Teachings of Shahabuddin

Quick Meditations

From Shahabuddin's morning meditations at the Caravan of the Beautiful, 5/28 - 5/31/2004. These are practices that can be done in a brief amount of time.

Meditation with Light and the Brain

To be done at sunrise.

Look at the sun or face the sun, eyes closed, and imagine looking directly into the sun. Can be done sitting or standing.

As you breathe in, imagine light coming into the eyes, through the optic nerve and into the brain. As you do this, say silently "Nur" (Arabic for "light").
Important: the light must go through the optic nerve.
Pause two or three seconds between the inhalation and the exhalation to fill the brain with light.
As you breathe out, imagine the brain glowing with light. As you do this, say silently "Allah" (Arabic for "God" or "the One.") Make the out-breath twice as long as the in-breath.

This practice is best done in the morning to fill the darkened mind. Concentrate the light in the brain; don't let it wander into the body. This compensates for our darkened minds.

Meditation with the Third Eye and the Heart

Breathe into the "third eye," the spot on your forehead between and slightly above your eyes. Keep the head erect and facing forward. Say silently "Allah."
Breathe out, twice as long as the in-breath. As you breathe out, Move the head down and back up. Direct the breath into the heart as the head goes down, and then out into the universe as the head goes up. Say silently "Hu."

Allah Heart Zikr

("Zikr" means "remembrance" and refers to specific chant-like practices.)

Say out loud "Allah" while moving the head down and to the left, directing the energy into the physical heart. Silently breathe in as you move the head back up.

Move the head as follows. Although this is described as discrete motions, it should all be done in one smooth movement.

The head starts out erect, facing forward.
As you say "Allah," turn the head slightly left, tilt the chin slightly left, and move the head down in a straight line toward the heart.
As you move the head back up, move it back along the same straight line, still turned and tilted. Do not face forward until the head is all the way back up.
When the head is all the way back up, straighten up and face forward.

This softens and strengthens the physical heart and helps you remember the physical and mental beings.

A swami told Shahabuddin, with regard to yoga, that if your asana is not a prayer, it's just calisthenics. Similarly, make every meditation a prayer. Be in love, otherwise your practice is just an exercise.

Breathing In Love

Be in love. Think of someone or something you love, and feel the love.
Pay attention to your breath.
Breathe in and out of your heart center, in the center of your chest, with love.
Relax the small muscles in your chest. This does not mean to slump. Pay attention to the muscles, and they will relax.

Hung Sa

The Sanskrit phrase "Hung Sa" (literally "I am That") means "I am becoming that which I am." Say the phrase as if you are both mother and child. The mother loves the child and sees the child becoming that which it is.

Inhale, then say out loud the phrase "Hung" as you move your head down toward the center of your chest. Direct the energy into your heart.
Inhale, then say the phrase "Sa" as you raise your head up, directing the energy upwards. Raise the head beyond the horizontal plane, looking upwards.

When you are doing this fully, you will feel a kind of ache in the heart. But do not try to feel the pain; just do the practice and the ache will come.

Love the intelligence of which you are a unique expression.

Love your body, which is an instrument of that intelligence.

Light in the Face

Sit erect and relax the face.
Feel light on your face. It might feel warm or cool. However you feel it, feel light on the face.
Feel your face coming out of the light. The light is a negative mold, and the face is the positive. The face emerges from the light.

Purifying the Organs of the Body

The organs respond to intelligence, to the focus of attention on them, to breath and light. Humans are supposed to live in nature, to release imperfections into nature and to exercise with natural movements. Our current lifestyle is not natural, so we have to do work to make the organs healthy. If we are to be responsible human beings, we need to have a healthy body. These quick practices purify the organs and improve our health.

The Heart

Breathe in through the crown and out the heart center.
Breathe in through the solar plexus and out the heart center.
Breathe in through the heart and out the heart center.
Inhale through the heart, both the front of the body and the back. (The heart center is actually bigger in the back of the chest than in the front, and more able to receive energy.) As you exhale, direct energy the physical heart on the left, then to the spiritual heart on the right, then to the heart center in the center of the chest.
If your concentration is weak, inhale through the solar plexus and exhale through the three heart centers at once.
If you are sad or depressed, inhale through the crown and exhale through the three heart centers at once.

