Time: 15-20 minutes

Summary: This meditation opens the door to your inner awareness and to a place of deep inner stillness by focusing your awareness upon the inner pulsation that is seen behind the closed eyes. Yogis have used this practice for thousands of years.

Guided Meditation:

Begin with settling your body/mind in a meditation posture that is comfortable for you. This may be sitting upright on a firm chair, or on the floor with or without a meditation cushion. Choose a position that allows your spine to be upright and erect, respecting your knees, hips, shoulders, and back.

Refine your seat by settling more firmly onto your sitz bones…level your pelvis…circle your shoulders up, back and down…lift your sternum…place your chin so it’s parallel to the floor…and lift the crown of your head gently upwards.

Place your hands either on your lap with one had cradled into the other with your thumbs touching or place one on each knee and touch the pads of your thumbs to the tip of your index fingers. The hands can face up or down.

Speaking from your heart, quietly set an intention by saying something like “I’m going to be still for 15 minutes focusing my breathing. As soon as I notice I’m thinking or distracted, I will let it go of the distraction and return to my breath.”

Take a few moments to get in touch with the sensations present in your body … ask for and receive permission from your body to meditate.

Get in touch with your thinking mind …and your emotions … ask for and receive permission from your mind… and emotions to meditate.

Ask for help and grace from your inner teacher and your connection to the divine (Jesus, Buddha, the Divine Mother, etc.)

Follow your breath for a few minutes, or use whatever method works best for becoming centered.

Take a moment to offer your meditation to be of benefit to all sentient beings.

With your outer eyes closed, become aware of your inner eyes by looking at what you see behind your eyelids …turning your attention inward to your consciousness… simply observe your own inner world with your inner eye so you can become more aware of what you actually see behind your closed eyes…

Perhaps you see a field of gray…or a mosaic of color…something like the night sky… a ruby red…or a bluish-gray light … The shapes and color you see doesn’t matter at all, what’s important is to impartially watch whatever you see as you see it.

You are looking at mind stuff; the inner consciousness…this is the place from which all thoughts, feelings, perceptions and sensations arise and subside. It’s the energetic ground.

If you would like to spark your inner experience, blink your eyes tighter, even though they are already closed and pay attention to what you see…Another way is to rub your eyes through your closed eyelids very softly and tenderly.

Now notice the dynamic quality of this inner consciousness…Notice if what you see constantly shifts and changes, forming new patterns of subtle movement …a kind of dance of images…color…or shapes…vibrating and pulsing… expanding and contracting… …this is your inner consciousness and it’s made of energy… merely watch the pulsation and it’s ongoing nature.

Take as much time as you wish to follow the patterns of the coming and going of the designs that are a part of your inner world of awareness.

When you notice your mind has drifted into thinking, bring your awareness back to looking behind your eyelids.

If you would like to deepen your experience, find a point of inner awareness that captures your attention right now and in this moment…perhaps it’s a darker, or maybe a brighter spot, and focus there…watching and witnessing …and allowing it to take you inward still…and deeper.

It’s time to make the transition back…Bring your attention back to your breath and without changing it, follow along with your mind’s eye…following the inhalation and exhalation and the coming and going of your breath.

Focus your attention on the rest of your body … shift your weight … and stretch a little bit…and return to being still.

Open your eyes just a sliver and then close them, returning inside for a little longer…slowly blink your eyes open, being aware of blending the inner sight with the outer world…Sit a bit longer and gradually open your eyes and stretch more fully. Notice any changes that have happened since your inward journey into the eye of consciousness.

Author’s Note: This practice is one I discovered on my own as a little girl. More recently, I have returned to this form of meditation and it is particularly effective for capturing my attention and holding me in the moment. This rendition was inspired by Sally Kempton and is included in her book named “The Heart of Meditation: Pathways to a Deeper Experience” published by the SYDA Foundation in 2002. Sally shares a wealth of her vast knowledge and experience in her book and it is one of my favorites.

Reprinted with permission from Yoga Meditations: Timeless Mind-Body Practices for Awakening by Julie Lusk.