Day 21 for the 21-Day Dhyana Sadhana, 21-Day Meditation Practice daily online retreat as we approach Divali 2024. 

Our last day of this 21 day sadhana. Thank you very much to everyone who participated. I hope that you have experienced more within your own being, learned some meditation skills and will continue your spiritual path through meditation. 

In this meditation we combined many of the skills you have learned in the past days to open up the inner space and experience deep inner connection. 

Let's come into our practice. Thank you very much. Please join me in the inner space.

Becoming skillful in your breathing and opening up your awareness. Expand the consciousness as much as you can to observe and experience all that is within you.

Observe the body, the vitality, the heart, the mind. Open up to the flow of energy and even open the consciousness into the group space. Feeling that group connection, the togetherness.

Balance your breathing, making the inhale and exhale equal. Steady, slow, conscious, and bring stability into your space.

Breathe into the root and strengthen yourself there on the inhale. Begin drawing the energy upwards, giving a little tension to the root and drawing the energy upwards, inviting the flow upwards within the central channel.

Some of you may feel the sacral chakra activate as you do this. If that happens, give a little tension to the sacral chakra. Invite that creative energy upwards as well.

Use some abdominal breathing to create an energy reserve, a buffer for the body and for the upper chakras. Use the abdominal breathing and build up the energy in the gut, storing more energy there. Keep the focus on the upward flow of energy.

Now join me at the heart breathing through the point of the heart and feel that root and heart connection.

Draw the energy from the root up towards the heart. Open up to feel the depth of the heart, the loving vibration of the heart. And in that heart space, I invite you to connect with me. Connect with me through the subtle space, through the energy space that I may support you from within.

Gently bring your attention into the throat. You can use Ujjayi breathing, creating a little constriction in the air passageway as you breathe, creating the sound, it's called ocean sounding breath.

Focus on the throat, listening to the inner silence.

Now taking a deep breath.

Draw the loving energy, the stillness and silence up towards the brow. Breathe through that point of the brow, opening up to the mental field, as you breathe out, clear the thoughts you do not need.

As you breathe in, go deep into that expansive space, the vastness of the mind deep within your being. You abide in a place of stillness and silence.

A boundless space, infinite, eternal and omnipotent.

Though that space seems like emptiness, nothingness, it vibrates with beingness. It vibrates with the power of the eye.

The power of I am.

It is pregnant with power. It's pervaded with power. Even though to the human mind it seems like nothing.

Gaze into the stillness. Listen to the silence. Open up the curiosity of your mind and heart to delve into it.

In that space, there is no thought, but there is a sense, a sense of I.

I am looking, observing. Pay closer attention to that sense of I.

Now take a deep breath, keeping your awareness, keeping this inner connection. As you breathe out, bring the feeling down to your heart.

Opening up your heart to the silent space.

Now going down into your abdomen. Take a few deep breaths, opening up the navel energy center to this silent inner space. You can feel how your mind is managing this process.

Mind is becoming the distributor of that inner power, of that inner connection.

And now focus at the base of the channel and try to take the feeling all the way down to the root.

And begin using whole body breathing, feeling the expansion of the body, feeling the joints floating open as you inhale, and then relaxing as you exhale it.

Now gently tune your mind to your life and the world around you.

Give attention to your senses, energizing the senses, holding them in a place of intelligence.

Thank you very much. Take a deep breath. Pull yourself fully back into your body, fully alert and ready.

And when the moment is right for you, you can gently open the eyes.

1. How has participating in this 21-day meditation practice impacted you? 
2. What are some realizations and learnings that you want to remember? 
3. What is the next step you need to take for your spiritual path? 

Day 20 for the 21-Day Dhyana Sadhana, 21-Day Meditation Practice daily online retreat as we approach Divali 2024. 

Today I speak about the evolving ego - your sense of self that is going through a process of transformation and purification. Ego is call "ahamkar," in Sanskrit. Literally translated this means the "I-maker," the appearance of the sense of individuality. 

In meditation you are guided to reposition the ego for greater purification and transformation in alignment with the wisdom and power of the masters. It is an invitation to experience deep beingness. 

​Thank you very much for listening, everyone. You all have been very attentive over the past 20 days. It makes me feel fulfilled. As a guide, let's come into our meditation posture.

Let's close our eyes.  Please take a deep breath. Begin with an exhale and then inhale, filling up the lungs. And exhale. Empty your lungs, in and out, and again, in and out.

Ensure that your head, neck, trunk is aligned, that the spine is straight and strong. Remember, the central channel stretches from the top of the head down through your body to the root.

That's the axis of power, the axis of consciousness. So align it. Try to feel, if you need to make any small adjustments.

And I invite you to open up to the group energy, that feeling that we are all connected in the group energy. We are all supported in that group energy. You and I have a deep connection as we explore the inner being.

