Heart Meditation
An Introduction to Gnostic Heart Meditation by Dr Seyed M. Azmayesh.
Gnostic heart meditation is a spiritual exercise, which forms an important part of a seekers discipline on their spiritual journey. The aim of this book is to provide an introduction to this practice, however its teachings need to be implemented under the guidance of a teacher or guide in order for the student to progress. For the journey of true spiritual evolution is filled with traps laid out by our egos, which the seeker can only overcome with the assistance of an experienced guide.
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Heart Meditation
An Introduction to Gnostic Heart Meditation
Copyright © Dr. Seyed M. Azmayesh 2014
Heart Meditation: An Introduction to Gnostic Heart Meditation
ISBN 978-0-9558117-9-1
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without written permission of the publisher or author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Content
1. Introduction — 8
2. Challenges of our time — 11
3. The Heart and the Brain — 15
4. Meditation — 18
5. Owner of the heart — 21
6. The secret of the rhythms — 24
7. Imaging – the active creation of inner images — 28
8. Directing the breath during meditation — 30
9. Samâ – meditating in a group — 32
10. Emptiness — 34
11. Three steps to intensify the effects of meditation — 36
12. Three steps to happiness — 39
13. Appendix — 41
14. The Author — 43
15. Workshops in London — 45
16. Recommended resources — 46
1. Introduction
Humans from various spiritual traditions have developed, applied and taught meditation for thousands of years. During the past century the exact effects of meditation have been recorded and scientific research on people who meditate is now well documented.
Some of the areas that improve significantly within people who meditate are; general well-being, increased orientation towards solutions, positivity and faithfulness, better stress resistance compared to people who don’t meditate, access to intuitions and genuine social behaviour.
This booklet describes a specific method of meditation, which focuses on the physical heart muscle and its electro-magnetic field. The heart is regarded as the main organ, alongside various brain functions.
The booklet introduces heart meditation according to the Gnostic tradition. Some metaphors will help to visualize the process of meditation more broadly. The use of metaphors corresponds to one of the teaching methods of Gnostic teachers.
Before we begin, it is important to understand the context within which this booklet refers to Sufism or Sufi Masters. Gnosticism is an esoteric spiritual path whose origins date back to early man’s desire to better understand himself and to become self-aware of his true nature. So in this sense, many esoteric paths we observe today are a branch of Gnosticism, and Sufism is merely one of these paths. Gnosticism predates Islam, so it is therefore a mistake to consider Sufism a mystical branch of Islam, as its true origins also predate Islam.
So in this pamphlet when we refer to Sufism we are in fact referring to a path which is part of Gnosticism, and hence many of its teachings originate from general Gnostic teachings.
This is something that Sufi masters, such as Suhravardi, have often mentioned and others, due to the political pressures of their time, have been forced to conceal. In fact many of the famous early Sufi masters who were forced to adopt exoteric Islamic teachings based their esoteric teachings on Gnostic teachings that originated from esoteric traditions of Christianity, Mazdeism and Manicheism that existed in regions such as Egypt, Syria, and Persia, where the majority of the fathers of Sufism lived and taught.
In this booklet, Gnostic teachings on heart meditation will be outlined in a step-by-step and logical manner. This subject matter is broad and requires access to library of books, in order gain a detailed understanding, which we don’t pretend to be able achieve in this booklet.
The booklet is merely an introduction to heart meditation according to the Gnostic method, and is aimed to give some insight to anyone interested in the subject. The proper teaching of this method requires live workshops or gatherings dedicated to this subject. It is only through practical experience one can achieve the desired results.
The appendix offers further information to the readers, who would like to gain deeper insights, and to know more about the scientific research or reports about the effects of certain meditation techniques. You will also find details of classes in the UK which teach heart meditation as it is described in this booklet.