Imagine on the crown of your head a lump of gold-colored butter.
- It slowly melts, and wherever it runs down over your body, all stress and
tension in the body disappears. - Very slowly the butter flows over your
forehead, all muscles relax... - It runs down over your eyes and cheeks...,
your whole face relaxes. - Along the back of your head... your neck...
shoulders; feel how much tension is there and let it go.... - Arms and
hands.... the chest.. belly.... - Along the spine, the entire back
relaxes...your legs and feet... - The entire body is covered in golden
butter and you radiate health. - Go over the whole body again and breathe
out all the remaining stress.
RELAXING BY STRESSING
A very effective method to relax the body by stressing all the muscles,
holding that 5 to 10 seconds, and then releasing the tension.
- Sit or lie in a relaxed way. - Put an extremely tense expression on the
face, straining as many face muscles as possible. Take a deep breath and
forcefully hold it. ...... - Now slowly release the breath and the tension
of all the face muscles, feel as if you breathe out all stress. - Inhale
deeply again and stress all neck and shoulder muscles.... then let go -
Inhale, make fists and stress the arms... let go - Inhale, stress chest,
belly and back.... let go - Inhale, stress buttocks, legs and feet... let go
- If you still feel tension at some places, just stay relaxed, don't hold
the breath now, but release all the tension while breathing out. - Enjoy
your relaxed body
ELIMINATING PAST AND FUTURE
Rest the hands, palms down on the legs and watch the breath - When the
mind wanders off to thoughts of the past, gently tap your left leg - When
the mind wanders off to thoughts of the future, gently tap your right leg -
Whenever a thought arises, mentally note "memory" or "fantasy", then return to
the breath.
WATCHING THE SENSES
Focus the attention to your breath and sensory experiences - Whenever you
notice something, mentally note: "feeling", "hearing", "tasting", "smelling",
"touching". - Note the senses, but do not start talking with yourself, only
note the experi-ence and go back to the breath.
WATCHING EMOTIONS
Focus the attention mainly to the breath and sensory experiences; in
addition, note your emotional experiences.
- Whenever a particular feeling comes up, mentally note it; as "liking",
"dis-liking", "anger", "sad", "fear", "resentment", "anxiety", "guilt" etc. and
let it go - Do not get involved with the emotions, only note them and return
to awareness of the breath.
SMOKE OUT, LIGHT IN
- While breathing out, imagine that all your negative energies,
mistakes, misunderstanding and emotions leave your body with the breath.
Visualize this energy as black smoke, which goes out into space and completely
dissappears. - While breathing in, imagine that all the positive energy of
the universe enters your body with the breath. Visualize this positive energy as
pure white light which enters all the parts of your body, it pervades every cell
and atom. Enjoy this clear white light. - If you feel comfortable, use every
breath to inhale light and to exhale black smoke and problems. - When
distracted by other thoughts, simply observe them without getting involved;
transform them into black smoke and breathe them out.
BODY OF LIGHT
- Visualize above the crown of your head a white ball of light, somewhat
smaller than your head. It has no real form and is pure white energy. Do not
concentrate on details, just try to feel it is there. - Imagine that the
light embodies all the pure love of the universe, the accomplishment of the
highest potential of living beings. - Visualize the ball becomes smaller,
about the size of your thumb, and it enters the crown of your head, and descends
to the level of your heart. - Now the light expands and fills your entire
body. All the material of the body dissolves into light. What remains is a body
of light without shape. - Concentrate on the feeling this light-body gives,
all problems and negativities are gone, only peace and happiness is left. -
When distracting thoughts arise, simply dissolve them in the light.
9-ROUND BREATHING
This is a pre-tantric purification practice in which you visualize the main 3
energy channels in the body. It is used in the beginning of a meditation session
(after the prayers of refuge etc.) to calm and clear the mind in only a minute
or so. Make your breath somewhat longer and deeper, but don't exaggerate, if
possible one should not hear the breathing. If you have a cold and one or both
nostrils are clogged, just imagine breathing through the different nostrils.
Visualise the body as being completely empty and transparent, then inside it
appears the Central Channel. The Central Channel starts between the
eyebrows, continues back just under the skull, and from the crown of the head it
goes straight down to the level of four finger-widths under the navel, it stays
a little in front of the spine. It is like a transparent blue tube, about the
thickness of a thick drinking straw. To the left and to the right are two
side-channels, both transparent and the thickness of only a drinking-straw. The
right channel is red, the left is white. The three channels are flexible and
just below the navel they connect with each other.
During the first round of breathing, INHALE through the LEFT nostril, keeping
the right nostril closed with a finger. We imagine the air going from the left
nostril into the left channel, up near the crown and way down to under the
navel. There, the left channel is connected to the right channel, and we BREATHE
OUT through the RIGHT CHANNEL by closing the left nostril with the same finger.
Imagine breathing in pure white light, and when exhaling, imagine that all
DESIRE AND ATTACHMENT which pollutes the left channel collects at the navel and
leaves via the right channel as black smoke. The black smoke disappears beyond
the universe. Repeat this 3 times. Then the next round we INHALE white light
via the RIGHT nostril, and all ANGER AND HATRED which pollutes the right channel
collects below the navel and is EXHALED via the LEFT channel as black smoke.
Again, do this 3 times. The third round we INHALE white light via the LEFT
AND RIGHT channel to-gether and imagine them both being connected to the central
channel below the navel. This CENTRAL CHANNEL is polluted by IGNORANCE AND
CONFUSION which is breathed out as black smoke. Imagine that you BREATHE OUT via
the POINT BETWEEN the EYEBROWS.
Normally do this not more than 2 or 3 rounds.
Next, you can start with for example an analytical meditation topic of the
lamrim.
