Practices to Harness the Power of the Mind and Feelings

When the mind and body are restless, nothing in life can be accomplished.
Success is the result of control.  Hazrat Inayat Khan

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Affirmation: My mind is still, my thought is steady, my sight is keen, my life is balanced.

Hazrat Inayat Khan

Use any of these practices to give you the power to become who you are and what you want to be!

1.     Kasab or Pranayama – Develop Balance, freedom, centered emotions

Press your right thumb to close the right nostril, inhale through the left nostril. Feel your energy rising up the left side of the spine, transmuting it as it rises. Press the left finger so that both nostrils are closed; hold your breath 3 – 5 heartbeats. Then exhale through the right nostril, bringing the energy down.

Now press your left finger closing the left nostril, breath in through the right nostril, drawing energy up through the right side of the spinal cord; hold your breath; then exhale through the left nostril, bringing the energy down.

Then breathe in through both nostrils with the energy rising in the middle of the spine; hold the breath, and exhale through both nostrils as you descend. (This is one breath cycle – Repeat 3 - 7 times)

2.     Learning to Visualize –given by Sufi Amin

“Close your eyes and picture yourself in an empty room with a pedestal located in the center of the room. On the pedestal, picture a saucer, and on the saucer an orange. In one’s mind be aware of reaching out and picking up the orange. Feel the coolness of the orange in your hand and then against your mouth; a burst of bitter taste as you bite into its skin and start to remove the peel, thus finding a white skin beneath the peel. Then continue removing the peel from the orange until one half of the orange is peeled. After that, break the orange in half, enjoy the wonderful ‘Orangey’ smell. Oops, a bit of juice spilled on to your hand. Now remove one segment of the orange and put it in your mouth and begin chewing the orange. Let the juice slosh about as your teeth separate the fibers of the orange. Then imagine tasting a second piece of the orange. Okay, that completes the concentration.” 

Note: Notice how the image began to form in the ethers as you brought your sense into play.  This is a secret of the power of visualization - when the senses are used they reinforce the visualization. The stronger the use of two or more senses of perception, the stronger or more powerful is the concentration.  Forming an object or goal or plan, etc. in the ethers is second to the last step of manifesting it on the physical plane!

3.     Visualization – Develop Mental Power through Concentration

Concentration is much easier than we think – try this enjoyable practice, it does not need to take a long time and you can try it almost anywhere.

First with the eyes open, gaze passively upon a beautiful object, like a flower, crystal, tree, or else take in a whole scene of nature. Do not study the object, do not scan its surface, but just passively receive the beautiful impression visually.

Then close the eyes and see the image reflected in the mind’s eye. You may find that you are able to hold it for a few moments and then suddenly you’ve lost it. In that case open your eyes again and recapture it visually, and then once again close the eyes.  Do this as much as you like until you can see it in your mind.

Optionally, when you are ready, let the mental image dissolve into the “feeling” given by the object or scene – how that image or object conveys a feeling, how it speaks to the heart in the language of a quality.  Enjoy this communion until you feel satisfied or tired with the practice.

4.     Watching the Breath – Develop peace, freedom in thought and feeling,

1. Sit in a comfortable spot and let your breathing relax, just let it flow gently, naturally in and out.  Simply breathe, feeling and being aware of yourself breathing, relaxed, gently you are just breathing.  Notice the lungs, the inflow of air through the nostrils, down the throat and into the lungs. Be aware of the exhalation, the flow of air out through the nose or mouth. How far did your breath propel the air from your nose, four fingers, eight fingers, twelve or sixteen fingers? Just watch. Is the air coming in through the center of your nostrils? Does it feel as though it is favoring the top, bottom, left or right side? Be aware. Everything has its meaning.
2. As you become more aware of your breath then just watch the rise and fall of your breath. Is it equal in time between inhalation and exhalation? Is your exhalation longer than your inhalation or vice-versa? Just watch. Everything has a meaning.
3. Now, at the end of each exhalation, count the cycle of breath to yourself. Remember, watch the breath and count it, don’t think, don’t analyze – if thoughts or feelings arise, just keep letting them go by keeping your awareness on the flow of breath gently in and out.
4. When you reach a count of 10 or 15, stop counting and let yourself just float or become buoyant.
5. If thoughts or emotions should creep in, just watch them. Don’t try to stop them, don’t grab on to them just be aware of their rising and falling away like logs floating down a river.