By being in that group energy. We are connected to the power of the masters.

Let's seek to be receptive to the masters. Those great guides. May their wisdom, may their blessings flow into our experience. We seek to be receptive to that.

Just the act of opening up to the power of the masters, to their wisdom is a shifting in the ego. You are becoming more humble, more receptive.

And of course we need that. We need that support and that guidance to help us purify the ego. It's our inner support system, spiritual support system.

How will you know that you are accessing the masters? You will feel a gentle lift inside. You will feel a support is there with the mind, with the heart, with the energy.

Scan the inner space. Move the energy up and down the central channel. Where do you feel the most supported?

Do you feel it in your gut or perhaps the root or sacral? Do you feel it in the heart or throat or brow? Focus where you feel the most supported.

Breathe through that point. Connect to that inner support more consciously when you breathe in. Invite the power, invite the wisdom to flow, when you breathe out, release the ego resistance, Release the pride.

Release the close mindedness, the judgments and expectations. Just the act of that releasing is purification of the ego. You're learning to let go of patterns that you do not need, that do not serve you.

Even as you hold a particular point, focusing there, using your breath as the anchor there. Open up your awareness.

Become expansive, without boundaries, without borders. Join me in the vast inner space, the space of freedom. It's your being, beingness.

And affirm the sense of I, I am, I exist. Breathe from that space of beingness, of eyes. Breathe into that space of beingness.

Let's take a deep breath. Breathe into the point of the mind.

Permeating the mind with that deeper vibration, deeper space.

Breathe into the throat, breathe into the heart, allowing the heart to be filled from that space. Breathe into your gut, abdomen. Breathe into the sacral and into the root, holding your entire body in your awareness. Breathe into the body.

Slow inhale, slow exhale. Feel the expansion in the body with each deep breath. And feel how the body is held in that relationship with your inner self. Beingness.

Now tune into the senses, identifying each one of your senses. Feeling the weight of the physical body, drawing yourself back to physical presence.

Before we come back fully, let's affirm in the mind, strongly centering the mind:

I stay centered in the source of my being, conscious of the fullness and perfection that resides there.

May I learn to live in alignment with that.

May I be guided to experience that.

May every thought, emotion, word and action be aligned with that.

Take one last deep breath. Anchor yourself fully. Pull yourself into alertness in the body. When you feel ready, with a few gentle blinks, you can open the eyes.

1. What was your experience today? 
2. What would you like to remember and practice from today's meditation? 
3. What was challenging for you? What do you need to do to meet that challenge and work with it? 

Day 19 for the 21-Day Dhyana Sadhana, 21-Day Meditation Practice daily online retreat as we approach Divali 2024. 

Today I speak about the Buddhi, that power of intelligence that is part of the inner instrument of mind. The Buddhi is the capacity to discriminate and can be used to liberate yourself. Using your intelligence you can begin seeing the difference between what will capture you and what will liberate you, so that you can choose more deliberately what you want in your life. 

In meditation you are guided just to open the space and see how the Buddhi can direct its power. 

Let's get ready for meditation.

Let me invite you to close your eyes, align your spine, come into your breathing, open up your awareness to observe. And immediately the intelligence is engaged just in observation.

Immediately a subtle choice is coming.

Is holding the tensions in my body going to keep me captured or liberated? And of course, it's an easy answer. I need to relax and place myself at ease. A relaxed state will lead me into a deeper place within. So relaxed is more liberating.

Scan the body and use your breathing to let go of the tensions, to let go of the stresses.

Cultivate a sense of ease and observe the vitality of the body. Observe the condition of the body just by looking.

And again another question may arise. If my body is depleted, will it keep me captured or will it liberate me?

Easy answer. I need to recharge, rejuvenate the body to support my spiritual process. That's the more liberating choice.

Begin breathing along the central channel. Slow inhale, slow exhale.

Become skillful even as you breathe along the central channel. Re energize the nerve plexus in the gut, the heart and the brain.

Let each breath be very conscious, deliberate, tapping into the sacred energy, sacred power in you, nourishing and healing your body.

Now come into your heart. Open up to the emotional landscape.

What are you carrying in your heart today? What vibration are you holding there? And again your intelligence will examine.

Is holding this vibration going to liberate me? Or is it keeping me captured? Is it limiting me? If it's limiting you, then you need to clear the heart using your exhale. Release any old emotions, any limiting emotions.

And now, which emotion, which vibration will liberate you? Kindness, gentleness, compassion, deep unconditional loving.

Open up to that possibility. Breathe through the heart. Cultivate that vibration. Slow inhale, slow exhale.

And you can even use your intelligence in looking at the heart. What in the heart space is limiting me? What is holding me back here? Becoming curious in your observations and staying open to the answer, open to discover.

Now join me at the brow, focusing at that point there.

