The Projective Meditative Mind
We held a workshop at Yoga West on May 1, 2019. In this class, we stabilized and developed the projective meditative mind.
In our healing tradition, healing begins when we can adjust our awareness to a specific aspect that we call the projective meditative mind. Other names for this are shuniya and the sacred space. Once we stabilize that position of awareness, we begin to relate with the patient (event) in a way that produces healing in the event. We call the aspect projective because in that position of awareness our intention becomes projective, in that it manifests in our relation with the event. Our intention to heal impacts the relation.
Literally, shuniya describes an aspect of mind that is empty. Not void as in nothing, as there is always activity in the mind, rather empty of any tendency to move or direct the experience. Sitting in shuniya, our mind allows the flow of our experience without interfering with it or imposing any bias or preconception on the experience. See Milarepa’s Song to Lady Palderboom. Shuniya is a most profound state of being. It is most effective for healing.
Arriving at this awareness is not an accident. Nor is it likely that we should recognize it without preparing the mind with certain exercises, or kriyas. Of the many kriyas that come from the tradition of Kundalini Yoga, many deal directly with the development of shuniya.
If we could arrive at shuniya by thinking it or by verbal instruction, we would. Instead, we allow our practice of the kriyas to instruct our mind subtly. The kriya tricks our mind into moving our awareness toward shuniya, giving us a direct experience of being empty. With the repetition of kriyas, we practice accessing that place in our awareness, ultimately allowing us to stabilize it at will.
In this workshop, we performed a shuniya meditation. This particular one is the first in a series of four that Yogi Bhajan gave to us when he visited Los Angeles in the Fall of 1994:
Meditation: Shuniya Meditations as Taught by Yogi Bhajan, Yoga West, 1994.
Then we practiced some healing exercises with partners. After a couple of rounds, we performed the meditation:
Meditation: LA004 780109 Innocent Thumbs.
As we sit in shuniya, our perceptive field tends to “crank up the volume”, so we begin to become aware of minute sensations in a big way. They can be distracting to us if we become caught up with them. This kriya helps us not to engage, judge, or otherwise interfere with the flow of experience. As result, we become completely neutral as an observer of our experience. Then, the experience is allowed to flow freely as we simply observe sitting in shuniya. The healing intensifies as we increase the projective power of our intention.
After the healing exercises, we considered a next step to refining our projection. Just as we are able to train ourselves to develop and stabilize shuniya at will, we are able to merge that awareness with our radiant body. The radiant body impacts all who stand in our presence. Its effects are instant, so we can quickly heal people with our presence. The homework for this practice is:
Meditation: NM345- Strengthen and enhance the radiant body.
The class audio begins after the first meditation. It continues through the healing exercises through the end of class.
See a recap of other workshops,
posts related to the meditative mind
and posts related to shuniya
