all directions, like two stones dropped on the pond of your expanded consciousness.

Continue to breathe a bit more deeply. Every time you inhale, see and feel that you absorb these radiant energetic ripples simultaneously from above and below, allowing them to intersect at the energetic Heart Centre (in the centre of the chest). As you exhale allow this intersection* to open up, expanding a new radiance—Heart Radiance—inside the whole body. As you exhale/expand this way, say to yourself, “Allow Grace, Allow Love.” --Continue with this pattern for a minute, or as long as desired.

When you begin to feel comfortable with pattern #3, you can continue to use the same pattern to expand Heart Radiance beyond the physical body, to the auric field, then to your immediate environment, then further and further, as far as your imagination can reach… and beyond.

Heart Radiance Meditation:

Background Story

Heart of Soul

When I agreed to caretake a small mountain temple in the remote mountains of Eastern Taiwan , I never thought I’d be asked to open my heart out to the edge of the Universe. Teacher Tang, master of the temple had agreed to instruct me in the practise of Taoist internal yoga. For two years he kept his word and I felt we were making good progress. Then he introduced me to his eccentric friend Jwen.

“Eccentric” isn’t really a proper word to describe Jwen—or “Ge Ge (Elder Brother) Jwen” as he liked to be called. In fact no one word is adequate to describe him. “Strange,” “peculiar,” at times “bizarre,” reveal a bit more of the flavor of this character. Nevertheless, he had a remarkable dignity and composure about him. He always wore the baggy black clothes of a Chinese farmer and kept his long hair knotted on his head like a Taoist. He seemed rather crude as compared with Tang’s wealthy patrons from Taipei who came up on weekends for ceremonies. Ge Ge Jwen wanted nothing to do with ceremonies. But, for some reason he didn’t mind hanging out with me, perhaps because I’m a bit crude too. Our remarkable friendship kept me there, on the mountain, for another three years.

It was a midsummer evening just after dark. The locusts were roaring in the nearby bamboo grove, and, as usual on a weekday, I was the only one in the temple. I sat cross-legged on the bed in my tiny room.

“I see you’re wasting your time again tonight.” I recognised the whimsical tone in Jwen’s voice as he once again abruptly barged into my life. “Looks like you’re trying to meditate or something…” His voice trailed off into a little giggle.”

I felt the irritation as my breathing constricted a bit. I was completing a month-long retreat consisting of a sparse diet and long days filled with traditional Taoist meditation. The energy was zinging round my body like tracer bullets, and I was feeling pretty ecstatic. That is, before this unexpected, rather crude interruption.

“I know you’re feeling, ehhh… kind of ‘high,’ and that’s okay. You can get high on rice wine too. It’s easier. But still, you’d be wasting your time, Mas. Too bad.”

This was just too much. I was losing my cool. All the pleasant vibrations in my body subsided into a stagnant pool of righteous indignation. I slowly opened my eyes and there he was smiling down on me, his eyes twinkling. I felt as if I were the biggest joke in town. Just as I opened my mouth to offer my irritable response, he interjected, “Okay, okay. I know you think you’re really on to something.” His penetrating eyes remained fixed to mine, challenging my gaze. He sat down on a chair a short distance away, then continued in a casual tone, “Actually that stuff you’re doing with your energy is okay for your physical health. Later you may even get some psychic abilities, too. The only problem is that if you keep practicing this way, you’re most likely to end up on a power trip. As you gain more power, you will begin to feel different—separate from other people. That’s not really what you came here for, is it? You know very well that there’s no peace in separation. Whatever you practise must lead you to reconcile with others—to grow ever more intimate—to actually become the same….”

He stopped in mid-sentence. His eyes had softened considerably. I began to feel a shift in my energy, from the buzzing in my head to a warm glow in my heart. This was very calm, very pleasant; not at all like the bubbling intense energy I had become used to with the Taoist practises. I closed my eyes to savor the shift. After a while he continued.

“You see, there is another way. The way of Soul (Ling). The Taoist Yogis have always known about it, but most abandoned it long ago. Some became too absorbed with their alchemy; others allowed themselves to become intoxicated with power. Gradually most forgot the way of Soul Repair.

At this point my ears pricked up. Indeed I had heard of Soul Repair (Ling Shiou), but it seemed to be in the category of a mysterious, perhaps mythical, practise. The rumor among my Taoist-leaning friends was that this practise was perhaps even older than Taoism, and that its origins were unknown.

“Yes, you’re right.” By now I had become accustomed to Jwen answering my thoughts as if they were part of the conversation. At times this could be awkward, but now I was waiting for him to continue. “Very few know the true practise these days. Yet it has always continued, all over the world.”

All over the world? I always thought it was exclusively Chinese.

“No, no—all over the world,” he insisted, “but that is another matter. For now we’d best make a start with what is most practical.” He paused for a long time, as if in deep contemplation. The warmth in my chest increased.

“So what is most practical?” I finally asked.

“What’s most practical is what’s most obvious,” he responded. “It’s so simple. Just notice for yourself, right now…. what’s most obvious?”

“I took a breath and allowed the answer to come spontaneously. “Here and Now.”

There was a long pause. “Concepts, concepts, concepts!” arose in my mind. But it was Elder Brother’s voice. Then I began to feel very, very heavy. My body felt as if it were pressing down deeper into the bed. “My…”

“Obviously!” he interjected, “Your body seems heavy. It isn’t! It’s just the effect of Mother Earth calling. Finally, you noticed!”