If there are thoughts, that's okay. Don't react. Don't engage with the thinking as you breathe out. Seek to clear the mental field, Clear the mind. Open up to the spaciousness of the mind.

When you do this, the intelligence is becoming purified that you may use your discrimination and seek a more mature intelligence. Be open to that. Let my intelligence be guided from the soul, from the source within me. Seek to align your intelligence with the deepest part of you.

Don't try so hard. Use your breathing to relax.

Remember, the evolving and maturing of your intelligence is natural to you. You're not making it happen, you are allowing it to happen.

Let's take a deep breath. All the way in, all the way out. Channel the flow of energy down into the body towards the root and strengthen the root.

Strengthen your gut. Breathing in and out, using abdominal breathing, intelligently preparing the body for its day of activities.

But even as you re engage with your senses, you feel the physical awareness coming back. Hold on to that clarity inside that neutrality inside that sense of watching. Seek to stabilize yourself there even as you engage with the world.

As we come to the end of our meditation today, let us strongly affirm in the mind:

I stay centered in the source of my being and I align my intelligence with that deepest part of me.

May my intelligence liberate me. 

Let me invite you to bring your awareness to our group. Holding the entire group energy.

Please send Namaskar to each other in the inner space. My soul bows to you. I honor you.

Now let's come all the way back. Feeling the weight of the body.

When you're fully alert and ready, with a few gentle blinks, you can open the eyes.

1. What are some ways that your intelligence is hijacked and not used to liberate you? 
2. What are some ways that you intelligence chooses liberation and freedom? 
3. What can you do to realign and mature your intelligence? 

Day 18 for the 21-Day Dhyana Sadhana, 21-Day Meditation Practice daily online retreat as we approach Divali 2024. 

Today I share the basics of the Antah Karana given by Vedanta philosophy. It describes 4 parts to the mind - manas, buddhi, ahamkar, and citta. What are their functions? 

In meditation you are guided in your energy process into the deeper space of observing the "I," or sense of identity, ego. 

So let me invite you into meditation. Thank you very much.

Let's turn our attention inwards, taking slow, deep breaths and opening up our awareness, opening up the consciousness to observe. Observe the many levels of your experience.

The body, vitality, the heart, the mind, the energy, the breath. Become skillful. You have been practicing with me for a few days. Become skillful.

Use your awareness to observe where needs to be energized. Where do I need to strengthen myself?

A good place to start is always strengthening the body, the vessel, by strengthening the root chakra, using the breath at the root, opening up the awareness of the energy there.

And if you feel the body has been depleted, the body still has some tiredness, then you need to revitalize in the gut using the navel chakra.

Deep abdominal breathing.

If you need to open up to the power of the heart creating that loving supportive vibration, then you know what to do. Go into the heart, strengthen that nerve plexus which you're breathing. Breathe through the point of the heart and open up to the loving vibration.

Let's take a moment to open up to the power of listening, the power of the throat chakra. By focusing either at the back of your neck or the front. Wherever you feel the power there, use Ujjayi breathing. That's where you gently constrict the throat so that when you breathe you can listen to the sound of the air flowing.

This has a powerful cleansing effect on your mind.

Remember, if you observe the flowing of thoughts, that's okay. Don't fight with the thoughts. Don't react at all.

Stand back. Don't be in the middle of the river of thoughts, in the middle of the stream of thoughts being washed away by them. Stand back from it. Come onto the banks.

The thinking is there, but you can just gently observe and you're more focused on the energy, feeling the breadth and the bigger experience that's surfacing.

Stay with the throat for now. Breathe through that space and begin listening to the stillness, the silence within you.

You're doing very well. I can sense from our group energy, that growing stillness.

Now refocus at that point between the eyebrows and breathe through there.

And now we're working to purify the manas. Clear that mental field. As you breathe out, release the thoughts. As you breathe in, relax the space. Open up to the spaciousness of your mind.

Suspend the mind from associating with anything and observe how that clears to space.

If you need to, you breathe out all the way down the central channel, Squeeze the root and on the inhale, keep the root locked and draw the energy up to the brow, feeding the brow chakra from the root.

Observe what happens when you do that.

As you feel the power building up in the manas, become more relaxed.

Don't try to do so much. Don't try to will so much.

Be carried. The energy is flowing on its own. Be carried. And in that clearer inner space, come into deeper self observation, turning your attention onto the sense of I, your own sense of self.

I am experienced, I am breathing.

And refocus on the sense of I letting go of the experiencing.

What is the nature of that sense of I? Who am I?

That's very good. Let's take a deep breath. All the way in, all the way out.

Using the power of the lungs and the diaphragm, breathing in and out, let's come strongly towards the gut. Using abdominal breathing in and out, feel the body in and out. Notice the senses.

As we come to the end of our meditation, let's strongly affirm in the mind,

I stay centered in the source of my being, staying open and curious of my deep spiritual identity.