The Lungs

Inhale through the heart and out the lungs. As you exhale, energy is drawn to the lungs. You are not pushing energy to the lungs; rather, the energy is drawn there.

The Brain

Inhale through the heart and through the crown, sending energy to the brain.
As you exhale, imagine the brain glowing with light.

The Kidneys

Turn the hands upward. Breathe in the heart center, both front and back. As you exhale send energy to the hands.
Put the hands on your kidneys, which are in back of your body, on either side of the spine, above the hip-bones. As you breathe out, send energy to the kidneys.

The Eyes

Turn the hands upward. Breathe in the heart center, both front and back. As you exhale send energy to the hands.
Put the palms of your hands over the eyes. Do not press the eyes. Place the palms so they entirely cover the eyes. Open the eyes. You should see no light. As you breathe out, send energy to the eyes.

The Liver

Turn the hands upward. Breathe in the heart center, both front and back. As you exhale send energy to the hands.
Put the hands on your liver, which is in the front of the body, to the right, below the rib cage. As you breathe out, send energy to the liver.

If you wish, you may say silently Shaffee on the in-breath and Kaffee on the out-breath. Shaffee means "the healer," and Kaffee, "the remedy."

Draw energy, consciousness, on the breath. You are not sending physical air to the organs, but vital energy, which rides on the breath.

Silent Zikr

This practice is done in four parts. Unlike many practices, it starts on an out-breath, not an in-breath. The phrase is

La Illaha Illa'lah Hu

This means "There is no God but God" or "There is no reality but the Only Being." The practice starts with an exhalation to parallel the first part of the phrase. The exhalation empties one and makes a space for the incoming energy of the second part of the phrase.

I. La Illaha Illa'lah Hu

Sit comfortably with the back erect. Close the eyes.

Exhale while saying silently La Illaha.
Sweep the head from the left shoulder down through the heart and back up to the right shoulder.
Inhale while saying silently Illa'lah.
Move the head down and up.
Hold the breath while saying silently Hu.
Bow the head slightly down and to the left, toward the physical heart to left of the center of the chest.

Do this eleven times.

II. Illa'lah Hu

Kneel with the back erect. Close the eyes.

Exhale while saying silently Il.
Move the head down. Direct the energy from the third eye to the solar plexus.
Inhale while saying silently Allah.
Move the head up slightly. Direct the energy to the heart center.
Hold the breath while saying silently Hu.
Move the head up. Direct the energy up and out the crown center.

Do this eighteen times.

III. Allah Hu

Remain kneeling if you can, or sit comfortably. The back should be erect, and the eyes closed.

Exhale while saying silently Allah.
Move the head down. Direct the energy from the third eye to the solar plexus.
Inhale while saying silently Hu.
Move the head up slightly. Direct the energy to the heart center.
Hold the breath while saying silently nothing.
Move the head up. Direct the energy up and out the crown center.
The hold should be of short duration.

Do this eighteen times.

IV. Hu

Remain kneeling if you can, or sit comfortably. The back should be erect, and the eyes closed.

Bow the head and exhale into the heart center while saying silently Hu. Repeat this at a moderate pace, not slowly but not so rapidly that you get short of breath. Say nothing on the inhalation. The inhalation is just a gentle reaction to the exhalation.

Do this thirty-three times.

After you finish the practice, sit quietly for a few minutes. Do not rush right up and attempt to get busy.

If you wish to do this practice, commit to doing it a daily for a certain period of time, say twenty-one days. Do it every day during this period, ideally at the same time and in the same place. Start the practice while the moon is waxing, not while it is waning.

We move the head from left to right in order to start with the physical heart and move through the center to the spiritual heart. The energy leaves the body out the right. The Mevlevi turn is done with the right hand upward. This is not to receive energy from above, but to allow the spirit to rise out the right.

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