“Gravity. Right! It’s pretty obvious,” I thought. From the moment we’re conceived in the womb to the moment of death, it’s there. I remembered reading about some Swiss researchers who proved that the body loses a tiny bit of weight at the moment of death. Perhaps even the departing soul retains a token whisp of this mysterious immutable force, the Mother’s gravitational pull. And yet…as I continued to contemplate this feeling, another sensation gradually revealed itself. I felt the energy to be quite different from gravity, as it rose up into my body, warm and comfortable, from the very centre of the planet. My inner vision saw it as glowing and orange-tinted. It was extremely pleasant, gradually filling my lower belly, and then flowing out into my whole body with great ease, like Mother Earth, flowing through space, without any particular effort. As it pervaded my whole being, this rising, supportive energy became far more obvious than gravity.

After a while, I began to feel my attention shifting. It was being pulled upward, guided out of my physical body, expanding out into the cosmos in all directions. Suddenly I realised that I was in a realm without boundaries, totally free of limitation. I lost track of who or where I was. I have no idea how long I remained in that state, but when I began to regain cognition, the first thing that occurred to me was that this boundlessness, this expanse, was neither in my head—nor was it “out there.” Then I felt a luminous energy emitting from directly above me, penetrating to the very centre of my brain, then radiating out in all directions. It was the energy of that boundless expanse, pouring into my consciousness, manifesting as a violet radiance, first in my brain, then slowly saturating my whole body, as the orange radiance of the Earth had done. I was consumed with a sense of euphoria and freedom.

Gradually my euphoria subsided. I returned to the warm feeling in my chest—in the midst of “the obvious.” Calmly, Jwen continued, “So if you think about these things, most obvious will be all the thoughts, but if you feel into it, as you have done…. Ahhh, that’s different! Then you can begin to realise that this human body is just an elaborate antenna. What’s most obvious are the energies at either end: the energies of our earthly Mother and our celestial Father. These are the parents of our human existence. As they are most obvious, so too they are most useful. As you begin to trust their power more and more, accepting and obeying, so your vitality will flow more easily and your thinking mind will become more simple and free.”

I listened to his words from a place beyond words. It was as if all the pores of my skin were open to receive his meaning, so that I absorbed it as if by osmosis rather than mere reason. What he was saying felt perfectly right, but one point concerned me. I spoke up, “As you know, all these things are promised by the internal methods I’ve been practicing…”

“Yes I know. And you’ve practised well, and received some good results. I know that.” Jwen was quiet for a moment as he sat there smiling, eyes crinkling at the corners, as if to say “Congratulations!” “Now that you know what is obvious, it’s time to realise what’s most useful for your continuing evolution. You cannot continue to accept the gifts of your Parents without offering something in return—some appropriate act of gratitude. It is appropriate to exchangegifts of energy. This is what the next step is all about.

I closed my eyes to contemplate his meaning, and almost immediately my attention returned to the “obvious” sensations of subtle energy rising up into my torso from the earth and simultaneously down through the top of my head from the cosmos. My breathing deepened; I was aware of being guided by Elder Brother. With every inhalation, I seemed to be able to absorb more energy from above and below; exhaling, the energies expanded inside my body. With my inner vision, I could “see” this expansion as light-vibration, growing in intensity with every breath. I was beginning to feel that the intensity was becoming too much… wondering if I could contain it. Just then something miraculous happened.

The shimmering light vibrations met in the centre of my chest, my Heart chakra. I noticed that the warmth I had previously felt now returned, many times more intense, but also remarkably pleasant and peaceful. Something new was happening. Radiant energy continued to pour in from above and below, but now another radiance was expanding from my Heart Centre. As it did I could feel a remarkable love-presence saturating every cell and tissue, all the way out to the skin on all sides. Just as my whole body seemed to be inflated to the bursting point with this radiance, it streamed out through the pores, out into the luminous energy-envelope around my physical body. And it didn’t stop there. As the radiance continued to pour from my Heart, seeming to have an intelligence of its own, it expanded into the room, then into the surrounding countryside, out, out beyond the horizon of Taiwan, China and Asia, to embrace planet Earth and continuing into our solar system, then gradually saturating our galaxy of the Milky Way with all its jewel-like star systems, then continuing to penetrate deeper and deeper into space all the way to the horizon of the known, and far, far beyond. All existence appeared in consciousness-- luminous, harmonious, loving. There was a sense of intimacy with All-That-Is which I had never known before… or perhaps it was the case that I had simply not known how to acknowledge it.

A long time must have passed-- perhaps an eternity-- there in the totality of Heart-radiant Being. Finally the demands of the body reminded me of everyday existence. My bladder was bursting. Jwen softly began to hum an old Chinese tune. The sound of his voice seemed so distant, yet so near at hand. At length he paused, and then stated, conclusively, “So now you know what I mean by exchanging gifts. Heaven and Earth are sacred. So are you. This is the first lesson of Soul Repair.”

I urgently excused myself and hurried to the toilet out back. When I returned he was gone. I was disappointed that I couldn’t share what I had just experienced, but I knew he already knew. By now his abrupt disappearances were not the least unusual; it meant, “Class dismissed.” So I sat down and entered the details into my journal, then lit a piece of incense and remained for a long time savoring the inner afterglow. In a flash my whole paradigm had changed. I now had the utter knowing that there had never been any question of establishing a heart connection with all creation. As I surrendered, creation confirmed the connection that had always been there.