May I experience that. May I be guided there.

Pull yourself all the way back to the body. Please ensure to ground the excess energies into the body, into the cells, into the muscles and bones.

Thank you very much. When you feel ready, with a few gentle blinks, you can open the eyes.

1. What did you observe in the energy process today ? 
2. Were you able to focus on the sense of self? Explore that. 

Day 17 for the 21-Day Dhyana Sadhana, 21-Day Meditation Practice daily online retreat as we approach Divali 2024. 

The mind is heavily conditioned towards the material and physical world. The spotlight of your attention flows through the senses, through the power of action and into the world. In meditation you are learning to suspend this outward flow and refocus on your own being, your own sense of self. 

In meditation you are guided to stabilize the body by nourishing the different nerve plexuses and then synergizing heart and mind to open up the self-awareness. 

Let's come into our meditation. Thank you very much for listening.

Let's close our eyes, let's take a few deep breaths. Slowly in, slowly out. Let's open up our self awareness. Noticing the many dimensions of experience. Allow the body to relax, letting go of the stresses and tensions of your day.

And let's nourish the body, nourish the nervous system by breathing into the abdomen, recharging the nerve plexus there on the inhale. Push and stretch and expand the abdomen on the exhale and draw it close to your spine.

Use some muscular action to develop the muscles and to explore how the body relates to the breath. Recharge the vital power. If you feel to you can hold the breath a little on the inhale and exhale.

As you do this, ensure there's a gentle awareness at the root that it's alert and held so no energy is lost there.

Awareness of the root is critical for stabilizing the energy and building up the energy within the body.

And let's come into the chest, using your breathing to expand the chest all the way in, all the way out. The goal is emotional. Recharge that nerve plexus can become depleted from engaging with the world.

Use slow, steady breaths, completely fill, completely empty the lungs and focus on caring for your body, opening up the loving vibration to the body.

Now come into the head and the goal is to refresh the brain, to nourish the nervous system. So use your breathing.

Don't go too deep into the energy experience yet. Stay grounded with the body.

Open up your awareness to feel the body tuning into every single cell. Breathe into that headspace, but regulate the amount of air that's coming in. Make sure you don't overwhelm the space.

Recharge.

I can feel the energy building up there. So I'm going to use my exhale to push the energy down to the root to create that brow-root connection.

This is how you protect the nervous system from burning out from the energy. You need to move the energy towards the root and hold it there. The excess energy is moved into the body.

That's very good. Now open up the heart and the brow together. Come into the energy awareness with me.

Synchronize the heart and the brow. You can use a breathing action to do this. From the inhale, you go from the heart to that brow point. And on the exhale, from the brow to the heart to open up the central channel between the two.

You're seeking to balance the flow of energy that they're both in synergy, loving focus. And you hold these two in your awareness. What happens when you do?

Now, take a moment to notice your body, notice the senses.

Notice that you're holding them steady in a calm space and gently move away, going deeper into your being and they are still there waiting for you.

But move deep into the heart space. Move deep into the mind space. Gently away from the senses.

Give your attention to the I sense of I. I am. I exist. I am holding the heart. I am holding the mind.

Give your attention to that experience of identity. Did you know that "I" is empowered from the source?

It's held in the Divine. It's your connection back there.

Focus with me on that sense of self. You can use the heart or the brow wherever you feel stronger.

What is that sense of self?

Beyond the body, beyond the human senses. What is that experience of I?

Let's take a deep breath. All the way in, all the way out.

Gently guide the flow of energy down towards your gut, down towards your root.

Notice the overall condition of the body. Notice how your experience has changed just from holding yourself in that inner space, in that inner connection.

Breathe slowly and completely, reconnecting to each of the five senses, tuning into your physical body.

As we come close to the end of our meditation, I invite you to affirm in the mind:

I stay centered in the source of my being,

recognizing my identity. Beyond this body, beyond this world,

I open up to that experience.

Slowly coming back to the physical body, feeling the weight of the body resting in your seat, pulling yourself back to the body, alert and ready. And when the moment is right for you, you can gently open your eyes.

1. What are the ways in which the sense pull on your mind? 
2. What are some of the ways that you get captured by doing and acting in the world? 
3. How did it feel to let go of the senses, the actions, and reserve yourself inside? 
​

Day 16 for the 21-Day Dhyana Sadhana, 21-Day Meditation Practice daily online retreat as we approach Divali 2024. 

Today I speak about working with the mind and particularly, the thoughts, in meditation. From my years of teaching meditation the #1 complaint I receive is that you can't stop thinking. In this session I help you to understand that this is not an obstacle. You are greater than the mind. 

In meditation you are guided to go to a deeper centre where thinking is no long an obstacle to meditation and you are able to experience beingness. 

