Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Trataka: Third Eye Gazing Meditation

Welcome to the first day of the Lent Sadhana! I will post a spiritual practice you can easily do at home each day. It is wonderful to stick with one practice, but for the purpose of broadening your toolkit I will share many. You can choose one and stick to it for the duration if you like. For today, you will need a candle and a few minutes to sit and meditate. 
This practice is called Trataka (pronounce it tratak, without the final "a") and it focuses your meditation on the agna chakra or third eye point, the place where you receive your ashes on your forehead if you go to Ash Wednesday, or where you receive a Hindu tilak or wear a bindi. This point is linked to spiritual insight, vision and intuition. 
Here is the practice:
1. Light a candle in a dimly lit or mostly dark room and place it below eye level.
2. Sit in a comfortable posture, gazing at the candle flame for a couple of minutes.
3. Close your eyes and notice the after-image of the candle flame in your mind's eye, in the area between your physical eyes.
4. Keep your inner gaze focused in that place where you see the image and notice any colors or images appearing there.
5. Sit quietly and simply notice your inner sight.

Repeat this exercise up to three times, opening your eyes again and gazing at the flame.

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