​All right, let's come into a meditation posture, please. Thank you very much. I invite you to close your eyes.

Sit with your spine aligned. Relax the body. Relax the shoulders. Relax the abdomen and the chest. Relax your face. Take a few deep and complete breaths, becoming steady in yourself.

Open up to observe every dimension of being.

That means giving attention to your body, your vitality, your emotional space, the emotional landscape of your being. Observe the quality of listening. And of course, observe your mind, the content and the condition of your mind.

And strive to keep the consciousness, the awareness, as open as you can, observing every detail with great curiosity and alertness.

See what is held in your being and take a deep breath, repositioning into the sense of I, the identity: "I am experiencing."

You notice. You notice the many phenomena of experiencing, but give greater attention to that sense of self, the feeling of I, that feeling of beingness.

It's being supported from a deep spiritual place. Your "I" is empowered by the Source.

When you focus on that sense of self, there's a reconnection. There's a growing awareness that the Source is supporting you.

There's a growing awareness of your divinity.

This is beyond the mind. You don't need to think about it.

You're abiding in yourself, anchoring in the sense of I.

Notice that sense of I is unwavering.

It's holding your entire being, yet it doesn't seem touched by the mind, by the body, by the breath.

The energy is moving in you, in your being. You can feel it with the breath.

But that sense of I is not fluctuating.

Notice that.

Can you feel that as you stay in this place? What's happening in the mind is of no consequence.

Whatever thoughts flow through the mind, it's not impeding you. It doesn't feel like an obstacle. You might be aware of it, or the thoughts may even seem very small. You can't make it out.

Notice this, that when you are not so absorbed in the mind, you feel bigger than the mind.

You feel bigger than the thinking. Pay attention to that.

Breathe into that feeling, the vastness of your being.

This is the freedom from the mind.

Now take a few deep breaths from the brow. Guide the flow of energy down to the root. From the root coming back up to the brow.

A long, slow and steady breath, opening up the central channel to the flow of energy.

Now refocus on the brow. Breathe deeply into the mind, into the brain.

We're holding an inner posture of non judgment.

No matter what thoughts arise, no matter what we observe, we remain neutral.

And we also need to come into that place of no expectation. That means you're not waiting for anything to happen. You don't need to.

You can just be.

Try to feel the fullness of being.

Your perfection is not in some future moment. It's here with you now, as part of you.

You are cultivating the intimacy with the present moment. Drop the past totally. Become fresh, new. Discovering yourself again. Open up to the expansiveness of the mind, not limiting it in any way. The spaciousness.

And as you breathe out, allow yourself to dissolve into that space.

Don't cling to the body. Don't cling to any experience. Allow yourself to go to become the spaciousness, the vastness.

Let's take a deep breath.

All the way in, all the way out. Guiding the flow of energy down the central channel. And again. In

and out. Grounding your energies towards the body. Again, in and out. And let's do some deep abdominal breathing. Tune into your senses. Feel your body.

As we come towards the end of our meditation, let's affirm strongly in the mind:

I stay centered in the source of my being, recognizing my power to master the mind.

Thank you very much. Coming all the way back. Tuning into the body, making yourself fully alert. When you feel ready, with a few gentle blinks, you can open the eyes.

1. What did you observe in this meditation? 
2. Describe the experience of the mind.

Day 15 for the 21-Day Dhyana Sadhana, 21-Day Meditation Practice daily online retreat as we approach Divali 2024. 

In this practice we go deeper into appreciating how the mind works. In particular we are learning to look at the content - what you are thinking, and the condition - how you are thinking or the quality in the mind. 

This meditation highlights the energy process of strengthening the different areas of your being and how that influences the condition of the mind. 

Let me invite you to close your eyes, begin tuning in to that inner space instead of looking through the senses.

The senses are highly relaxing and come into your breathing, becoming skillful in your breathing as you have learned over the past few days.

Explore your breath, explore your body, opening up the awareness. Notice as many layers of your being as you can. Your body, vitality, emotions, thoughts, energy.

Open up that self observation, self awareness it and notice again the sense of self, that sense of "I", I am experiencing, I am breathing.

And move away from the experiencing and move closer to the sense of I, the consciousness that you are holding all experiences, enabling all experiences and breathe into that space. It's a deeper centering in observation, in witnessing.

And let's remember that I is held in the source. It's divinely supported.

How does this deep centering affect your mind?

Are you able to see the subtle shifts in your mind as you change your point of attention?

Let's keep the quality and the condition of the mind in our awareness as we explore.

As you breathe out and go all the way down the central channel to the root and gently strengthen that root chakra. Breathe out, you can give attention to the perineum. Breathe in and relax.

And just do this for a few breaths. As you strengthen the root, you are closing off any energy leakages in your body. We tend to lose energy from the downward flow from the root. So we need to seal off that loss.

We need to practice holding the energy, strengthen the root, hold the energy in that lower area.

Become aware of the sacral and do the same. Give it a little tension, hold the energy there and see how the awareness that the lower chakras is creating that body relationship, mind, body connection.

And let's come into the gut using deep abdominal breathing.

But please keep the root chakra held as you explore your gut, building up the energy in your system.

And really push the expansion of the abdomen as you breathe in.

When you breathe out intense the abdominal muscles draw it in towards the spine and you can hold a breath in the abdomen before gently releasing to bring more energy into the nervous system.

Now check in with your mind. Can you sense the subtle shifts in your mind as you energize the lower chakras?
If there are thoughts in your mind. That's okay, don't be attached.

Allow the thoughts to flow through without drawing too much of your attention.

In the right time, the mind will clear. Stay focused with the energy experience.

Now let's come into the chest. Come into the heart and use your breathing there to engage in emotional recharge.

Expand the chest as you breathe. Focus on that point at the center of the chest and seek to open the heart. Cultivating and uplifting heart space. Kindness, gentleness, acceptance, compassion and deep devotion to the inner self, that divine power supporting you.

Open up the heart space. Can you feel the support that the heart is giving to your mind? Observe how by stabilizing that emotional space, the mind is positively influenced.

Now, on the inhale, draw the energy up to that point between the eyebrows.

Breathe into the head, recharging the brain, the physical experience, and open up to the spaciousness of the inner space. Inner mind.

By letting go of thoughts as you breathe out, gently distance yourself from the thinking, opening up more to that subtle quality of mind.

By balancing the breathing, you create that subtle quality.

To go deeper into the Sattva, all you need to do is breathe into the central channel. From the brow, go down the central channel all the way to the root. From the root on the inhale, draw the energy upwards.

This will begin cleansing the Tamas, pacifying the Rajas, and cultivating the Sattva.

And if you're able to hold your body in that experience of guiding the flow of energy in the central channel, now begin using your whole body, breathing with each breath, feeling a subtle stretch through your entire body and guiding the breath, guiding the flow of energy to every single cell.

Tuning into your senses.

As we come to the end of our meditation, let's affirm in the mind:

I stay centered in the source of my being.

I cultivate Sattva, purity and balance in my and I seek to engage with my world from that place.

Now take one last deep breath. Pull yourself fully into the body. Alert, feeling the weight of the body.

Strengthen the root chakra, strengthen the gut. If you need to

pull yourself all the way back. When the moment is right, you can gently open the eyes.

1. What do you notice about the content of your mind?
2. What do you observe about the condition of your mind? 
3. From your meditation experience, how did the moving of the energy and breath influence the condition of the mind? 

Day 14 for the 21-Day Dhyana Sadhana, 21-Day Meditation Practice daily online retreat as we approach Divali 2024. 

In this practice I share about a yogic concept of knots in the subtle energy body called Granthis. These three Granthis are called Brahma granthi - located at the root, Vishnu granthi - located at the heart, and Rudra granthi - located at the brow, deep inside the head. 

This meditation invites you to explore the locations of these granthis and to feel deep into your nervous system. 

All right, so let's get ready for our meditation. Thank you very much.

Please close your eyes. Align your posture. Relax the different parts of the body while keeping your spine aligned.

Bring your awareness into your breathing, seeking to balance the inhale and exhale.

But please stimulate your lungs. Breathe deeply, activating the physical body. As you breathe, open up your awareness, noticing the different levels of your experience.

The physical experience, the vital, the emotional, the mental, and the subtle energy. Become highly observant, highly sensitive, highly curious.

Wat is happening within you? 

And to center deeply in awareness, in consciousness, affirm the sense of "I," I am experiencing and move gently away from experiencing and move deeper into sense of "I," that I is rooted in the source, in your divinity.

Can you feel the beingness? Being means you are the container that's holding all these experiences, body, heart, mind and energy.

And that container that's holding the experiences, that's the consciousness and that's you.

Let's come into the central energy channel, becoming focused there, guiding the flow of energy. Slowly upwards with the inhale, slowly downwards with the exhale it.

Let's take our awareness to the root chakra, strengthening there using gentle muscular action there to identify the location and open up your awareness to feel the grunty, to search for that knot, that point, that bundle of nerves.

And use your breathing there to guide the flow of energy.

And you can hold a gentle intention to open up that space, to loosen the knot, to open it. But don't use too much will. Use relaxed will, allowing space for your own inner power to support you.

You don't need to make it happen, you are allowing it to happen.

And take a very wide view as you breathe there with the focus at the root of how does the body feel.

Now on the inhale, encourage the flow of energy up towards your heart along the central channel.

Use a few deep breaths, lifting the energy from the root to your heart.

And open up the chest, expanding the chest as you breathe and sit for that point, the grant, Vishnu, granti and the hearth. And then stabilize your attention, focusing at the heart.

Breathe gently through that point naturally, increasing the flow of energy into the nerve plexus and observing the effect.

Remember that you can't make anything happen, but you can enable and allow the process open up to allowing the inner energy to work at that point.


Now join me in drawing the energy upwards into the head. But as you do this, please keep an awareness of the root. And if you feel that headspace is not stable, is not strong, use some abdominal breathing.

There shouldn't be any lightheadedness. If there is, you need to do more grounding, more rooting in the body.

Breathe through the point of the brow and draw your attention deeper, as if the brow is moving into the head, searching for that point called Rudra Granthi.

And you will see by breathing into the head naturally, the airflow becomes a little constricted. Using ujjayi, that technique, ocean sounding breath comes naturally when you focus inside the head.

Breathe there and stay open to the process.

Now, as you breathe out, allow the flow of energy back down to your heart.

Let's center in the heart. From that heart space, open up to your body and use the whole body breathing, energizing the body with the higher vibrations of your heart, and staying centered in the heart, you can open up to the preparation for engaging with the world.

Let's learn to meet the world in our hearts.

Finally, I invite you to tune into our group of meditators.

Please acknowledge them in the inner space. You can just say, Namaskar. Mentally, my soul bows to you. I honor you.

All of our meditators together create a strong energy field that supports each individual coming to that spirit of gratitude towards them for their support, their presence.

Now, as we come close to the end of our meditation, let's strongly affirm in the mind:

I stay centered in the source of my being, that divine sense of I sense of self.

I meet and engage with my world from that place, place of infinite vitality, infinite love, infinite focus.

Thank you very much. Now take a deep breath and pull yourself all the way back to the body, back to the senses. Anchor yourself fully.

​Make sure you feel alert. Observe how the condition of the body has changed from your meditation. And when the moment is right for you, with a few gentle blinks, you can open the eyes.

1. Describe and reflect on your experience at each of the three Granthis - root, heart and brow. 
2. What do you think you need to do to work on your readiness for the knot to open?

Day 13 for the 21-Day Dhyana Sadhana, 21-Day Meditation Practice daily online retreat as we approach Divali 2024. 

Today's practice deepens the understanding of how the heart energy centre can lead you deep into the freedom experience of the inner Self. 

If you follow this meditation and allow yourself to be carried there is the opportunity to experience freedom flowing through the heart into your experience. 

Let's come into our meditation posture.

Thank you very much. Let's close our eyes. Let's align the spine. Take a moment just to relax the body. Do what you need to do to bring a deeper state of ease into your posture.

Take a few deep breaths, becoming skillful in how you use your breathing. Remember to completely empty your lungs, completely fill your lungs.

And begin opening up the self awareness, noticing every dimension, every level of your being, and then open up into that space, acknowledging all of these experiences. Mind, heart, body energy is held in me.

I am the one experiencing and focus on that sense of I. That "I" is divine. It's empowered and rooted in the infinite consciousness. Recognize that you can affirm: "I am conscious. I am that consciousness itself."

And this helps you to center in a deeper way, as the witness, the observer of the experiences.

Open up your energy awareness and just scan. Scan the energy field by breathing up and down the central channel.

Where do you need to energize today? Become intuitive.

Do you need to create more groundedness? If so, then strengthen your root as you have learned.

Do you need to clear the mind and focus the mind? If so, energize the brain. Focus at the brow chakra point.

Do you need to work with the body to relax, nourish and strengthen the body? Then go into your gut and use deep abdominal breathing.

Open up to feel what you need and use your will to strengthen and energize. And once you have stabilized the energy system, come into your heart, breathing into the chest and then focusing at that point, at the center of the chest.

It's as though you're resting your mind in your heart, focusing and opening up to that emotional space, the emotional landscape of your being.

And as you breathe out, release the limitations, release the boundaries, letting go of the old emotions

as you breathe in, energizing and expanding the heart space.

If any old emotional patterns or memories arise, you may need to work with forgiveness, acceptance, non judgment, to release, examine it, examine it in a way of freedom. This cannot hold me.

I just need to release this to be more free. Feel empowered to clear the heart space. Feel empowered to open up the heart space to new possibilities, to a deeper dimension of loving.

Now observe the sense of I, the sense of self that resides in your heart. You are there.

Recognize that I as the source of power and open up to a relationship with that power.

Begin tentatively, as all relationships do. Just checking feeling, communicating. This is the inner communication. Become familiar with that sense of support and power and open up to the possibility of loving, of connecting, of merging there and breathe into the heart.

This is the opening up to the loving of oneself.

Now let's take a deep breath. All the way in, all the way out. I invite you to hold your body in a loving energy field, supporting the body, caring for the body,

and use your breathing to carry that vibration to every single cell.

Go all the way to the soles of the feet, tips of the fingers, crown of the head, through every joint, every bone, every muscle, every organization.

Tune into the senses, identify each of the five senses, breathe and feel, and begin tuning into the body, coming back to the body awareness.

As we come to the end of our meditation that's affirmed strongly in the mind, I stay centered in the source of my being.

I open up to loving, deep loving of my infinite self, the power that animates my life.

And I hold myself in balance, loving myself and the world.

Thank you very much. Please pull yourself all the way back, tuning into the weight of the body, coming back to the physical presence, fully alert, ready to engage with your day. And when you feel ready, with a few gentle blinks, opening the eyes.

1. What are the things that you separate yourself from because of negative emotions? Examine this in your
being. 

2. What are the things that you connect yourself with because of positive emotions? Are you doing so in a healthy, balanced, and wisdom? 

3. What can you do to open up to deeper loving of the Divinity within you? How can you practice this? 

Day 12 for the 21-Day Dhyana Sadhana, 21-Day Meditation Practice daily online retreat as we approach Divali 2024. 

How does the heart support the spiritual journey? As it opens up to the light of the soul, the soul's desire begins to surface as a guiding intelligence. If you learn to tune into that intelligence and align with it you can lead a life of deep fulfillment. 

In this meditation you are invited to let go of the emotional baggage that limits the heart so that the soul intelligence that can surface to be explored. 

Please join me in meditation. Posture, in and out. Thank you very much for listening.

Let's close our eyes. Let's take a few deep breaths, opening up the awareness, meditative awareness, inner awareness, which requires gently stepping back from the senses and focusing inwardly.

Take a moment to observe the many levels of being, the many dimensions of your experience. That means observing your body, observing your level of vitality, observing the emotional landscape, the heart space, observing the inner quietness, the inner listening and sensitivity, and of course, observing your mind.

What's the condition and quality of your mind today?

And all of these experiences gets held in your being, consciousness being. It's held in you.

And as you breathe, try to relax into that beingness, the feeling of holding all of these diverse experiences where you can just observe an experience and observe the sense of I.

I am experiencing. I exist. And remember that sense of I. Your sense of self is divinely connected, is rooted in the source, divine space. Can you feel that inner connection?

Now join me in recharging the nerve plexus. Let's come into the abdomen. And those of you who are skilled in using the root chakra, use the root as well as you use deep abdominal breathing.

And remember, you can breathe there. And then when you feel ready, you can hold the breath there for a few seconds to recharge that very large nerve plexus in the gut. It. That's good.

When you feel ready on the inhale, draw the attention and the energy up into your chest and allow the expansion of the chest as you breathe, exploring the full capacity of the lungs.

As you breathe out, you're clearing that heart space, letting go of all the old emotions that you don't need. And you breathe in, you're energizing, recharging, nourishing that nerve plexus at the heart.

And some of you may be able to identify that point. At the center of the chest, there's a particular point where all the nerves meet, a kind of a knot at the heart. Brood through there, just energizing.

Now let's come to that point of the brow, energizing the brain and working with the mental field mind space, gently draw the breath, draw the energy through that point.

When you breathe out, clear your mind, opening up the space of the mind. When you breathe in, energize, nourish that space. And you do this until you actually feel the mind is opening up.

There's a feeling of inner expansion in the mind, clarity, alertness.

Now, coming to the central energy channel, and that requires going a little deeper into the energy system, fine tuning your awareness to locate the central channel and guiding the flow of energy in there.

But as you do this, try to hold a heart awareness. Try to hold that point at the center of the axis and seek the depth of your heart. Don't be scared to open up your heart to allow the deeper power of the soul to shine through the heart.

As you do this, there's a feeling of immensity. The vast power of the heart begins to reveal surfaces in your experience.

And sometimes that can be a little scary because it's new and it's a, a tremendous power. Just hold yourself in the awareness of the soul power behind the heart space, the immensity of your heart.

It's a gentle awareness allowing it to reveal itself softly.

Now let's take a deep breath, and as you exhale, gently channel the flow of energy downwards and make sure to hold your body in this heart connection, loving the body, caring for the body, and staying centered in your heart.

Anchored there, you can open up your mind to your world, your friends, your family, coworkers, the different dimensions of your life that you explore. You can open up your heart to that, just bringing more loving energy, compassionate energy into your life, but from a place of strengthen, rooted in the source it.

Now let's begin tuning into the senses, observing the body and the condition of the body, how it has changed from your meditation and slowly bringing yourself back to the physical awareness and physical presence.

And let's affirm in the mind:

I stay centered in the source of my being, conscious of every level of my experience.

I open up to the deepest intelligence of my heart, in alignment with the soul.

Now tune into the weight of the body resting in the seat. Take a deep breath, pull yourself fully back. Alert the senses, alert the

1. What is it that your heart longs for? What is your deepest soul desire?